rogan-
this is how i use my weber - always worked fine for the last 20 years or so with multiple weber kettles:
partition the burning area roughly in half;
get a fire going in one half, usually use some newspaper and twigs to get to going, then add a little charcoal, and once that's taken add the charcoal needed for the cook - probably 2kg or so of lumpwood charcoal;
let this get going for about 5-10 mins, leave the lower air control fully open and the lid off
put the lid on and allow the kettle to heat up for another 10-15 mins or so;
ready to cook - use the lid and the lid air flow to regulate the heat, leave the bottom vents open
depending on how much stuff / how long you are cooking, add a bit more charcoal as you go along;
if you want smokey flavour, and one or two pieces of dry (seasoned or kiln dried) hardwood.i let a fair bit of ash build up in the bottom of mine, seems to help things, just give it a bit of a riddle with the bottom air flow vents when it gets too full.
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ChasnotRobert
Surely he means lumpwood charcoal?
@rogan are you just wanting the charcoal to burn hot for grilling or for long slow cooks? Have you used a chimney starter?