I purchased this same Littermaid 3 years ago and it is still going strong. We have 3 littermaids, all different models for our 3 cats. I could not possible keep up with cleaning the litter and this sure helps me out a lot. We bought the permanent chute from Litterworks and my husband used an old entertainment center we got for next to nothing at goodwill and it fits 2 littermaids comfortably. If you look at littermaid disposal system at amazon[...] you will see what it sort of looks like. I love the LM9000 but I would agree the LME9000 (elite with the ionic air cleaner) does not work well and it gives littermaid a bad name. If you can find the basic ones I think they work better than the ionic air cleaner ones. We only empty our litter a couple of times a weeks as once it goes down the chute into the trash bag we only have to take the trash bag out. No, it does not smell, I also add a little baking soda to the trash bag but you do have to clean the littermaid occasionally just like any other litterbox, just not as much. I use Worlds Best Litter (corn litter) makes littermaid work easier and cuts down on the dust from litter. It is a shame that the elite's have sullied the littermaid product name. I hope they improve on it as I would like to buy a backup in case one of mine goes (I figure after 3 yrs it's due) but I won't buy another elite with the ionic (read moronic) air cleaner.