So I bought my smoker yesterday, and decided to smoke some ribs maybe 1/3-1/2 rack cauz it was just for 3 people. I read the instructions and was going to let it smoke for about 4-5 hours. I put them in about 12:15 and went to a birthday party at 1. I checked them about 3 when I got back home and they were burnt. The temperature when I walked out the door said "Ideal"(cheap brinkman thermo) and it was on "Ideal" when I got back home. BTW its a ECB from lowes that was 65 dollars. I think that next time I need to make sure I have nowhere to go and can check on my smoker every 30-45 minutes or so.