Attempt #1 at smoking a pork butt

ThePope said:

 So I recently purchased a Weber Smokey Mountain. And this Sunday am going to smoke my first piece of meat. In prep for this I have done a ton of research so that at 4 am Sunday morning I'm not caught by surprise. But after all my research I still don't understand a couple things:

1. How much coal do I use? When do I add more? How much more do I add? And do I add wood chips at the same time? What Ecto said, fill the ring to the top, mix in with the charcoal 8-10 wood chunks. This should burn for 18-20 hours without adding any wood or charcoal.

2. How much wood chips do I add at a time? And after soaking them I can just throw them right on the hot coals? See #1

3. Do I want to keep the water at 1/2 to 3/4 at all times? If so whats the best way to fill it? Fill it to the top, it will last 10-12 hours, then you will need to add more water. Use a garden watering can through the door.

4. So I have the coal nice and hot. I now add the liquid to the pan and the rubbed meat on the tray. Correct? If you are talking about the pan below the meat catching juices & the tray above it, yes.

5. When the temp starts to drop, should I just put in a few pieces of coal, a handful or a scoop? If you fill the ring like we said earlier & start the fire with about 8-10 lit briquettes in the middle you should be able to control the temp with the bottom vents. Keep the lid vent 100% open all the time, When you start your fire open all 3 bottom vents, As the temp approaches 200 degrees, shut 2 of the bottom vents & leave the 3rd one about 3/4 open, when you get around 210 start closing the last vent down, when you get to 225 shut it to about 1/4 open. If the temp starts to drop open it a little. You should be able to stabalize the temp by adjusting the one bottom vent.

Sorry for asking so much. And thank you for your help! If there is anything you think I might be missing being completely new to smoking, feel free to add it! I'm assuming this is a 22.5 WSM, if it's the smaller one the principal is the same except you would only need about 6-8 wood chunks to start with.

Cheers

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