Last night I put my amaze-n-tube on top of my cooking grate above my vortex while doing wings. It worked great and gave me tons of smoke but I noticed my temps weren't as high as usual. I took the tube off of the grill and then my temps went back up to the expected range. I think the smoke that the tube was producing was actually choking out the coals in the vortex. I'd maybe give you amaze-n-tray another shot but leave your lid cracked a little bit to allow more air to come in. Also, I found that alcohol gel works really good for getting my pellets lit, and I have to let them flame for 3-5 minutes before putting the lid on, otherwise they tend to go out. I'm assuming you are using your tray for cold smoking so having your lid cracked to give it more air wouldn't be a factor as far as maintaining temp.