Hi Jake - I have very limited experience using a pellet tube in my #3 but I did use it once to save a fish smoke I did where I couldn't get my chips to ignite on low heat. For that I used a tube that I put into the SI firebox. The tube I used had been flattened with the intent of standing the oval on edge to limit the amount of smoke with fewer lit pellets as I recalled reading some folks thought the tubes put out too much smoke. As it turns out the flattened tube fits nicely inside the firebox laying flat. I was pleasantly surprised that the tube stayed lit. I say give it try. Not sure how much that helps.