Mini Weber Smokey Mountain Test Run Data

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bdskelly

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Feb 3, 2013
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With the unit now built I decided to season it and run some testing on the unit. I'll be doing some actual smoking this weekend. 

This unit is built with a Weber Smokey Joe Gold. I used B&B charcoal briquettes for the seasoning and test. 

This is the last time this MWSM will be this clean!


The initial load on the smoker was 24 briquetes unlit in the hopper and 12 briquets lit in a Weber chimney.



As a side note I'm seasoning with apple.

 

For seasoning, all vents are wide open at this time. It took the MWSM 45 minutes to reach a temperature of 335. I held that temperature for i hour before making any vent adjustments.  Needless to say I was very pleased at how quickly the unit went to high temp.

Durring this test cycle only the side vents of the lower unit were adjusted. The top vent remained wide open. Fuel = 36 briquets 

Hour 1. All vents wide open. Maintaining temp at 335. 

Hour 2. Side vents both half way. Within 15 minutesTemp lowered to 302 and maintained.

Hour 3, Side vents open 1/4 way. Temp lowers to 285 and maintains. 

Hour 4. One vent 1.4 one closed. Temp lowers to 258 and maintains. 

Hour 5. Both vents closed. Temp lowers 237.

        *At this time I loaded 4 more briquets into the hopper. 

Hours 6-7 Both vents closed. Temp maintained between 237 and 222. ...Showing to be very stable for 2 hours. 

Hour 8. One side vent open half way. Temp lowering to 218 as the unit runs out of fuel. 

Once the temps were lowered from seasoning to cooking the units was very stable needing little attention to keep it at the 235 - 220 range.  It is remarkable how little charcoal the unit needs for a long smoke. Remember I only used 40 briquets for over 8 hours of heat. And I'll point out that most of the fuel was spent seasoning the unit at much higher temperature than I usually smoke at. 

Brian
 
Thanks for the run down.  When I finally get my steamer, I guess I'll have to season the smoker.  I went with the silver since I plan on using it as a grill also, not just a smoker.
 
One last thing.  The only squawk I had was the Brinkman Thermometer I installed on the side.  As you can see it's just a tad bit off.  LIKE 100 DEGREES OFF!  …pos

 
 
One last thing.  The only squawk I had was the Brinkman Thermometer I installed on the side.  As you can see it's just a tad bit off.  LIKE 100 DEGREES OFF!  …pos

Another reason why I'll never install a dial therm!

I am surprised that you didn't get above 400°. I can consistently hit well above 400° if needed. I have found that the real sweet spot for my Mini is 265°. The mini is super efficient and the main reason I don't use my UDS (which is efficient too). I have a hard time justifying firing up the beast for the small cooks that we do!
 
Update.  As said earlier the only issue with my MWSM was that I elected tot buy an $8 Brinkman dial thermometer that was defective. Got what I paid for...  While traveling to Florida this week a new Taylor thermometer was delivered by Amazon. (Sorry to say it came by UPS and not one of those nifty helicopter drones!  LOL)

Any who I expect this to fix my problem.  I'll will always use my Maverick Remote but wanted the dial in working order for a quick check… (Okay. Confession time.  I'm a bit compulsive when crap breaks or won't work. It has to be fixed at all cost! LOL)

I've been asked to smoke wings again today.  I'll give it a test then. If I have anymore issues I'll report them.  But I expect it to be trouble free for many years of smoking. 

Brian

 
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Good deal Brian...it's nice having a good dial therm.

Case there are some good therms out there, lots of times i just don't wan't to bother with the remote on some cooks.  River Country is really good  and i calibrated my manlaw so it's much better now. 
 
Good deal Brian...it's nice having a good dial therm.

Case there are some good therms out there, lots of times i just don't wan't to bother with the remote on some cooks.  River Country is really good  and i calibrated my manlaw so it's much better now. 

The main thing I dislike about having a fix mounted therm in the mini is that I like to put things on the bottom rack that require most the space. Like last night I had a foil pan full of Au jus that I wouldn't have been able to put in or take out had there been a probe protruding into that area. Just my preference. Also when I did my whole shoulder ham, I wouldn't have been able to get it in there if I had a fixed probe.
 
 
Another reason why I'll never install a dial therm!

I am surprised that you didn't get above 400°. I can consistently hit well above 400° if needed. I have found that the real sweet spot for my Mini is 265°. The mini is super efficient and the main reason I don't use my UDS (which is efficient too). I have a hard time justifying firing up the beast for the small cooks that we do!
Oh yeah…  

 
I have been scouring through all these threads preparing and planning my build.  The one thing I cannot seem to find is how you add more fuel once your smoke is going.  I have not used this style of smoker before so I'm guessing I am just missing the obvious here.

Thanks
 
I just pull off the pot by the handles add fuel and put the pot back on, I dont lose much heat and the Mini recovers very fast.
 
Still waiting on my smokey Joe gold from amazon but I will be making my just like yours BDskelly but I also have a question is there enough room on that bottom rack or would u have gone a 1inch higher on the top rack or its good enough?
 
Still waiting on my smokey Joe gold from amazon but I will be making my just like yours BDskelly but I also have a question is there enough room on that bottom rack or would u have gone a 1inch higher on the top rack or its good enough?
I think you will be surprised how much room you have if you go with the measurements provided.   I can get split chickens between the lower and top rack.  Looking forward to seeing your build!

Brian
 
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