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5AM isn't terribly early.
But yes...It is designed to sit on the top of the charcoal ring. I can also probably lay it on the vortex cone that I have for my 26'er as well. I'd like to lightly season it before officially cooking on it. Haven't had time for either, but I am really excited to try out when it's ready to go. I am curious to see how much better it is than simply hanging over coals.
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The only way you can find out how effective the diffuser is to run a side by side comparison using identical charcoal baskets, one with a diffuser and the other without. I don't have the real deal but with the diffuser, smoke and heat are dispersed much more evenly throughout the cooking chamber.
No idea of the diameter for the Hunsaker but i made mine much larger to accommodate a snake and different sizes of baskets ranging from 9" to 18 1/2" in diameter.
Temperature is very consistent throughout. Without the diffuser, the temperature at the top ( lid & top stacker thermometer) along with the lowest thermometer will be much higher than those at the middle.
Left: 20", 12 gauge
Right : 18 1/2", 16 gauge
I prefer the diffuser at roughly 4 1/2"-5" above the charcoal ring.
I use the diffuser for all the different charcoal configurations below.
Snake
18 1/2" basket
9 1/2" basket with drip pan.
12" basket with or without drip pan.