Mods on a Charbroil Amerian Gourmet Delux offset smoker

Ok so here is what i've done


I sealed around the smoke stack using a heat resistant silicone


and everything where the firebox hooks up is now sealed


I sealed all holes in the smoker and then put the bricks in (not sure if this is enough bricks.)  I've seen where people wrap them in aluminum foil too does that make a difference?


And then I put new temperature gauges on both ends of it although looking at this picture I didn't line them up very well :/


This is the main problem there is a gap all the way around the lid with these holes is letting everything escape and making temperature control much more difficult than it could be.  But like I said I don't have access to a metal shop or welder so I was wondering if anybody had some ideas how to seal this up

I did manage to construct a baffle in the chamber over where the smoke comes in to push the heat down and out another 14" and I think I'll pick up some pieces of steel to run along the bottom over the bricks and call it good enough unless I stumble across some ideas to seal it up better but I'm sure it will work till the snow flies now to practice smoking ribs to perfection my first run they came out pretty tough but chicken comes out awesome :)