Seems to me you're deliberately banging your head against a brick wall and you kinda like it. Little stick burners are a the reason you get a bigger one, not the other way around.
Sooo, I did not know and now I do. That is a great idea! It is also a horrible idea. It sounds like you have smoldering wood which to me says bad tasting smoke. I may have to try it to see how well it works?
Seems to me you're deliberately banging your head against a brick wall and you kinda like it. Little stick burners are a the reason you get a bigger one, not the other way around.
You can only blame the smoker so much. I wouldn't expect to know how to run a little smoker perfectly the first go around. Making good Q can be done on them. I was honestly shocked how little work I had to do keep that smoker locked in at 250 degrees.
If this thin tin smoker can smoke a brisket like that, my 1/4" smoker should be able do a rack of ribs no problem.