I really don't have any further information to share on this. I would say that it appears to be consuming less, but I don't have anything concrete to base that on. It may just be that I cried "the sky is falling" too quickly, and now that I've gotten used to the pit a bit more, I've come to terms that it takes fuel to burn a fire. *GASP*, I know. And while I would love this thing to politely nibble on pellets, I'd much rather have consistent and steady temps. So I'm now willing to say "it is what it is" and just make sure I've got an extra bag around if setting out on a 14+ hour cook. Sorry I couldn't give you the answer you were looking for.