That's the beuty of mine , you can use gas or propane .
I had a Charbroil smoker similar to the Brinkman that was charcoal only and hated it , you only get about a 3 hour burn from it and if you want to cook longer you have to have pre-lit coals waiting when the first ones burn out . Fine for smoking , lousy for slow cooking . I prefer lump charcoal when I use charcoal at all , a local store that carries the "Best Choice" private label brand has 10 lb. bags of it for $4 . I use hickory and mesquite chips sometimes , but most of the time I get smoker pellets from Wal-Mart in various fruit or nut woods and put measured amounts in rolled foil chubs that last about an hour each so that I can precisely control the flavor . You don't have to soak pellets , and you just pitch the chub when it's cooked out .