re: Buying my first smoker... need advice **UPDATED 1st smoke w/ pics

I own an 18-1/2" WSM and it is perfect for smoke flavor with little hassle. The website mentined by Kingwood has so much info, and the forum on there offers so many mods it'll make your head spin. I have done the eyelet mod for food and temp probes, pottery plate as a heat sink in the water bowl, and have the door and lid seal kit but have not installed it as of yet. I also own the BBQ Guru auto control system for the long, overnight smokes, but I'm a techie so it may not be worth the investment for many. You will find that your comfort level with the WASM increases the more you use it, and smoking ribs and butts becomes secondary thought. Not many other mods were needed for my use.