Howdy, again !!!
I'm following you around temporarily........just over saying welcome to your 1st posting......
Might could start in just a tad sooner.......I dump coals in (using a starter chimney) when they're still a bit orange & for a grilling like burgers, cap the lid with all the vents open top & bottom for a few minutes so the cooker concentrates the heat & the cooking grate gets a chance to heat up good....
If you are doing several rounds of cooking, you could perhaps lay in a bed of unlit coals, then dump the lit ones on top & adjust the vents on the bottom pinched down a little to account for the extra load of coals.....this again is assuming you're using the chimney starter.....the idea here is the lit coals give you your 1st heat & as the unlit begin to then catch on, the heat continues......may take a few runs at it to get the hang of it & keep your temperature where you'd like, but it's easier than it sounds describing it over the phone like this !!!
Now, if you're lighting the charcoal right in the kettle, there's still ways to get things extended in terms of heat...........you can light a goodly pile & set in some unlit NEXT to it, then as your get up to the heat you'd like to be cooking at, bridge the gap with a few lit ones & start the unlit ones to catching on.................
Other things to consider:
Make sure to store your charcoal in a dry, closed area / container....the stuff is like a sponge for moisture & can give you fits keeping it lit when damp.....
If you find, like this 1st time, you ran short, make a mental note, or better yet, write a few notes about how many lit, how long before beginning to cook, etc.
This gives you some basis to check back on....
Set up your coals on one side of the grate so you have a hot grilling area & light a few more than you think, based on your previous cookups.....this gives your two areas: a hot direct grilling area & a cooler (not over the coals) indirect area to fall back on if needed, or for more extended cooking......
Hope I'm not just driveling over stuff that's all obvious, let me know if some photos would help, or if I'm explaining well enough?