Had a small little chief smoker for quite a while with the box on and it done a pretty good job till the element failed. Bought a bigger one to use out side and it never got hot enough so I nestled it in fiberglass insulation and it works o.k. I then built a smoker from a frig, and it works great. Be advised that there is a certain minimum temp your smoker should obtain. Smokers are built like car batteries, to last a certain length of time! Raft-Cat