I have a
WSM 18" and am in what would be considered a cooler temperature zone. I am on the west coast in Canada and, typically, we get snow about 1-3 times per year, which is usually melted by the next day but will sometimes linger for a week or two.
The
WSM was so far my only true smoker (I did some smoking on my
Weber Kettle before with great success) and so I had no choice but to use it through the summer and winter. The person I bought my
WSM from had installed insulation around the lid and door; I removed the lid insulation but kept the door insulation. He had only used the smoker 2-3 times so, for all intents and purposes it was brand new.
What I can tell you is that, in the beginning, it was very hard to maintain any good temperatures in any climate, in part because I was likely doing something wrong but also, perhaps, because there was no layer of stuff built up on the inside from all of the smoke. What I can tell you is that, now after about 2-3 years of use, on a typical winter day (2 to 8 degrees C) it operates pretty much the same as it does in the summer to get it up to temp. The difference is in running it for extended periods: in the summer I have one vent fully closed and the other two vents with barely a sliver; in the winter, all three vents are open but usually only about 1/4 to 1/6 of the way open and every so often I still have to close one vent. As well, I find that, in our typical winter day, I don't have to monitor the temp as much as it seems to maintain at a steady temp. Keep in mind that I always use a full water bowl but boil the water before dumping in: in the summer, I can bring the temp down by adding cold water which is preferable to closing all 3 bottom vents and risking snuffing out the fire and in the winter it helps to already have some heat in the drum. As well, the heat sink helps to keep the temp even.
Now... for the colder days, being 1 to -5 degress C, in the beginning it was very hard to keep hot but now I find that I just need to play with the vents and am able to run it no problem.
There is a huge caveat: my ideal temperatures are typically never above 275 degrees F and usually in the 210-250 F range. I have attempted temperatures greater than 275 F on a few occasions (usually poultry) and, in the summer, it's easy to run it above 275 F for a few hours without a second thought. In the winter months, I had some issues getting the temp above 275 F but was able to do it for about an hour or so with constant monitoring and additional lit charcoal added.
So, in a nutshell, if you are living in a cooler climate, the
WSM will work just fine for all your needs but if you are in a very cold climate, you may face some issues but should be fine. Give it some time to work itself in and to learn how to control the temp, and by next winter you shouldn't have any issues.
