This thing had a bunch of surface rust that sanded off just fine, repainted it and installed a thermometer (not pictured), seasoned the inside with some oil, and decided to do my first cook on it a few nights ago. I was fighting the temperature the whole time, it was either too hot or too cold...admittedly, I'm not super experienced with charcoal, but I've always had this inexplicable want for a DIY barrel grill like this. Have myself convinced that I can make it work, but I need some experienced advice on how to get it to work with me, not against me. Youtube and Google aren't much help. Open to all pointers, as long as it's not "buy a new grill". I will in due time, I'm viewing this as a starter to get me into it.