Welcome to the family, Jason! You'll find yourself using this SO much more than your old poor-man's methods! I was very much the same way (except for a brief stint with a Brinkman R2D2 charcoal smoker, which was a real nightmare). I would only smoke something a couple of times a year. Once I entered the world of Lazy Q, with a Smokin-It smoker, I couldn't believe what I'd been missing!
You'll love the ease of use, easy setup and clean, and the minimal "human intervention" required to make some really stellar Q! Instead of the
process of cooking, you can now focus on the prep of the meat, the wood selection (much more true smoke flavor, when not competing with the heat source), and refining your recipes. Shoot, the prep in the kitchen is the hardest part of using these! If I could figure out a way to Lazy Q that part (other than have the wife do it), I'd really be set!
Let us know how we can help - that's how we roll around here!