Bill,on my diamond plate the tempetures over the snouts is about 15 deg cooler than the temps at the front of the pit,which to me isn't a big deal.When I first got my diamond plate the rear temps were about 30-35deg. cooler than the front so I drilled 2 sets of 1" holes in the snouts,2 at the 10 O'clock position and 2 at the 2 O'clock position that evened it out to about a 15 deg difference from front to rear.Your temps should be cooler over the snouts(near the rear) unless there are holes already drilled into them,that is how I was told,(and it worked for me)to even front and rear temps on the diamond plate smoker.Hope this helps.