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Second, your smoker I also have one. IT takes a little getting use to, but a decent enough smoker. This is what I have learned. I always put a small foil pan close to the firebox as there is not alot of grillestate in these things. It helps maintain a more even temp. I have extend the chimney down to grate level, & as small as the firebox is I still had a charcoal basket made & raised it about an inch higher for more air flow & area for charcoal to drop. I barley keep the firebox cracked open now! These few things have increased my smoking enjoyment way more than before. I like tending the fire a bit, but when I first got it it was every 15 minutes & in 2 hours I was out of heat? Now I only need to check it maybe once an hour & I get 4-5 hours of heat. Not bad for such a small smoker.
One more thing the stock Temp Gauge is probably off. Give it the boil test so you really know where your temps are. Good Luck!!
Welcome to the forum Late, best way to find one of the many, many threads covering the mods is just type "Char-griller mod" or "firebasket" in the search bar. Some of the threads have over 200 posts so you just have to wade through them to see the various types of firebaskets and stuff people have made.