Clay saucer with WSM(vent control)

[tyotrain]

Question for the WSM guys. I have done 2 smokes using the clay saucer on top of the water pan(water pan empty). I find that i am shutting down 2 bottom vents completely and controlling the temp with just the one vent(top vent wide open). Now i am getting good temp control just cant be leave i am getting these temps with 2 vents closed. Do you guys run your WSM this same way ?

 

[justpassingthru]

Hey Ty, ...Yep!

Welcome to the wonderful world of the WSM, now you know why we rave so much about them, after you learn how to dial it in you will be able to sleep all night and wake up the next morning and the temp will be the same as it was when you went to sleep the night before,

have fun with your WSM.

Gene

 

[SmokinAl]

I almost always have 2 bottom vents closed & the 3rd one barely cracked open. It holds temp till the charcoal runs out. Their just unbelievable smokers. 

 

[vision]

Same for me on a smoke in the 225 range. A high heat smoke, say 325, needs more air then one vent can produce though. You control it the same way but it's highly sensitive and somewhat unstable, but it works.

 

[fpnmf]

I have used the saucer dry since new.

I also use the guru all the time now..

Makes things very easy.

  Craig

 

[SmokinAl]

I have a guru like Craig & you can run the WSM at any temp you want, no more adjusting vents.

 

[dward51]

You will also get a longer burn time on a given load of coals with the clay saucer.  My only complaint about a saucer is if you let the temp spike too much, it takes longer to get back down than with water.  But if you run a power draft (Guru, Stoker, etc....) that is usually not an issue.   A lot of people use only the clay saucer, but I seem to flip flop back and forth between the saucer, water pan with water, and two stacked empty pans depending what and how I'm smoking.

Like some of the others, I run a Guru with mine.