Longtime lurker short time poster here. Been smoking since the early 2000"s. Started with a Bradley, then a Gen 1 w/o a vent (circa 2005), and when it quit 4 weeks ago, I lucked out and found a Gen 2.5 from QVC on craigslist. Found the owners manual on QVC's website. It is model no. 20076716. It has the glass door, vent on top left, built-in meat probe, bi-level water pan, 4 shelves, legs w/ rollers, red door, and came with the cover, smurf gloves and RF remote control (my favorite part). I have paired it with a Masterbuilt cold smoker using a 3" flex pipe and a 90 deg coupling that fit nicely in the smoker box. The flex pipe dips between the two so moisture settles in the pipe. I've also done Raf's mod to the cold smoker to provide control over its heating element. The MES 2.5 was very impressive with its temp control after warmup. When set at 250 deg the element would turn on at 249 going down and turn off at 249 going back up. To me this is almost ( I said almost) as good as a PID control. The cold smoker kit has been equally impressive. More smoke than you need at 150 watts, thus Raf's mod, which allows you to find TBS. I've done chicken thighs and a 9.5 lb pork butt so far, came out better than anything I have done before. I have learned so much in the years I have been visiting this site and would like to thank everyone for all the great info. Looking forward to learning more. Smoke on, gentlemen. Tim
P.S. Do not mourn for my Generation 1, it will be repurposed as a cold smoker.
P.S. Do not mourn for my Generation 1, it will be repurposed as a cold smoker.