Thanks for the compliment. About the vents, when I first began building the grill the vents were on the back of the grill. My thinking was that the heat would be too much if on the front. However, the vent is not there to allow heat to escape, its there to add air to the fire in the fire box, thus the vents are drawing. To the top of the vent its four inches, I sell charcoal grates for these grills and the grate is 4 inches tall creating an excellent air pocket for the vents to feed the fire. I thought that having all controls for the smoker and grill on the front allowed the grill master or cook to fine tune his pit without the hassle of moving around to much. Convenience