I have a Brinkmann charcoal smoker and the problem I find with it is that it is hard to regulate the temperature. It stays way to hot to actually smoke meat. I have tried jerky and sausage and have had much better luck with the jerky. What I do is get the charcoal going then add the chips, once the smoke starts pouring I put my jerky strips in for one hour only. I try to smoke them pretty heavy for the one hour and then transfer the venison from smoker right to the dehydrator until it finishes. That seems to work good for me but it just takes some practice. Like I said, I havent been able to smoke the sausage at a low enough temperature to get good flavor. I am considering going with an electric smoker this winter.