I'm astounded at how fast this item got delivered. 36 hours after I placed my Internet order it was on my doorstep. It was well packed with no damage.
I ordered the cart so that was the first thing that I assembled. I wish the pictures in the instructions were bigger so I could more clearly see the placement of some items. My only problem was getting the holes in the cart to my match up with the feet on the smoker. In the end I had to use a file to enlarge the hole in order to make the bolts fit. The cart rolls easily and feels solid. The wings of the cart feel little on the flimsy side and are somewhat difficult to adjust. You have to actually pull the pins out of one slot and put it into another slot in order to raise or lower the shelf.
I was a bit surprised at the appearance of the stainless steel overall. It has numerous blemishes which didn't come out with a damp cloth. Welds are clearly visible in some places and gives an almost "metal shop" feel to the unit. It has a rustic look to it making each unit look like it was handcrafted. After some use I'm certain the blemishes will not be visible but it did affect my first impression of the unit.
The solid construction of the smoker is far far far better than any of the other units I was looking at. While insulated, the outside of the unit still does get warm but only to about 100F°. I ordered the Catchin pan which apparently looks exactly like the drip pan.
It's been an hour into the seasoning and I can still see smoke coming out of the top. One of the things that really appealed to me about this unit is that you don't have to add wood after the smoke starts. A friend with an MES has to add wood chips every half hour.
More to come.
