Went ahead a purchased one as a Christmas present to myself. Being a little suspicious of the whole system there was no way I was spending a thousand dollars on one. I spotted a good deal on the Pit Boss Austin XL for around $350. So far I really like it except for one huge caveat. I've had two flameouts, both on overnight brisket smokes. I check on it at 2am and everything is going fine, wake up and it's all ambient temperature. The first one I had a pile of pellets inside the smoker. Once the fire went out it just kept feeding. I guess it overwhelmed the firepot and could never light again. The second time I think there weren't enough pellets in the box to exceed a pellet piles angle of repose and it stopped burning. It set me back a little on finish time, but both turned out great. I'm still getting a little acquainted with it and hoping the flameouts are just operator error, but I like it so far.