Hello all. I'm new to this site and first let me say I'm a novice cooker and I just purchased a lone star grillz 24"x24"x36" vertical offset smoker. I've been trying to dial the cooker in and get an even temperature across the pit which I can't seem to accomplish. The pit comes standard with two tuning plates and I was told by the owner this style of pit is the easiest one to dial in with even temperatures. I have used my maverick et733 and two oven thermometers several times to try and adjust temperatures. I can't seem to get it within 30-40 degrees difference at the least. I'm also a little dumbfounded that my pit is hotter on the smoke stack side and not near the firebox. I've even pushed both tuning plates all the way over to the smoke stack side and temps are still hotter over there. Can anyone help me understand as to why temps would be hotter on the smoke stack side or how I can get this pit dialed in with even temperatures. Any help is much appreciated. Thanks all.