I did a lot of research toggling between charcoal, propane, and electric. My research was mostly through watching a lot of youtube videos. I wanted a smoker that I could use on my deck and I felt that charcoal (Weber SM) was too risky, and I could not get definitive answer on whether propane would be too hot on a wooden deck, so I decided to go electric. I saw a lot of electric smoker youtube videos on products other than smokin-it, but the reviews on those products were less than stellar. Literally at the last minute, and I don't know how it happened, I found references to smokin-it. Every review that I found on the product raved about the units, so a quick call to Steve to confirm that the unit would work on a wood deck, and then I placed the order. And I could not b happier with the result!
I think Steve et al would do well to have a few folks put up some youtube videos using the smokin-it..I did see a couple that were pretty good, but the other electric smoker companies have dominated the youtube scene.