Just to let you know...Yes, LANG is the BEST stick burner, I have a lang 84 deluxe, with a charcoal grill added to the front for finishing ribs/cooking chicken at the comps. that happens to be for sale!!! I Know, I know, I shouldn't use this particular thread to sell it, and you don't need to buy mine, but it kinda ties into the discussion...as for stick burners, and having to tend to them alot,...buy a guru and any stickburner will be as low maintenance as anything else!! I found this out by trial and error, we used to burn twice as much fuel and not get any sleep at comps., tried a charcoal box, minion method, etc..bought the guru and had to fine tune that too...started with one fan, then added another, but now that we got it figured out, it's a piece of cake...I would definately recommend any reverse flow smoker, from any manufacturer. as they cook consistantly on both sides, no hot spots next to the firebox!!! langs seem to be the best bang for the buck...next build a new table for the fire box with sides on it, similar to the charcoal boxes that Klose builds, we can stack 2 20lb. bags of kingsford and 4-5 good size apple logs on top, will burn for hours with the guru running without ever checking on it, if you want you can build a charcoal chute for the firebox, so you can add coals without opening the door and getting a face full of fire., as for the warmer, do whatever you can to buy one WITH a warmer!!!they work awesome at competitions if you go to any...here's why, every piece of meat cooks a little different, say you get your brisket done way before you need to turn it in, throw it in the warmer wait till 5 min. before turn in, pull it slice it, turn it in..it'll be like it just came off the smoker.not cold, or overcooked, just right...sorry to ramble on, but i had to get my .02 in...hope this helps
