Congrats on the new addition. Not paying shipping sure helps as well as the lower price for buying not new. I just bought one new a few months ago and am very happy with it. It does eat a lot of pellets!
A few observations from my experience so far: A real tank that puts out great food. You get steady thin blue smoke for low and slow smokes for sure. At higher temps, not so much, but still get some smoke flavor (can always supplement with A-Mazn pellet smoker).
The temps reported by Maverick and the custom controller typically vary a good bit esp. during mini-heat up / down cycles, but on average temps are consistent within 10 degrees once initial heat levels are established. Took getting used to. Really need to open lid at a bare minimum. Causes mini heat up / down cycles, though not sure if it matters much.
If you want to do high direct heat / good searing: The new two piece heat diffuser plate for direct heat / flames for high direct heat / searing works really well (has a 12 x 12 cut-out you can pull out vs removing entire diffuser plate).
Searing plates are defn. a good addition as well. Learning subtleties for reverse searing takes practice, but really pays off.
Oh, and get a side port to run Maverick wires through. Real convenient and makes for tighter lid fit.
Happy cooking!
