@steph746 So many questions, so little time. I never use my GA for longer than 5 minutes (that's about how long a Weber "cube" burns, so ...). I never put hot coals directly onto my coal grate. They always go into some type of basket ... I like the enamel on my kettles w/o heat crazing lines. As for charcoal; pick the temp that you want to cook at, then that will tell you how many lit-coals you will need, then pick the cook duration, and that will tell you how many un-lit coals you will need. You control the burn rate w/ your vent dampers.
@Troy @1buckie Gentlemen, I couldn't find the post's that you did on charcoal amounts (lit vs un-lit) and amounts for specific temp ranges. Might be useful for some of the newer kettle cooks to get a handle on the "art of the kettle"
SJ