Sorry, I tried to respond earlier & we're having some strange I-net interruptions here...
1)" Are you starting the chain with a propane burner or adding a few lit coal on one end?"
No propane was consumed in the making of this movie.....
In the 1st ( or "Beef" ) set of pics, the one of the coals, is after it had burned a very short time, just warming the cooker, right before grate & meat went on......
Noticeable thing is that it's burning clockwise, whereas this one, for pork, is burning counter-clockwise ~~>
Myself & some of the daffy friends over at Smoke Ring have sort of, without a vote, decided that
the burns should alternate between counter-clockwise and clockwise so as to not rip a hole in the space~ time continuum....
Pork one way, beef the other was my contribution to this excersise in theoretical physics
Which then leads to......
2) "Do you use a drip pan under the meat"
Yes, almost always a pan, but for drip beans ~~>
Actually, this shows a resonable representation of the progression around the ring ~~>
Lotsa drip....
Ladle some of it out, then mix in for some rich, porky goodness....
And 2a)
"and has grease dripping down and burning ever been a issue? "
No, 'cause it's in the center, not really above any coals, just dripping into the beans....
And 3)
"Also, have you ever had a problem with the lump sparking and starting the burn further down the line before you wanted it to?"
No, not really jumping ahead, but I've goofed & spilled coals back against the other end ( these almost always start at 8-9-10PM & even with yard lights & flashlites & additional temporary work lights, sometimes it's hard to see exactly what went on ) & started burning BOTH directions at once......
This is why I've taken to always checking 1/2 ~ 3/4 hour into the cook, just in case !!!
In looking up pix to answer, here's some more of slow tri-tip ~~>
This is about 1/2 hour in, temp is @ 190° & the unsweetened cocoa is not even melted yet.....
Creeper cook, just what I'm lookin' for....
When they pull in clumps, like so, it's not quite where I'd like it to be, just 1/2 to 1 hour longer will make it fall into strands, like the 3rd pic ~~~>
I've kinda wandered off into the ' Not just a beef recipe' trees here, so I don't know if this mess should be moved elsewhere, but I should probably be quiet now....
~~~~> Ken