OK, here I go. For the past couple of years, I've been making some pretty
passable Q with my Mecco electric bullet. I finally got around to digging
out an old ECB from the shed that my dad gave me a while back. This thing
is at least 20 years old. Anyway, I did the modifications to it and all
seems to be well. A couple of questions:

The threaded stock that I got at Ace wasn't labelled as 'galvanized'. How
would I know otherwise? How dangerous is it to use galvanized? It seems
that the only part of the stock that would heat up at all would be right
where it goes through the fire pan. Would it actually heat up enough to be
an issue? I don't smell any 'off' smells, if that means anything.

Can I add the lump to the existing fire without burning it in the chimney
first? Or should I burn it down like I did the first load?

Is there a way to cool the thing down besides opening the door on the side?
When I add a new load of lump, the temp spikes to 280+ for a while. I know
that isn't the end of the world, but I'd like to work on my temp
control...Damn, the electric was a whole lot easier to keep between 200-250!

Thanks for all the past help, and for any light you can shed on my current
plight. Next thing you know, you b**tards will have me buying a Kamado...

David

--
"If husbands are expected to go to work and earn money and visit relatives
they don't like, why can't wives put out on demand?
- Dr. Laura Schlessinger