If you are more talented than I am (which most of you probably are), you can build a door into the side and scoop it out that way. I talked to a few others that did it the same way as I did... I will just roll up the grill, pull out the fire grill, and scoop them out whenever they get too much. Then just set everything back in.
Absolutely! I just had that on hand, and a small amount of wood for the burn-in and first cook. I have a source of local red oak here, so in the future I will be burning that instead.
I had my concerns over venting and getting enough air for a good burn, but after talking to a few folks, I relaxed a bit. They were right, I did not need to worry at all. Fire burned great. Upper block got a bit hot, so I will certainly be placing the fire brick all the way to the top for future cooks. That extra layer should help quite a bit.:razz: