Not really a worthwhile experiment in my opinion. Less charcoal just reduces cook time. I’m sure there are guys that try to mod their barrel smokers or PBC’s to run lower temp, but because the meat is sitting directly over the live coals dripping on it, you are more likely to kill the fire by choking oxygen to the point it runs at 200-250 degrees (temp range I like to smoke ring sausage or salmon). Barrel smokers, like all smokers, have strengths and weaknesses. Slow and low is the weakness of barrel smokers. Strengths are reduced cook time, cook capacity hanging on meat hooks, flavor, and ease of use. I’d put them in a different category than smoker and label them power smoker. Doubles as a grill, coal fire pizza cooker, we make cookies on it- it’s a fun toy. Might not be what you are looking for.

I own a PBC, I love it but it is not a low temp smoker. More of a power smoker/ cooker, runs around 290-320 degrees depending on charcoal type and your settings on the air intake. Not ideal temps smoking sauasages or snack sticks. Great for power smoking ribs, brisket, shoulders much faster than a traditional smoker. But not ideal when you are trying to slow smoke thick sausage. I use a cheap electric smoker for small batches of sausage or fish, or when I do big batches of venison ring sausage I smoke it in a homemade 4’x6’ plywood box. The coal basket from the PBC pulls double duty as the heat and smoke generator in the plywood box. Not a lot of rack space for snack sticks, but you can hang 8 racks of ribs or 2 full size hams/turkeys. I love it but might not be what you’re looking for if you just want to smoke sausage.

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Put the Pit Barrel on your list, its charcoal fueled. Extremely easy to use, consistent, very good results. Priced very reasonably. No moving parts or electronics to break or malfunction, just solid steel construction. I’ve had nothing but great results on all of my cooks with it. I also use gas and electric smokers and this one is my top choice for anything but salmon/trout or venison sausage which should be smoked at a lower temp. It does great with cedar plank salmon, but it’s not a traditional smoker in that it cooks at a higher temp for shorter cook times with no sacrifice to moisture in your meat. It can do double duty as a grill with the lid left off, if you want to bring it camping or on a trip. They also have great customer support if you have any questions on cooking anything they are quick to reply to a phone call or email. Made in the USA by military vet, what’s not to like?

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I’ve used all kinds of smokers and my go-to smoker is the Pit Barrel. It is a charcoal fueled smoker, you can either hang meat from the provided hooks or cook on the grate. Add wood for wood flavor. Very easy to use, superb results. It cooks at a higher temp so it cuts down cook times, but it does not sacrifice moisture or flavor. Virtually no learning curve, they have great instructional videos on their website and there are many 3rd party videos out there with videos online for PBC cooks. Stev Raichlen of Project Smoke has some great cook videos online on the PBC. It also pulls double duty as a grill if you bring it camping or on a trip. No electronic components, no moving parts, just solid steel construction. Made by in the USA, owned by a US military vet. Delivered to your door for $299. Only things I don’t use it for would be smoking salmon/trout (which is best done at a lower temp, but it is good at cedar plank salmon) or for smoking venison ring/summer sausage, both of which I either do in an electric/gas smoker or a simple plywood box so I can do longer cooks at much lower temps. Ribs, chicken, brisket, ham, pork shoulder, full turkeys, venison tenderloin… my wife even smokes cookies on a pizza stone on it after dinner is done cooking.

I am very interested in the boat, I’m in MN. Don’t know how to send a PM, but I’d be interested in picking it up if its still available. Let me know how to get a hold of you.