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WSM Mods

post #1 of 22
5/16/10 at 2:34am
Thread Starter 
OK... so finally did the two mods I have been meaning to make to my WSM. I have been wanting to put in the hole thru grommets so I can feed in the wires for temperature probes....... But being a cheap-skate I really didn't want to shell out $10 or $15 for the ones from Cajun Bandit. So after wasting many afternoons at work (biggrin.gif) I finally came across parts for repairing lamps, and the rest as they say is history!

Bought 1/8-IP threaded rod ($2.75) at Home Depot and the matching hex nuts ($1.50).


(Sorry not pictures of this part) Drilled two 3/8" holes in WSM, one just below the upper rack and the other just above the lower rack. Drill process was: apply two layers of blue painters tape right were I was going to drill. Hit it with a center punch to keep the drill bit from wandering. Drill holes, then used a chamfering bit to enlarge just a hair and de-burr the holes.

OK... back to pictures. Cut a chunk of the threaded pipe approx. 3/8 long.


Threaded the pipe into the cut hole.... yes threaded, it was such a perfect fit that it threaded in. Then put a nut on the inside and outside of the smoker - mostly for looks. The nuts really don't hold it in place since it threaded in... lol.


Finished look.... did two for now, but I have lots of rod left and lots of nuts, so I could easily make several more if I so desired..... not bad for under $5! biggrin.gif


Some of you may recall a while back I had a problem where if my upper rack was loaded with lots of weight and it got pushed all the way to one side it would slip off the supporting bracket and dump everything onto the bottom rack. So I measured across the brackets.... on way was 22-3/8", the other was 22-3/4"..... and my rack is 22-1/2".... so you can see where the problem arose biggrin.gif. I pulled off the nut on the inside of the smoker and put 3 washers between the support bracket and the wall of the smoker. Now I don't have to worry about the rack flipping and dumping a fully loaded pan of Dutch's Wicked Baked Beans onto my chicken below and into the water pan! That was not a fun clean-up. icon_rolleyes.gif
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post #2 of 22
5/16/10 at 2:38am
clever. I may adopt this idea with some tweaking. thanks!
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post #3 of 22
5/16/10 at 3:02am
Thread Starter 
Cheap and easy! Two very good things. biggrin.gif
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post #4 of 22
5/16/10 at 9:53am

WSM Mods

I made similar mods to my Char Broil Fat Boy using co-axial cable connectors. I cut off one side pf the connector and drilled out the plastic fittings inside the connectors.
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post #5 of 22
5/16/10 at 10:52am
Nice idea points.gif
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post #6 of 22
5/17/10 at 5:06pm
Thread Starter 
Got to use the holes for getting my probe in and out for the first time yesterday doing the brisket smoke. Perfect size! If they were smaller I would have had a bit of trouble getting the probe to pass through. Had a little smoke come out the holes at start up, but after that nothing visible.
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post #7 of 22
12/31/10 at 10:32am

Did these holes affect your cooking temps at all?  They seem small enough that it wouldn't, but I figured it couldn't hurt to ask.

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post #8 of 22
12/31/10 at 4:39pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by FIGJAM View Post

Did these holes affect your cooking temps at all?  They seem small enough that it wouldn't, but I figured it couldn't hurt to ask.



 No. they are small enough not to matter. There is a little cap piece you can buy for a couple of cents that would close the hole up if you aren't using it, but I never bother.

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post #9 of 22
2/1/11 at 8:01am

I cheated & bought the BBQ guru eyelets, they replace the bolts that hold the brackets for the grates.

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post #10 of 22
4/12/11 at 3:33pm

My main question is, how the heck do you get a temperature probe that has a 90 degree bend in it through the eyelets?!? 

 

I have searched the world over and cannot find a straight probe, so the only thing the 90 degree probes will be good for is measuring smoker temp not meat temp.

 

Can anyone help?

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post #11 of 22
4/12/11 at 3:52pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by PGSmoker64 View Post

My main question is, how the heck do you get a temperature probe that has a 90 degree bend in it through the eyelets?!? 

 

I have searched the world over and cannot find a straight probe, so the only thing the 90 degree probes will be good for is measuring smoker temp not meat temp.

 

Can anyone help?



If you use the eyelets I made with the 3/8" lamp rod and cut the rod to approx. 3/4" you can get the 90° bend through without any problems. I have put two 90° probes through one eyelet without any problems.

 

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post #12 of 22
4/12/11 at 4:08pm

Thanks.  Now I need to hear from the folks that bought their eyelets!  That's what I did, not for lack of resources just for lack of time.

 

Bill

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post #13 of 22
4/13/11 at 3:47am
Quote:
Originally Posted by PGSmoker64 View Post

Thanks.  Now I need to hear from the folks that bought their eyelets!  That's what I did, not for lack of resources just for lack of time.

 

Bill



I bought mine from BBQ Guru & have no problem getting the 90 degree bend thru the hole.

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post #14 of 22
9/9/11 at 4:12pm

Just got back from Home Depot with the recommended threaded rod and hex nuts. Alas, the rod's' diameter is still too small to allow the collar of the Maverick ET85 probe to slip through. Collar measures 15/32 inches in diameter and the inside diameter of the rod is just 1/4 inch. Does anyone know if there are other, larger sizes of threaded rods?--probably will take a 1/2-inch inside diameter. 

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post #15 of 22
9/9/11 at 7:14pm

Ah, had to look up the ET-85 and I can see the problem.  We're for the most part using ET73's and ET732's which do not have the large cylinder on the end of the probe and slide thru the tube just fine.  You're going to have to get a diameter of the cylinder and go from there.  Yes, they make larger threaded fittings for lamps but they will be harder to find.  You may have to find a specialty lighting store that may have the smaller parts you're looking for.  Or, look on the internet. 

 

~Dave

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post #16 of 22
9/10/11 at 9:26am

I'll start looking. Naturally, I bought the hardest gauge design for this modification. Your mod idea is a good one, though, so I'll keep searching til I find a way to make it work for me (or I might just buy a new gauge -- the easiest answer).

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post #17 of 22
9/12/11 at 3:01pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by curious dave View Post

I'll start looking. Naturally, I bought the hardest gauge design for this modification. Your mod idea is a good one, though, so I'll keep searching til I find a way to make it work for me (or I might just buy a new gauge -- the easiest answer).



You might want to double check at HD or Lowes... I believe there were 2 standard sizes of lamp rod 3/8 dia. and 1/2 dia., if you bought the 3/8 dia. rod try the 1/2. Check the fits before you drill holes in your WSM.

 

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post #18 of 22
9/12/11 at 6:47pm



 

Quote:
Originally Posted by curious dave View Post

I'll start looking. Naturally, I bought the hardest gauge design for this modification. Your mod idea is a good one, though, so I'll keep searching til I find a way to make it work for me (or I might just buy a new gauge -- the easiest answer).



If you still don't come up with a ready solution and decide on new qauge, give Todd Johnson a holler.  He's one of our finer vendors and will fix you up with a sweet gauge (the ET-732) and probably make you a good deal on top of it.

 

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post #19 of 22
9/13/11 at 2:48pm

I'll check again at Home Depot -- and bring the probe  with me, as I should have done in the first place. Also, how can I get in touch with Todd? Thanks. 

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post #20 of 22
9/13/11 at 2:50pm

How can I get in touch with Todd? Thanks.

 

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