smoked 2 whole chickens ,wow, thanks to all your help smoking meats ,they turned out great, also smoked a ham, just cant say enough how great it turned out , my brother ate most of it, i was pissed he hardley left any for me and my wife,thanks to the 5 chapter class i learned alot, my wife bought me a cook book from amazon,SMOKE AND SPICE,it tells you step by step, just a great book, I own a brinkmann smoker bought at home depot 169.00 great deal, i took all the advice from you guys and added a temp gauge out side and in side, temp holds very well had no problem, i also lowered the vent tube to keep the smoke stays in, best thing i ever had always wanted to smoke my own meat, thanks guys for all the input, keep up the good work, 2 guys at work also just bought smokers.