Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I just received this machine. I owned an original Bradley Smoker that gave up the ghost. When I saw the digital one for sale I thought that it would be more precise and a "set and forget" solution to smoking. I have tried it four times now and have discovered that the temperature variation on the unit is as much as 28 degrees over the set point and as much as 16 below the set point for a temp swing of 44 degrees. It turns out that Bradley has a forum for owners and those interested (look at their web site). Quite a number of new owners have been dismayed and disappointed in the temp swing on this unit. When I called Bradley they just said "that's the way it is with this unit" and told me it is similar to my house oven. I doubt that my home ever varies that much. The cycle time for this variation is 15-20 minutes so the food is never at the set point for very long. I don't recall swings like this with my old one. If you look carefully at what you get for the hefty premium, it is not much. The basic unit has the automatic biscuit feed and when its out of biscuits there is no more smoke so the smoke timer on the new one means nothing. The timer on the cooking side has a time limit according to the Bradley owners so you can't leave it more than ten hours without going out and resetting it. The temperature control is not reliable so what do you get for the extra bucks. Not much to my way of thinking. By the way, look at the photo carefully. This unit is not aluminum. It has a door that is painted an aluminum color and the body is black. I have to say that the fit and finish is very nice on the unit. My advice is buy the original model and save yourself the extra bucks.