how much lump for a 8-9 hour turkey smoke?

i'm guessing you are going low and slow, i ran 20 hours with it full to the top of the fire ring with enough lump left over to do steaks and burgers a few times afterwards.  

From trial and error, any smoke generated will only permiate the meat of what ever kind only about a 1/4". Or until the skin starts to brown or a sear/barks forms. Low and slows are for tough cuts of meat. Turkey is not one of them. Plus adding to much smoke will make it taste acrid or bitter.

Fill it all the way up.   When your done, shut off the vents, put the fire out.   You will have lump left over.

 

I have the same question and see a lot of responses are 'fill er up' So what exactly is 'filled up'
The BGE site shows up to the top of the fire box ceramic bowl. Others indicated to the top of the fire ring, which I believe to be the 4 inch separate ring that rests on top of the fire box and is what the plate setter rests on top of. I have had my first two cooks that got cool and I think it was due to not enough lump.

Thanks! The first time I just ran out of coals, the second time the temp dropped from 250 to below about 225. I tried opening the top flu wide with not much result. Finally, after looking at the meat with the lid wide open for a couple of minutes, ( and the lower air intake wide open ) the temp rose back to 250 plus. Later I found that this time there had been plenty of lump left over as I used more on the second cook.

This question is impossible to answer with out knowing what temperature you plan to cook your turkey and how much it weighs. If in question just fill to the top of the fire ring.

@rbierman - the remote takes the temp at one spot on the cook, that is wherever you have it inserted. The thermapen provides a quick (<second) read any where you insert it. Great for small pieces like wings, chicken legs ('cause you test each one) burgers and steaks. If soing a whole bird, you can check it in many spots, the thigh joint the breast etc... Two different tools for two different jobs. At $80 the Thermapen is well worth it. 

I am confused too about the proper level to fill the Egg with charcoal.  The video on the BGE website shows only to the top of the piece that has the metal plate with the holes in the bottom.  I did this for my turkey today and it started to cool off before the turkey was done.  Checked and the coals were low.  Added some more that was started in the chimney type starter and finished the cooking without any other problems.  I was cooking at 325 for a 14 pound brined  bird calculating about 12 minutes a pound  in a medium BGE using BGE lump charcoal which was started in a chimney type starter.  I used the plate setter, the bird was in a pan filled with onions, garlic, celery, carrots, peppercorns, fresh herbs, chicken stock and apple peels. It was excellent. Does using the chimney type starter burn the charcoal too fast hence causing the coals to burn up more quickly? Someone mentioned sorting the charcoal into large and small pieces for different types of cooking. Is this a good general rule? From what I have read it is ok to fill the BGE more than the BGE website says to do. Yes, No? Thanks <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

I fill up to the top of the fire box (bottom of the 4 inch ring) and have never had a problem either on high burn like pizza, or low and slow, like a 12 hour pork butt roast. Just my two cents.