Grey is the color you are looking for. You want all of the coals to be well
lit, not just the bottom ones. When you dump the coals in the grill you
want them all to be burning evenly, not just the ones that were on the
bottom. If you dump before all of them are well lit then you get a slow
start because the smoker won't be up to temp until all of the coals ignite.
When just the lower ones are gray and you dump it takes a while for the
others to catch up. The purpose of the chimney is not only to get the coals
lit but get them lit evenly. I often cheat a little but I always wait until
at least the bottoms of the ones on top are gray.

"mikehende" > wrote in message
lkaboutcooking.com...
> The coals I am using is "Kingsford" brand. To know when the coals are
> ready
> to be put into the grill, do count "minutes", say 10, 15? Or, is there a
> certain "color" for the coals, half "white" or totally white?
>