I put chunks in both the hopper and the ash bin.
I layer in the hopper, but only three or so layers. I try to put a chunk near the bottom that will provide smoke at the very start of the cook.
In the ash bin, I suspend chunks on a piece of expanded metal that's sitting on firebrick. This keeps them up out of the ash and they get enough air around them to flame. This produces stick burner type smoke. I keep feeding chunks every 30 minutes or so to the ash bin. These won't start producing smoke till well into the cook. It takes some time for enough embers to fall to get them going.
I like to empty the hopper before every cook by pulling out the charcoal grate and letting the coals drop into a bucket. Then I can reload the hopper with fresh chunks in the right place.
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