Central IL Smoker

Hey all. I am new to the form but not smoking/bbq. I have been smokin since my wife and I bought our first house 15 years ago, using a Brinkman bullet. I wont lie those were some dismal times. I finally got ok at it but the wife had something on standby. I went through various grills, but about 9 years ago we got a Chargriller duo. We bought it mostly to grill, but my wife got the firebox attachment for xmas and that was all it took. I was throwing meat into the smoke about every weekend in the summer. I would look for tips online but mostly did my own thing. It is finally to the point family and friends ask for the food coming off my rig, which is a great feeling. I started hitting the forms hard about 6 months ago when I and my wife came to the realization, the Chargriller was going back to nature, and a hammer was needed to make the lid shut. My wife bought me an OK Joe highland for my bday and I spent a week or so welding it up and making the modifications I have seen on this forum and others. There has been a learning curve. The food has been decent, but not quite the chow I was doing on the Chargriller yet, which is a bit daunting after the work I put in. I think with a little input from some fellow smokeheads, I can get it figured out. Here is my new rig!




I live in Peoria! IL and my favorite item to smoke is big ol pork loins:-)