Hey Smoke,
Those are great questions. I actually cut the clips from this video that actually addressed those questions because I thought that it was running too long. The original collection of video was approximately 17 minutes.
Actually, to arrive at cooking temperature takes about 1 hour and sometimes less. If I keep the lid to the pit closed while even the lid to the firebox and the door to the fire box are open the pit will heat to 150 degrees quickly. This takes about 30 minutes. Then I put small pieces of wood on top of the coals, close the lid to the fire box, leave the door open and that will bring the pit to 215 to 225 plus degrees within 15 minutes. Then I put one of my larger logs on the fire, which are approximately 11 to 12 inches long and 6 inches wide. Because the firebox and the coals are so nice and hot now, this catches within a minute. I then close the door to the firebox with the vents wide open and within a few minutes, I turn the vents to 50 per cent. I have been keeping the temp at 225 degrees which is a nice comfortable temperature to cook ribs or anything. That big piece will last almost 2 hours, at which time, I will add another piece of wood or two smaller pieces of wood depending on what I have, adjust the damper to wide open and let it run for 10 minutes and back down to 50 per cent.
The Maverick Remote: the Maverick will never be in sync with the thermometer in the lid. I go by the thermometer in the lid. There usually is a 25 degree difference between the Lid and the Maverick where the Lid indicates 225 and the Maverick indicates 200. However, if I see the Maverick rise in my home, I know that the Lid has also risen. The converse is also true. When the Maverick starts to decline by 7 to 10 degrees, then I know it is time to put another log on the fire or open the damper. I usually add the log and open the damper, come back in five minutes and close the damper to 50 per cent.
For the last hour to hour and a half, I add no fuel. If the pit is running at 225, I just keep opening the damper to keep that temperature or the door, till I remove the food. I do this on purpose so that the coals will burn down and eventually, later that evening the unit will be cool to the touch. The next morning, I empty the unit and cover it. However, while the unit is still hot, I clean the pit, grates and heat management plate, because it is easier to remove grease and other collections with a paper towel and a scraper while the metal is warm. Yes, I wear gloves, but my unit is always clean and ready to go. It's a brainwashed thing.
I generally use between 4 to 6 spits of wood for a six hour cook. A bag (1.5 cubic feet) will last a month. A split an hour is a good rule of thumb. However, as I said earlier, if the piece is large like the one I added above, you can easily get 1.5 to 2 hours out of it at 225 degrees. Hotter or higher temperatures will, of course, require more fuel. I seem to like 225 for beef or pork ribs and 250 for a whole chicken.
I originally titled this video: "Starting a Wood Fire and Maintaining Temperature" But I cut it back when I edited it. I did not think anyone would even want to view it at 14 minutes except those who had a real interest. But, if we have a library some where on this site, this might be good reference material. I could always add the those clips back in to this video or cut a new one just on maintaining a fire. But, I did think of that.
Too bad, we could not collaborate on a video. I am sure that with you knowledge and experience you could fill the gaps.
I hope that this answers your questions.
Ed