New (to me) Stump's Prince. Advice?

Congrats on your new stumps....you wont be able to replicate a wood burner profile, but you can get plenty even too much smoke if you're not careful. You could put split logs in the charcoal chute but there isn't enough space for adequate airflow so that wont work efficiently. The way most of us do is use lump charcoal (i prefer RO) and use limb-size sticks that fit the length of your ash pan. Using only 2-3 sticks (approx. 8-10" long and 2" in diameter) when you put your meat on will get you plenty of smoke on butts and briskets. On a stumps, you just want to see a thin blue smoke coming from the stack. I think you will be very suprised on the amout of smoke in the meat.

yes many people do, so that they are getting periodic smoke, however i dont see the benefit since meat generally quits taking in smoke once the pores close as it is getting hot which is usually around the 2 hour mark. Not to mention you are increasing your chance for a bridge. I do most of my cooking at night so it would be hard for me to sleep with the thought that a chunk might cause a bridge.

Best way to replicate a stick burner is to cook on a stick burner. :heh:

In my opinion, Stumps are a bit finicky and any adjustments to the air flow take several minutes to show up on the temperature dial. Most owners go ahead and buy a draft controller (guru/stoker).

Practice with your Stumps is the only way to find out so get to cookin'. Check recovery and warm up times, they seemed to take forever with my Stretch.

As a former and future stumps owner, let me say, Congrats! These cookers ROCK! That being said, do yourself a favor and always use a folded over sheet of HD aluminum foil between the charcoal chute and the lid of the chute. This will keep your gasket free of creosote.

Also, I would use chunks in the ash pan and bang a little on the charcoal chute grate. This would drop a few pieces of charcoal onto the chunks below. It will create a nice even smoke. Sometimes I used chunks in the chute but found it unnecessary. Some people believe that part of the beauty of a stumps is that the smoke has to pass through the fire (when using wood in the ash pan only) before it enters the cooking chamber. They feel this purifies the smoke of any additional contaminants. I don't know how realistic that is, but it sounds nice!

Temperature control shouldn't be a problem with the stoker unit. Recovery will be quicker also.
If you have some wood splits laying around, cut them to the length or width of the ash pan.
You won't have to replace the chunks as often. If your using a milder wood, load it up. If you have oak or hickory or mesquite, a smaller amount might be better.
Congrats on the new smoker. Enjoy it. Your smoking has just become easier.
jon

With a controller they run like a dream, I had the IQ110 on mine