Huge props on your experiment! The issue I have is trying to find out how safe the mod is. To your point, it does not get above 450 degrees or you would have had ignition in your test box. But, unfortunately, i called the galvanized manufacturers association I referenced above, and they could not give me a real clear answer about the temperature at which zinc fumes would start to form. Their article references 392 degrees where flaking of the zinc coating starts to occur, which is not good for smoking purposes, but I have also read anecdotal info suggesting as little as 200 degrees starts to release funny odors, if not outright zinc fumes. And a whole lot of folks are quick to jump in with the melting point of zinc which, for my concerns, is not particularly relevant. Since it's very difficult to get good scientific/medical data on safe temps, I am reluctant to go down this path. And I know others might chime in and say smoking food is dangerous, cooking with stainless steel is dangerous, etc., but everyone needs to pick and choose which risk tradeoff they are willing to make. In my case, if I can find a solution that minimizes this risk at a low cost, why not do it?