JGarvey - did you put anything between the coals and the meat when you removed he water pan?
I am thinking about using a pyrex pie pan for this, maybe throw a few rocks in it for heat mass.
The hinge is dreamy -BTW. the my side door leaked like a b*Tch, so much better. didnt see the need to seal the top - its nearly air tight as is. both are killer mods.
AND - the partyq was worth every penny and then some! did a 14 hour pork butt cook on its maiden try. no problem had to add coals about 8 hours in because i was worried about the length of time it was taking. but it kept temp the whole time