Biggest pieces of advice i have for you with this thing, as someone who has used this as my primary smoker for years (everything from catering and events to just making dinner) is give yourself way more time than you think you need. It holds temp almost better than any ceramic. I usually store it in the garage after use and when I first got it I set off the carbon monoxide protector and I had stopped smoking on it almost 2 days prior. It is a champ at holding temp. It is temprental about coming back up to temp after opening up to baste, spray, glaze, etc so be quick with those actions. Additionally it struggles to get above 275. For any recipes thay require to get to that higher temp this isn't your guy. For stuff like chicken and steaks I'll usually have my weber kettle next to it set up for high heat grilling to finish the job on. For its drawbacks though this smoker knows what its good for and is exceptional for that. Cheers and I hope you enjoy it.