Help a newb out with his first smoke (with a WSM)

Tomorrow I'll be popping my cherry with my new 18" WSM. I plan on making a thread with pics but before I do, I need a little input.

On the menu: Babyback Ribs + Polish Kielbasa

Its going to be in the low to mid 30s tomorrow. I plan on firing it via the minion method (Kingsford Blue + water in water pan) and have read the directions in the Operating Tips section. My question is how many hot coals should I start with?

I was thinking about 30 based on the writeup. Too much? Not enough?

Hey Gregg you'll love it I use my WSM as you describe: <UL TYPE=SQUARE>1 Chimney unlit<LI>1 chimney lit<LI>1.5 gals boiling H2O[/list] It'll be a "walk in the park"

Adding to my post above ...I use the full chimney of lit and the boiling water to get a jump on the 30* outside air temp... you should have left over coals for your next smoke

Coming from a horizontal smoker, a full chimney of lit seems a little excessive. And a full chimney of unlit doesn't seem like enough. Interesting.

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Gregg M.:
I was thinking about 30 based on the writeup. Too much? Not enough? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Yeah that's about right. It's best to start out on the low side as you want to catch the temps on the way up. Not sure what your target temp is, but you'll want to start closing the bowl vents about 25º below your target cooking temp. If you do over shoot it, don't sweat it, your food will still turn out good. Times and temps are just guidelines. i.e. if you were shooting for 250º and it's running at 275º, means your ribs will be done sooner that's all. Some of us here cook most of our meats at higher heat, so no worries. It's all good. Ribs do really well at high heat. HTH

Just a couple thoughts. Not sure on the size of your WSM, but since this isn't a long cook (i know 5-6 hrs seems long) I would watch how much water you add. If you have a 22", probably half a pan of boiled water would be enough. No sense paying to heat extra water.

As you have probably read... just don't over-react to changes. It takes time for vent adjustments to kick in. Cooking anywhere from 225 to 325 can make great Q... only difference is the finish time.

I would start with probably around 30 briq's to start with your set up. Just make sure you allow them to get good and going before you dump them.