Uneven wood burning

[delvanhorn]

Seasoned my new #3 with the wood chunks included with smoker.  Attached is a pic of the residue after a 4 hour smoke @ 225˚ showing good burn in the middle of the smoker box but very little at either end - is this uneven burn pattern normal for this smoker?

 

[LarryD]

The middle probably got hotter and/or had more air-flow which enabled that chunk to catch on fire.  I'm in the camp that says it's highly preferable to not your chunks catch on fire.  Instead, you want to have lumps of charcoal when you're done much like the ones on either end.  You can avoid putting chunks in the hot spot and/or use some foil to help prevent combustion.