Hope I can Help
What’s Lump do you use?
RI usually cook with Rockwood or Royal Oak. Rockwood (RW) is a great lump with little smoke getting in the way. Royal Oak (RO) is easy to get (Home Depot) and cost about $12 a 20# bag in my area. If $$ wasn't an issue I would cook with RW everyday.
Why so many Eggs?
Thats what my wife says all the time. It is a problem I will admit. It is nice to have 2 eggs going at once - one for the meat and one for the Potatoes or Veggies. Also,itis nice having ones that can travel easily.
How long does intake to get the Egg to temp?
Really depends on the type of cook and weather I am reusing the lump or not. Wait you can reuse Lump??? Yes you can, give it a quick stir (then cool) and fire it up. Lump that has already been fired once will lite quicker and smoke less.
As for how long, watch the LS video - that took about 25 min for the smoke to clear but up to an hour to truly stabilize. For a Chicken cook I would give it at least 30 minutes for the smoke to burn clean and to come to temperature.
How do I transport my Eggs?
Often I will travel with one of my Eggs. Over the past 3 years (at one point) all of my Eggs have travelled with me; from the XL to the MiniMax. I drive a Honda Pilot (or Mini Van) and they fit just fine. I usually remove the inside ceramics to lower the weight when lifting. Once in the back of the Pilot ( I always have help lifting) I put the parts back in (along with other items for cooking) close, Cover it and strap them down with 2-3 straps. The key is to make sure it can’t move and nothing will damage the sides. Trust me being able to travel with an XL takes some space but when you are trying to cook for larger groups the grill real estate is nice to have. The other option is to strap the Egg into a set using the safety belt but I would use extra strap because you don’t want a damaged Egg!