gdenby, thanks i used just a sheet of tinfoil with rolled edges, no drip pan. i throw it out the next day when it's cold and congealed. only issue with the plate setter the way i did it was that i have a smoke fetish (with regard to ribs, i mean!), and a couple times when it stopped smoking for a while, i might have been tempted to lift the lid and jiggle some wood into the fire. couldn't do that here since the fire was almost covered
