brinkman vert with air issues

ihave the same model
i drilled 3/8 holes allover the char pan
and if i load it up can get to 300 sum times
i also bought a grill wok for my longer cooks
ive found out so far that with the original pan ill put a 1/2 chimney
unlit in thepan then ill light a 1/2 one to get started
the smoker at the cook rack reads about 250

but the only problem is youll have keep feeding it about every hour to hour half

hope this helps

When I had mine, I would use chunk wood rather than chips on top of the charcoal. One or two sticks about every 30-45 min. kept the temp up in the right range through the smoke. It is a balancing act with a relatively short learning curve; managing heat becomes almost 2nd nature after a few successful smokes.

Hover around the smoker and keep an eye on it to learn how it behaves and reacts to your adjustments. And don't rush to judgment -- make a change and let things reset for at least 10 min. before adjusting anything again.