Wow, I didn't even know that there was a name for the way I've been smoking for years! LOL
I also have the silver smoker and Woody, the very first time I lit a fire in mine, the paint burned off the bottom of the fire box. When I called Char-Broil about it, their response was kinda "Oh Well"... I went out bought some hi-temp paint and repainted it, no problem. :)
I also only use lump charcoal - typically Royal Oak because I can get it anywhere. I used to use and LOVED B & B Lump Charcoal. That stuff was da BOMB!!! Unfortunately B&B decided to no longer use independent distributors and the shipping costs from Texas to Connecticut was 3 times the cost of the charcoal! I fill the box with about 5 pounds of lump and add a few lit pieces at the door end of the box. I also scatter about 4 or 5 pieces of hickory chunks - front to back. I close the firebox damper all the way (since a ton of air gets in anyway) and close the chimney damper about 80%. I monitor the smoking chamber temp with a Polder probe thermometer with the probe set at the level of the meat (stick the probe thru a small ball of wadded foil and set the probe in the grate). The Polder allows me to set a temperature alarm so that I can be warned if the temp gets too high. I usually set it at 235. If the alarm trips, I close the chimney damper a bit more until the temp goes back down. I can get a good 5 or 6 hours of burn this way. At least when I'm doing a shoulder or brisket, I'm only getting up once in the middle of the night. :)