Need help with starting WSM

Hey DML85...sometimes these things happen - but yes, those 10 coals should have been white hot before you dropped them on the pile.

I've been working with a WSM for a couple years now and I did the same thing yesterday (got in a hurry because of the impending storm)...I was looking for 275* to 300* to do my turkey (only takes about 3 hours and is moist, juicy, and delicious).

I dumped 12 partially lit coals onto my Minion pile and the thing just sat there.  Fortunately I remember that if you leave the top off of the WSM for too long, say while foiling your ribs, when the top goes back on the temp goes way high!!!  So, I just took the lid off for a few minutes, dropped it back on, and shazam!  The temp started going up just like I expected.  

Good luck and good smoking

Bill

I use this method with great success..

10 burning coals...into the soup can pull the can...never have had them all completely burning..


If you dont have a chimney ..get one..use propane to light it from underneath.. (burner or torch)

Easy...

What did ypu pay for it? I am negotiating for a 18.5 inch right now.

I realize this is new to you so give it a few cooks and see how it works for you.  Get used to how it reacts to adjustments. 

I personnaly don't count charcoal pieces.  I just go about half a chimney, let it get good and hot and dump it on top of the ring filled with unlit with vents 100% wide open.  As it heads north of 200* I start closing the vents down to about 50%.  Once it hits 230* I gage the rate of increase and either let the vents go at about 50% or close them further trying not to exceed 250*.  I try to manage between 225* and 250* for most cooks which, on my cooker, usually means the vents are cracked at about 25% each with a alum foil wrapped 16" clay saucer in the water pan (without water).  Once set it holds pretty solid and not much adjustment is required after that.

If I'm heading to 275* to 300* like you - I'd probably gage the rate of increase at about 250* and adjust vents based on the rate of increase.  Also, all vents don't have to be open the same amount.  Based on which way the wind is blowing I close the windward vent and set the other two leeward vents to the temp I am looking for.

For turkey or any other shorter and hotter smoke (as compared to a 18 to 22 hour  225* shoulder smoke), I would not use the minion method. 

The Minion method is designed to stretch the charcoal burn out low and slow for those long overnight smokes.  For a turkey or chicken I would fill the fire ring about 1/2 with unlit and a few chunks of whatever wood I was using. Then fill the chimney completely and get it totally ashed over (ie.... really hot) before dumping on the unlit and wood in the fire ring. Gives you a good spread of lit over the entire fire ring. You can then use the vents to choke the fire back down if you need to, but it should stabilize after about 15 minutes or so.

Bottom vents open and lid off will enhance the chimney effect and really stoke the coals up quickly as was pointed out.  Just be careful because if you are running with no water pan or if you have the clay pot base in, it can be hard to bring it back down once you overshoot your target temp.