i run a smoke-n-pit and i've done some pretty good cooks on the thing it's the perfect starter q'uer. i have not done any of the posted mods all i have done is bring the charcoal grate in the smoke box to the top and it acts like a baffle and let's the heat travel the length of the box..if you want to extend the stack you need to cut some of the upper rack. i'm very happy with my POS ECB. i use lump charcoal and wood chunks (apple, cherry, hickory, etc, etc, etc) for the smoke. i use an on grate thermometer to monitor my chamber heat, it reads about the same as the one in the lid and a remote therm. for the meat. the biggest thing is patience don't be lookin in every 15 mins and when you are going in to mop or whatever plan it out and get it done asap and close the lid. once i get it to temp it requires refueling about every2 to 2.5 hours. just check out some of my threads and you shall see