I like it. We use ours right in front of our back door screen so smoke isn't really an issue. It is kind of smoky but not nearly as bad as the whirley pop. Used the whirley pop for a couple years but like Wicket says "way to much work" but I did it pretty consistent. If I ever have to get a new roaster I will probably get something bigger just because we go through a LOT of coffee and we end up using the 1600 a few times a day sometimes making coffee for other people and what not. The auto shut off is a pain, have messed up a few batches with it because once it goes into that safe mode it can't be turned back on until it is cool. It also seems to roast quite slow compare to the whiley pop.