[benniesdad]

I don't use a charcoal basket in mine because I use a SJ Gold and I drilled holes in bottom of the tamale pot vs. cutting out the bottom. I think you are just limiting your charcoal capacity with a set up like mine. OTOH, if you have cut the bottom out of your pot, you can probably take advantage of the additional space and benefit greatly on long burns by using a charcoal basket.