Smoky mountain weber smoker mods

[Tulkas13]

Havnt used my new smoker due to weather n work but can already see an issue with the smoker....the latch door on the front doesnt hug the body very well n as gaps all around. Would love to fix this issue. Any ideas? I've done some research some say buy new door or seals but the links they provide are no longer

 

[nomad_archer]

Use it. The gaps will fill in with by products of smoking and seal it up enough. The WSM wasn't ment to be air tight.

 

[SlowmotionQue]

Havnt used my new smoker due to weather n work but can already see an issue with the smoker....the latch door on the front doesnt hug the body very well n as gaps all around. Would love to fix this issue. Any ideas? I've done some research some say buy new door or seals but the links they provide are no longer

LavaLock gasket.

 

[sandyut]

gasket kit - hook this up

 

[noboundaries]

Bend it to fit better by pressing it around your thigh. The gasket kit is a cheaper addition than a new door. You can seal the lid and the door easily.

 

[Tulkas13]

Use it. The gaps will fill in with by products of smoking and seal it up enough. The WSM wasn't ment to be air tight.

The gap is half an inch almost so idk if using it will fill it

 

[unclebubbas bbq]

I used nomex gasket on mine. But I finally decided to buy a stainless steel replacement door from Cajun Bandit...well worth the money!

 

[noboundaries]

The gap is half an inch almost so idk if using it will fill it

My WSM was obviously a "return" when I got it. The box had been opened and repacked. The door was almost flat and the barrel was slightly out of round. I called Weber and they sent me a new door. It took six weeks to arrive.

I didn't want to return the WSM, and waiting six weeks to use it was out of the question. I reshaped it on my thigh and closed the gap to about 1/8" in about ten minutes. I started using the WSM and it worked fine.

When the new door arrived 6 weeks later, it had a half-inch gap. I stuck it in a corner. It's still there.

Six months later I bought the gasket kit to solve the out of round problem and seal the door tight. It took more than an hour to clean the 6 months of accumulated gunk; 15 minutes to install the gasket. Out of round problem solved.

Thigh. New door. Gasket Kit. They all work. That door can be reshaped on your thigh.

 

[bill1]

The gap is half an inch...

Wow. I think a lot of folks here go overboard with the door sealing but you definitely have a problem.
I assume ok on the hinged side? Maybe you have stronger knees than I but that's a lot of ad hoc bending. I'd cut a 1x2 to a length equal to the part of the door that does seal. Strap the door closed, with the 1x2 in place, with a couple of straps or baling wire. Then I'd slowly straighten the area with the gap (now presumably 1.2") by bending it in using a ratcheting strap or large Pony clamp.

 

[noboundaries]

A bird could fart and bend that WSM OEM aluminum door it is so thin. That door is the one and only weak piece of material of the WSM.

 

[SlowmotionQue]

A bird could fart and bend that WSM OEM aluminum door it is so thin. That door is the one and only weak piece of material of the WSM.

The cooking grates are crappy too. They'll rust out in no time.

I have a Cajun Bandit door and the Cajun Bandit fire ring which is larger than the stock fire ring. I also have the latch, and have used LavaLock to seal at the lid and the door. But not the bottom section.

My 22in WSM is a solid as my Kamado. You won't see so much as even a peep of smoke coming from anywhere other than the top vent.

This helps it hold temp very well.

To the original poster, I would say, whatever door he is going to use, then use the felt sealer, LavaLock or some other. There and at the top of the midsection to seal things up..

Other mods to my WSM are the permanent installation of the BBQ Guru vent end, and the 5 inch River Country thermometer in place of the stock thermometer.

As I type this, I have a slab of St Louis cut ribs on it. It is holding temps as solid as a rock.

 

[Tulkas13]

Just did a dry burn in it to cook off any possible manufacturer chemicals. I bent the door to fit a little better...leaked a little smoke from the top part of the door but not alot...definitely some smoke came out from under the lid. But honestly no worse then when I would smoke on my barrel char griller. Used a small bag of charcoal to do it. Got temp up to 325 on it n it held pretty well even after I opened the door. Even after the fire died it still is holding good temp.

Now I have a question on smoking....dry wood or wet wood?

 

[noboundaries]

Dry. Never wet.

Which leads us to dry smoking versus wet smoking. I haven't put water in that water pan for years. It's basically a heat diffuser. You'll use less charcoal and burn more efficiently without the water. Control temps with the bottom vent settings. The vent settings will change as it accumulates buildup and seals better.

If you bury your wood chunks in the cold charcoal, you'll get all the flavor for the entire smoke and the wood will burn more cleanly. Put them on top and they burn up quickly and produce a lot of white smoke. I have chunks, but also bury one wood split up to 4" around. Heck, I even put a 6" split in the bottom of the charcoal basket once because it was in the bag of wood and I didn't feel like splitting it.

 

[Tulkas13]

Whenever I've smoked on my barrel char griller. I've soaked the wood and I have a dedicated pan I've used that I fill with usually the marinade from the meat or water with whiskey or margaritas in it. Just something I've always done for years never the other way around... meat as always turned out moist n awsome....when I was a kid we had a bullet smoker n my mom always used the water pan the same way dont recall if she used wood or not anymore.... is there a reason never to soak the wood??

 

[noboundaries]

Smoking wood goes through a chemical process as it releases its latent energy and flavor compounds. If the process occurs too quickly, you get a dirty smoke and creosote. Burying the wood in the charcoal allows the chemical process to occur more slowly in a restricted O2 environment as the wood preheats and smolders, carbonizing the nasty stuff then releasing the desireable flavor compounds.

Water is not part of the fire triangle, but can have a similar impact to burying the wood because the water has to boil away, but it will only heat the wood to 212F. Then, depending on your fire and the wood placement, you may or may not get clean smoke.

But, give soaking the wood a try and let us know your results. Worth a try.

 

[Tulkas13]

Well in my battle grill it would get bout 325 or so. N the wood never flamed up just slowly burned away. Never tried burying it into the coals...gonna have to try that.

 

[phatbac]

My last smoke here is what i did, i got froggy with the wood so i suggest maybe not the big stick i put in just the two small ones and buried under the coals like shown below heat up a chimney of charcoals in the middle and dump it out and let it radiate outward. (similar to the Minion method). in this smoke i used RO briquettes.

ran about 225 for 2.5 hours until that big stick ignited and ran up to 325. (my mistake on using to much wood) But the ribs came out awesome! I ran with no gasket on my door i have just shaped it in there with my hands and closed it up pretty good.

give this a try...
Happy Smoking,
phatbac (Aaron)

 

[Tulkas13]

Just got started myself. Peach wood buried in the charcoal bout 5 pieces. Trying to cook an 8 pound pork butt so gonna take awhile lol. Only challenge I'm really facing. Mother nature freaking hates me. 2nd weekend in a row or decides to rain -.- but I'm not giving up! Put some rolled up foil around the lid where it meets the middle pieces saw someone saw it let's in water so trying to prevent that! Used a whole bag of charcoal n like I said 5 chunks of wood. So nervous! First time using this bad boy. And later on I got chicken quarters to add to it also! Hopefully I can pull this off in the smoker. I've done it in my char griller lol

 

[lancep]

Aaaand.... what’s the verdict?

 

[Tulkas13]

Verdict is gooood lol. Using it again tomorrow lol