Hi Paul,
I was hoping that someone with more experience than myself would reply - I've seen Smokey Joe Platinums recommended in threads for tailgating and finishing in competition, so I know that more people than just me like the thing....I highly recommend it. I use mine extensively while I'm in a corporate apartment away from home.
My two cents are that the side vents work fine, and I can keep fairly steady temps (measured at the dome through the top vent) for a couple of hours from under 300 degrees to over 500. I have to watch wind direction though, because I can get more heat than I want if it's windy.
The smallish size of the 18 inch kettle means that I've been experimenting with piling the coals all on one side for indirect cooking, so that I can get the meat further away from the radiating coals when I want to (and directly over them when I'm cooking steaks). Also, piling the coals all in one pile appears to get longer burns without the heat dropping off - I'm not sure why unless there's a critical mass of fuel that's needed to completely burn the coals beyond a certain point.