This is a great  smoker. It can hold something along the size of a large slab of ribs. I put it together in about 30min. I would give it 5 stars but there are some gaps in it. I used some High Heat caulk to fill those gaps. Once i did that it holds heat very well. Being just me, my wife and daughter this is a very good size for us. I use lump charcoal to get the fire going and then chunks of wood(usually apple) to keep it going. Being smaller it heats evenly and cool quickly when the fire is out.