I've been using an Advanco 3500 for 5 years with large and wide pots overhanging the base by an inch or more all around. My widest pot is 15 gallons with a 17" diameter. Never had any issues in that regard.
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DevilsCups said to reduce power, but I've never had any reason to do that unless I want to slow down the boil. Otherwise it's cranking at full power for an hour and a half or more, especially with larger batches/kettles. Never blew the internal fuse or damaged anything.
That said, there are some maintenance issues with these units. If you're just using it for brewing once or twice a month, you may never encounter them. But I use mine for other cooking purposes, such as preparing starter wort, cooking soup, stews, large pots of stock, wokking, etc. Pretty much daily use.
Over time grease and dust builds up on the underneath air intake grate, and also on the internal fan. The bottom grate is easy to clean. But after a couple years of use the fan started to come up to speed more and more slowly, so it obviously needed "servicing." I opened the unit, removed the fan, cleaned off the dust and grease then cleaned and relubricated the shaft and sleeve bearing with a couple drops of "sewing machine" oil. I do that every time I hear the fan starting to have speed trouble (slow start or surging). It's about 20-30 minutes of work once a year or so, on average for me.
I have not been able to find a replacement or better fan with ball bearings yet. The fan assembly is not standard, yet is an integral and important part of the unit's proper functioning, cooling the power regulator electronics inside. I've never had the unit shut off because of overheating, and won't even try to find out, it may well kill it. Be warned.
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