As far as i'm concerned you are a buffoon. I acquired mine used at my new apt and have it working just fine. Yes, it takes a lot of attention. but it's a conversation piece. The boys come over and hang out and drink beers and we smoke. no big deal being a bit attentive. Does it take more fuel than other smokers? yes, but home depot sells 2-20lb bags of kingsford for $12 Yes I will use one full 20lb bag but that will get me my temps all day long 12-15 hours. I check on it every 30-60 mins and either add new unlit briquettes or a partial chimney of lit briquettes. As for mods, I read very little on this smoker beforore trying it out. I had a hard time keeping temps DOWN. I created a baffle by bending the charcoal holder in the cooking area, I didn't think to simply flip it upside down. Since mine was used and the previous owners looked like they used it more as a gril than a smoker, that holder was a bit beat up and it bent up easily. it definately seemed to help even out my temps from side to side.
There is one last major thing I noticed. Outside weather conditions. First few times I used it were hot summer days in july and august of last year. The smoker sits in full on sunlight and it's black, it's probably well over 100 degrees inside the cooking chamber to begin with. Those were the times I was having trouble keeping temps down. Then come october/november and I was using it when temps were in 40s and 50s and it was overcast I was having a tougher time getting temps up.
Bottom line, within home depot alone there are smokers ranging in price from $179 -$600 a little common sense should tell you that you bought the lowest end model and you shouldn't expect to be a pitmaster overnight with it.
The one pic you show of the amount of fuel you have in it doesn't appear to be very much. I was advised to try the Minion Method since I'm considering doing an overnight smoke with this and want to try to "set it and forget it" instead of tending coals every hour. you should probably try the same method of lighting your coals.
