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Problems with my new WSM 18.5

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flyinion

flyinion

Smoke Blower
Original poster
Jul 9, 2012
117
12
Sacramento, CA
So I've noticed a couple things since I got my new WSM last Saturday.  Both Saturday and Monday night after using it I noticed the inside is turning a light brown (like the color of the navigation bar on this website with the "Home" "Smokers & More" etc. links).  The Saturday smoke was just an empty smoker except for the old sausage I stuck a temp probe through to monitor temperature. 

The 2nd thing I noticed is I wait till the next day after everything is cool to clean the grates and water pan (don't know if this is part of the problem) and when I pull everything apart the charcoal section has water at the bottom in the ashes.  The first time I assumed it was because I used the hose to refill the water pan during the dry run and thought I splashed some over the side maybe.  I didn't refill the pan on Monday though so it should have been dry (and I filled the pan before putting it in at the start). 

I assume I'm doing something wrong to get light brown "curing" and water in the bottom but I'm not sure what it is.  The only thing I could find on water in the bottom was from people dumping their water pan or from rain, neither applies in my case.
 
The browning is normal, it will quickly turn black like my smokehouse:

New:

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Now:

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The water?  Could be a couple things... opening and closing the unit is enough to jiggle it to slosh the water even an inch if the pan is full, causing the spill; put less water in the pan.  Refilling again can cause sloshing too.  Do you need water in your pan for moisture, or can you replace it with some plain play sand which does a great job stabilizing your temps too, or just leave the water out and line the pan with foil to catch drips, too.
 
I could try it dry.  I'm pretty sure (99.99%) that nothing was spilled this last time.  I did a little more searching and it sounds like closing all the vents up and leaving the water pan in there could be the culprit causing condensation.  I think in the future I will remove the water pan at least before closing everything up to kill the remaining coals and maybe even leave the top vent open and just close the bottom ones.  I'm not sure if this condensation is contributing to the brown coating though.
 
What kind of charcoal and wood are you using? I could see it turning black like Pops said but light brown seems a bit unusual. I've only run 1 6 hours smoke through mine so far and the inside is getting that nice crusty black "cure" but no light brown. I usually leave the smoker to cool over night without cleaning. That way any condensation gets soaked up by the charcoal ashes. Then the next day I dump the ashes and clean it up real good before covering it.
 
I've never heard of having water in the charcoal pan in the ashes except with condensation, spilling or leaving it out in the rain.  If it has been really humid then condensation is your answer.  As long as you empty all the ash and water out and let it dry you'll be fine.

As Pops said the browning is normal.  The WSM will season over time.  If there is a large build up of the brown gunk it can flake off though so brushing the lid with a wire brush or ball of foil before a cook will take care of that.

When I store my WSMs I leave the top vent open to keep it from getting stagnant.  I always cover it or put it in the shed after the ash has been removed.

These are hardy cookers so no worries.
 
The brown color is normal especially since you have only a couple of smokes on your WSM. It will darken over time. The lid will have brown flakes and you should definitely brush it off each time before you smoke so you don't get those flakes on the food.

The water is definitely condesation. I always try to clean the same day but that isn't always possible. When I have left it for more than a day I have had water in the bottom. Of course here in Florida it is always very humid. Once I clean it out and reassemble the WSM I do close all the vents and put the cover back on and have never had any problems and it is ready to go for the next smoke.

There are many WSM owners that do not use water in the bowl and use the sand or clay saucer method so you may want to look into that as well. Good Luck!
 
indyadmin1974 said:
I've never heard of having water in the charcoal pan in the ashes except with condensation, spilling or leaving it out in the rain.  If it has been really humid then condensation is your answer.  As long as you empty all the ash and water out and let it dry you'll be fine.

As Pops said the browning is normal.  The WSM will season over time.  If there is a large build up of the brown gunk it can flake off though so brushing the lid with a wire brush or ball of foil before a cook will take care of that.

When I store my WSMs I leave the top vent open to keep it from getting stagnant.  I always cover it or put it in the shed after the ash has been removed.

These are hardy cookers so no worries.
Click to expand...
Yeah it doesn't get humid in Sacramento in the summer, that's why I was so stumped about the water in the bottom because I know for sure I didn't spill any this time.  I got done cooking, closed up all the vents, then it sat from Monday night until last night (Wednesday) before I got a chance to clean it with all the vents still close.  Hmmm, now I have another thought.  Since it sat for two days, maybe the 90+ degree heat Tuesday during the day caused some of the water pan to evaporate and then cool overnight temps caused it to condense and run into the water pan since I had all the vents closed and the moist air would have had nowhere to go.  I think I'm definitely going to try emptying the water pan immediately next time before I close everything up and see what happens.
rob989_69 said:
What kind of charcoal and wood are you using? I could see it turning black like Pops said but light brown seems a bit unusual. I've only run 1 6 hours smoke through mine so far and the inside is getting that nice crusty black "cure" but no light brown. I usually leave the smoker to cool over night without cleaning. That way any condensation gets soaked up by the charcoal ashes. Then the next day I dump the ashes and clean it up real good before covering it.
Click to expand...
The two times I've lit it now, I've used Kingsford Competition briquettes, filling about 1/2 full, then lighting with Minion method and a few handfuls of Weber branded hickory and cherry chips (leftovers) scattered on the coals.  I'm probably going to switch to the RO lump this weekend when I do either a butt or a some ribs (haven't decided which) and pick up some chunk wood for smoke.
 
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