That was my first smoker, and I still have and use it periodically.
Here are some mods that will make cooking with a ECB a little easier.
If you drill holes in the fire pan, make sure that you have a metal pan under the smoker and DO NOT fire that thing up on a wood (or anything combustible) deck. The early ECBs had vent holes in the firepan until someone burned down their house and sued.
I do not use liquid in the water pan personally. I prefer the "bark" that my rub gives and steam from the liquid is not real condusive to that. The objective is to provide a "thermal barrier" between the heat source and the food so that you are cooking with an indirect heat as opposed to a direct heat source. Instead, I use playground sand in the water pan. Works well, you can sift out any grease dripping, and it's easy to clean up afterwards.
BTW, I use a probe thermometer with a wireless reciever. Not only can I move to whatever smoker I am using, but with the wireless reciever, I can be anywhere I wnat and still know my temps. Some of the best ~$30 I spent.
Just my
worth, your millage may vary!
My herd (most of them at least
)
My Hot Rodded ECB
Oh, and the most important part...post up pictures!