I am new to using the Smokey Mountain Cooker.

I have used an old cooker that called for about 10 pounds of charcoal
to cook a 12 pound turkey. I put all the charcoal in and just checked
the water pan once or twice. It seemed to work well.

The Smokey Mountain Cooker instructions recommend two layers of
charcoal for cooking the turkey. . Have you found this to be the right
amount of charcoal to start with or do you add much more? How often
have you found you need to check and add fuel?

I have not used a meat thermometer with my previous smoker. Do you
find that you can still read the thermometer if it is left in the
cooker? Does the thermometer window smoke over? Any specific brand
recommendations?

Thanks,
PaulF