[swamprb]

How big is your charcoal basket? I'll bet you have a gargantuan basket and you are using CompK and doing a MM with a charcoal chimney and flaming briqs? CompK burns hotter and faster and I beleive you are using too much wood for smoke.

Ditch the chimney and get a weed burner, hit the briqs or lump until the edges start to ash over, all vents open, then add a couple fist sized chunks. Let the drum get to 250-300 and add your meats, the temps should drop down to 225-250, then close all but one vent and it should settle in @225-235 and just cruise-at least mine do.

How much charcoal are you using? 10-12lbs is adequate for most long cooks. Most of my cooks are with a small basket with 5-6lbs of K (turkeys, chickens ribs etc.) that I can offset to one side of the drum for a slight indirect cook.

this is how I do it, mileage may vary user to user.