Seasoning brand new WSM

[Spbykatie]

I've been trolling here for a few years, and finally decided to register. The information here has been invaluable! So I am seasoning my brand new 18" WSM using the Harry Soo method. My issue, besides smoke coming out of the door and the lid which I know will calm down once I get a few layers of flavor, is that phase one calls for getting the smoker up to 350° to burn off all the manufacturers junk. I am an hour and a half in and I'm only up to 250°. Thoughts or ideas?

 

[WV_Crusader]

Do you have the top vents open all the way?

 

[one eyed jack]

Congratulations on a wise choice of smoker. I have run a lot of ribs, butts, meatloaves, fatties, and chuck roast's through mine, and use it to cold smoke cheese and butter in the cold months. There's a lot of bang for the buck with these cookers.

Hard to get a brand new WSM to those temps due to the leaks that you mention you see with yours.

The cooker will seal up after a few smokes. (Mine took maybe a half dozen?) Been a long time. I don't remember all that well.

I don't recall doing an initial burn with mine. Probably just didn't know too. That was 10 years ago and I ain't dead yet. (Just joking; I'm sure that it makes more sense to do the burn off). I did not notice any kind of oil on the inside of the smoker when new.

Did you put water in the pan on your first run? That would make it even harder for the cooker to get to those temps.

Have you tried to gently bend the door to get a better fit? That is a pretty easy, and effective thing to do.

Good luckand let us know how things go with your new smoker.

 

[Spbykatie]

I have all vents open. By the time I realized the extent of the leakage the door was too hot to mess with. I am 3 hours in and at 325, so I guess that will work. Once it cools off a bit I will try to curve the door a bit more.
I am wondering if I need to worry about getting a gasket kit or new door, or if I should just let nature take its course with layers of flavor to help seal?
I had a WSM a few years ago and had NO idea what I was doing, washed it with soap and water every time! Thought it was such a pain to clean that I went with an electric smoker which never gave me the bark I wanted. I just found out a couple of days ago not to add water. What is the point of a water pan if all the experts don't use one?

 

[gmc2003]

The WSM is coated with porcelain. So there really isn't any manufacturers oil. I would have suggested just to wash the grates with soap and water and cook something. As for the leaks. In a dark room put a light inside the WSM so you can see where the gaps are. You can gently message the door to form a better fit. The lid and door will seal themselves after a while. If you want a higher heat in your WSM - Open all your vents, fill your charcoal ring with coals and cover the entire top of the ring with a fully lit chimney of coals. No water in the Pan.

If your door is beyond forming then you can add a gasket, but I would hold off until you have a few good smokes on your unit.

Chris

 

[one eyed jack]

I have all vents open. By the time I realized the extent of the leakage the door was too hot to mess with. I am 3 hours in and at 325, so I guess that will work. Once it cools off a bit I will try to curve the door a bit more.
I am wondering if I need to worry about getting a gasket kit or new door, or if I should just let nature take its course with layers of flavor to help seal?
I had a WSM a few years ago and had NO idea what I was doing, washed it with soap and water every time! Thought it was such a pain to clean that I went with an electric smoker which never gave me the bark I wanted. I just found out a couple of days ago not to add water. What is the point of a water pan if all the experts don't use one?

Sounds like you've done all you need to do as far as an initial burn goes. Time to put some chow in the WSM and smoke.

Give the door some attention, now that the smoker is cooled down. Thinking back to when my WSM was new; I did consider making a gasket, (with heat resistant RTV) but after just a handful of cooks, the cracks started sealing up and the problem solved itself.

The only part of my WSM that I clean, are the grates, however; I do blow the inside of the lid and the inside of the barrel section, once in a while with compressed air. I use compressed air because I have a big compressor in the shop, and it's handy.

I got tired of the mess in the water pan, early on, and changed to sand and foil cover. Oil dripping off meat makes a heck of a mess in the water bowl.

I cut a plywood disc to fit about 1/3 of the way down in the bowl and filled the rest of the bowl with sand. I rounded over the top of the bowl, slightly, and then covered the whole thing with foil. (I started out filling the bowl with sand but it gets too heavy and will fall off of the brackets that hold it up in the barrel).

The water in the bowl is there to help stabilize the temperature in the WSM, and the sand will do the same.

The more you use the smoker, the easier it will get to control temperatures.

Good luck and let us know how things go with your smoker.

 

[hawtsauc3]

An initial burn in isn’t required on a WSM due to porcelain coating. The Virtual Weber bullet actually did a video covering how it’s been a bunch of misinformation that he himself has been responsible for spreading. All it really needs is a brief wipedown with a wet cloth and you’re good to go. I did this and the ribs I made were fine.

that said it does take about 6 smokes to seal up and the first smoke was pretty wild with temps

 

[WV_Crusader]

That is true, wasn’t thinking of the porcelain. Just run it a few times and enjoy brother!

 

[Spbykatie]

Thank you to everyone! I didn't know about the sand, that seems a lot simpler. Since I don't need to keep seasoning I am going to go ahead and fix the door and smoke this flatiron steak that just arrived!

 

[Spbykatie]

I got a Maverick dual probe thermometer but I'm not sure how to use it with my 18" WSM. The instructions say to make sure the probe line comes out of the lid without pinching, but how do I do that on a round lid and won't it leak smoke if it is not sealed flat? Also, the WSM is very tall and is out and away from the house to avoid fires. The probe lines aren't long enough for the transmitter to sit on the ground away from the heat. I live in a high wind area so setting up a little table next to it would simply fly away. Thoughts?

 

[WV_Crusader]

I got a Maverick dual probe thermometer but I'm not sure how to use it with my 18" WSM. The instructions say to make sure the probe line comes out of the lid without pinching, but how do I do that on a round lid and won't it leak smoke if it is not sealed flat? Also, the WSM is very tall and is out and away from the house to avoid fires. The probe lines aren't long enough for the transmitter to sit on the ground away from the heat. I live in a high wind area so setting up a little table next to it would simply fly away. Thoughts?

There should be a Grommet on the side that you shove the probes through.

 

[Spbykatie]

Aha! I was wondering what that rubber thing was. Thank you so much!

 

[one eyed jack]

I got a Maverick dual probe thermometer but I'm not sure how to use it with my 18" WSM. The instructions say to make sure the probe line comes out of the lid without pinching, but how do I do that on a round lid and won't it leak smoke if it is not sealed flat? Also, the WSM is very tall and is out and away from the house to avoid fires. The probe lines aren't long enough for the transmitter to sit on the ground away from the heat. I live in a high wind area so setting up a little table next to it would simply fly away. Thoughts?

Cinder blocks will work for your thermometer table and probably won't blow away.

Your going to need to create a wind break for your draft inlets, if you have to deal with a lot of wind.

The wind will make it difficult to regulate temperatures.

I have had success just leaning pieces of plywood up around the smoker base.

 

[WV_Crusader]

Cinder blocks will work for your thermometer table and probably won't blow away.

Your going to need to create a wind break for your draft inlets, if you have to deal with a lot of wind.

The wind will make it difficult to regulate temperatures.

I have had success just leaning pieces of plywood up around the smoker base.

Also there is a company who makes a small magnetic stainless shelf that you can hook to the side to put your transmitter on and do away with table. Or it was someone who got creative.

 

[gmc2003]

Hang it on your handle.

Chris

 

[Spbykatie]

Thank you for all the great advice! This is the best site I've ever found for information.