Yes, I put the thermometer on the outside and on the bottom of the "oven" bucket. I had a couple of them that they sell to tell you how hot the top of a wood stove is. I judged when it was done by the lack of smoke coming out of a small hole in the bottom of the "oven" bucket. I've toyed with the idea of putting a vent, like the air intake on a wood stove, to better control the temperature. I don't know if it would be of an advantage or not. I would guess it took about 45 minutes to an hour to cook the charcoal. The paint can was filled with willow limbs from about 2 inches in diameter to about 1/2 inch. All of them were charcoal to the center. No undercooked ones.