Hey ButtBurner. I bought the same pit in December. I haven't really done a whole lot to it. All I have done is tried to seal up some of the massive leaks around the doors and put and lowered the exhause to grate level. I burned 1 round of charcoal in it and then per other bretheren, decided to switch to wood. I haven't been able to cook on a decent day, it has either been windy as can be and a decent temp, or colder than snot and calm. That being said, I have been adding 3 small splits every hour. The splits are around wrist size and 15" long. I have been just keeping an eye on it instead of putting X amount of wood on in X amount of time. When they start to burn down pretty good (ready to be considered charcoal, they fall apart when touched or moved), I'll add the preheated splits. I scored a truck load of cherry and hickory for $25 so that's what I have been burning, mostly cherry. I start my chimeny full and poor it in then add the wood on top and let it get going before closing the door. I've noticed that it takes me at least 45 minutes to get the temp steady. Once it is there, it is really easy to keep it there. After about 3 hours or so, I have realized that I need to add a half chimney of charcoal as most of the coals are gone. I'm going to try to add a hand full of coals each time I add wood next time. That is my experience with the OK Joe's longhorn. Post some pics of the tuning plates if you don't mind, heck post pics of everything! Lol congrats on the purchase!
