New WSM: Which Mods?

[chopsaw]

None of the webers need to be burned in . Doesn't mean you can't , and I always do . Doesn't hurt anything . You want to see how it runs anyway .

 

[Count Porcula]

Doesn't seem to lose a ton of smoke out the door edges. I played around with the door to get it bent just right.

I think it's a little too close to the porch. The patio furniture should have a marvelous smoke flavor now, although I don't expect a smoke ring or bark.

 

[Colin1230]

Count, now that you have a WSM, your life is fixing to change my friend. Enjoy the process.
Side handles are a near must on a 22", 18" WSM, not so much. Just use your BBQ gloves. Of course, JMO.

 

[Colin1230]

Now I'm reading that Weber doesn't recommend burning these things in.

View attachment 741856

It was fun though, wasn't it!

 

[Count Porcula]

It's nice running a smoker and knowing you can't possibly ruin any meat. I'll say that.

I got up to about 400. I was afraid I would damage something, so I tightened the vents.

Looking for good handle ideas. Some guy made strips of aluminum into shape and put Weber replacement handles on them. That looks like a good way to go.

 

[Count Porcula]

The burn-in went fine. The top of the smoker seems to have tried to seal itself to the middle tube.

I am hoping to try to do another small butt tomorrow, to make up for the disappointing one I just made in the Smokin-It. As I noted in another thread, I got excellent results with the Smokin-It a few years back, using a broiler pan covered with foil to finish a butt. I am going to try this with the WSM. I will start out like Reed, smoking over bare coals. When the smoke dies, I'll pop the butt onto my broiler pan and put the pan in the WSM. I think this should work.

I was afraid 22" was too big, but it turns out to be a good size for using the broiler pan.

I would like to know if anyone here uses a magnetic Bluetooth thermometer on these things. I don't believe it would be smart to put an electronic device directly on the side of a 300-degree smoker. Maybe I'm wrong. I'm thinking of a mod already: small square of thick steel screwed to the side, with an air gap to kill thermal contact and protect the thermometer. Magnets stick better to thick steel.

My hope is that the WSM will give me better bark and more smoke than the Smokin-It.

 

[Colin1230]

Man there are a million remote thermometer options and none will live stuck to the side of your smoker. An inverted milk crate works pretty good to set your thermometer base on.

 

[Smoke-Chem BBQ]

Man there are a million remote thermometer options and none will live stuck to the side of your smoker. An inverted milk crate works pretty good to set your thermometer base on.

I hang my thermometer sending unit on the Weber charcoal chimney, next to the smoker. The chimney has cooled down by the time I worry about putting the thermocouple(s) in the smoker. My particular sending unit is the right size, so that if I hang it on the chimney handle side, the handle props it up so that the display is visible from above when I'm standing near the smoker. The remote unit either stays in the kitchen, or moves with me to wherever I happen to be.

As for modifications, I'm about 140 cooks in on my 18" WSM, without modifying anything, unless one counts bending the aluminum door ever so slightly to make it seal better. I do think about adding a temp-controlled fan unit to make temperature control more consistent, but I kinda like cooking more old-school on the unit.

 

[Up_In_Smoke]

I did forget to mention handles.
I got mine at Home Depot. They were cheap.

 

[InstinCure]

I hang my thermometer sending unit on the Weber charcoal chimney, next to the smoker. The chimney has cooled down by the time I worry about putting the thermocouple(s) in the smoker. My particular sending unit is the right size, so that if I hang it on the chimney handle side, the handle props it up so that the display is visible from above when I'm standing near the smoker. The remote unit either stays in the kitchen, or moves with me to wherever I happen to be.

As for modifications, I'm about 140 cooks in on my 18" WSM, without modifying anything, unless one counts bending the aluminum door ever so slightly to make it seal better. I do think about adding a temp-controlled fan unit to make temperature control more consistent, but I kinda like cooking more old-school on the unit.

I bought a lightly used used 18" years ago with a very bent door. I eventually thought of simply using a folded sheet of aluminum foil on the inside of the door Even before that, it gave me many many great cooks.

Only compromise was not being able to open the door, but lifting the whole chamber and lid off to add more coals works way better than using the door, anyways.