Start at the beginning. Red chili has wildly different characteristics depending on where the field is located. New Mexico red chili is the best IMHO. The largest growing region is around Hatch, NM then extends from Hatch south to Las Cruces. The second region is around Albuquerque. Both of these are irrigated lands along the Rio Grande river. They each have distinctively different flavors but both are good.
Hit these valleys in the fall harvest season and buy your years supply by the pound. Roadside vendors setup chili roasters for the harvest season. A marvelous chili is grown in the Chimayo valley north of Santa Fe. About the only way to get this chili is to by farmer run roadside stand or more likely the back of a pickup truck. Farmer grown and roasted. Very dark red color and a smokey flavor.
My recipe was learned from my grandmother. Simple and good. Hamburger, tomato sauce, white onion, garlic and red chili. Pinto beans are cooked on the side and added to the pot about an hour before serving or at serving time directly into the bowl. Drain and rinse the beans and ladle into the chili. BTW, you can brighten up the flavor by adding a small amount of diced green chili while cooking.
For the liquid, I didn't figger this out until I was older and in college. Towards high school age, curiosity hit me on why was there often beer in the refrigerator and neither of my grand parents drank the stuff. Finally I caught grandmother and my aunt putting Coors in the chili, no water! Now I knew the secret ingredient.
Using roasted red chili is not a simple thing of just adding a fixed amount. You can tailor the heat level by how much is added but keep in mind that the heat level varies from one crop year to another and one field to another. When your adding chili to the pot, avoid adding to a level that is “hot”. As the chili simmers, it's going to get hotter and you run the risk of going nuclear. Add chili until there's a small bite then stop. Calibrate your next pot of chili to add a little more or less roasted chili to get perfection. Lol…
Back to the beer - This is important. First, you don't want to run out of beer. When topping the stew pot or crockpot with liquid, only use beer. Be sure to reserve some beer for yourself and any nosey helper. Later when the liquid needs topping up, it's always one for the pot and one for the cook. Can't go wrong. From start to table ready, I budget 5-6 hours. This length of time lets the flavor bloom nicely.