Question: did ya get the bark knocked off the splits? I stopped doing that a while back, can't tell no difference and I can still count to 10
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I did not knock the bark off. I didn't even use splits... I had some hole logs in the barn and I just chunked them in. Since I was burning out the tank first I just used the coals for the cook.
Sometimes I'll knock it off and others I dont.... Like you I can rarely tell any difference by the time the meat goes on.
The tank will hold a lot of food! But the best thing is that it will hold 220-250 very easily on the main centered grates. Once it's hot it does require a lot of fuel to maintain. I use a camp grate to lift things farther up where 300-350 will hold. It takes practice and experimenting but that's part of the fun.
I have a second tank that's a little smaller. I hope to make a vertical out of it and maybe even put a pellet pusher on it in time.