Purchased this as a gift for my Boyfriend, he worked with it a few times without any food in the smoker to make sure he knew how to manage the temperature. Last night he made his first meal, chicken thighs...omg delicious! Nice, easy, cheap, perfect for the beginner smoker. No mods needed. And he's an engineer, so, even if they weren't needed, he'd try to figure out how to improve it, but, not needed with this smoker. Very happy!