Well, the kids' new gadget failed this weekend

I need to vent. I've been using a simple Weber charcoal smoker for 25 years. It's never failed me.

The kids meant well, they got me one of those fancy automated pellet smokers for my birthday. Screen, Wi-Fi, the whole nine yards. It sat in the box for weeks because I knew it was just a matter of time before the technology crapped out.

This weekend, I finally gave in, invited the family for sunday. Decided to do an overnight brisket. Put a prime-grade piece of meat on there, set the temp to 225°F and left it to cook low nd slow

Woke up at 6am to a cold smoker and a stalled brisket at 140°F. Some "flame out" error on the screen. The auger had stopped feeding pellets sometime in the middle of the night.

So now I've got a beautiful piece of meat that's been sitting in the danger zone for who knows how long. Had to throw the whole thing out... What a complete WASTE.

I knew I shouldn't have trusted a computer to do a man's job. My weber would never have given up on me 😣

Is this what I should expect from these things? Or did I just get a lemon? I'm about ready to put this thing on the curb...