Smoked a few racks of spares this weekend and noticed something during the process. I've had the Smokey Mountain 3 years now and have always been amazed at its ability to hold a temperature between 230*-260* for hours on end. During this smoke, though, I noticed that the temp was running 270*-300*. Thought maybe it was the wind blowing (weather up here has been awful lately!). When i was cleaning the charcoal bowl and put the center section back on, i noticed a gap between the 2 pieces - the center section seemed to become a slight oval. Why would this happen. The only thing I have done different lately is to use sand in the water pan. Could the weight of the sand have pushed out the sides of the center section? What now? /infopop/emoticons/icon_eek.gif