WSM 14.5 curb rescue (pic heavy thread)

[Fritz Lane]

Hello, a newbie smoker from South Alabama here.

About a month ago, I was out for a walk and noticed a huge debris pile in front a house that was being cleaned out. Looking through the pile (always looking to repurpose stuff), I found a nearly-intact WSM 14.5. The door was missing but everything else was there and in good shape (except the charcoal grate).

The smoker looked like it had been neglected more than it had been used. My guess is that the bottom bowl had filled up with water and wasn't emptied for a long time--all the fasteners securing the legs were either corroded in place or completely gone. The charcoal grate was also rusted to oblivion.

I've since cleaned it up and done the following:
- replaced all the fasteners with stainless steel variants
- bought a new door
- installed LavaLock seals on the upper shell, bottom bowl and around the door
- bought two charcoal grates; oriented them 90° to each other and tack welded them together

Below are some pictures of it in the current state, along with what was left of the charcoal grate.

I'm planning to treat it as a new smoker, Today, I ran a hot fire in the smoker to burn out anything that might be remaining. One thing I did learn is that the thermometer in the lid isn't close to what a probe thermometer reads (also in the pics).

This leads to my questions:

- Any suggestions as far as seasoning the smoker? Some of my coworkers who are into smoking have recommended dry runs with fatty cuts for seasoning purposes, and that I shouldn't expect to eat those.

- Any suggestions for a first smoke that would be eaten? I was considering spatchcocked chicken as I've done that many times on a Weber kettle grill. But a smoker is a different animal.

- What's a decent digital probe thermometer to get? The one I have is a bit finicky and I'd like something that's a little more stable.

Edit:

Forgot to ask...

- Any suggestions on starting points for setting the vent openings to get into the zone where the magic happens? Or is it all trial and error?

Thanks!

 

[JLeonard]

Nice job refurbing the WSM. I'll let the WSM guys answer your questions on it.

Jim

 

[chopsaw]

bought two charcoal grates; oriented them 90° to each other and tack welded them together

That's a good mod . Now fasten the grates to the charcoal ring . That way you can lift the whole thing up and shake out the ash and not lose the charcoal .

Nice find and great job on the clean up .

 

[Fritz Lane]

That's a good mod . Now fasten the grates to the charcoal ring . That way you can lift the whole thing up and shake out the ash and not lose the charcoal .

Nice find and great job on the clean up .

Thanks, chopsaw . I'll definitely do that.

 

[Colin1230]

Great job on the Lil WSM Fritz. My suggestion for first cook is to smoke a meatloaf and eat every bit of it. Spatchcock chicken would be good also, just cook to 155-160*F and finish with a torch or over hot coals to crisp the skin. As far as thermometers go, you have a pretty good one. Just note that the temp at the grommet or grate will be different than at the dome. But if I may help you spend your money, ThermoWorks products are very popular around here.

 

[Brokenhandle]

Nice remod of that wsm!

Ryan

 

[Fritz Lane]

Great job on the Lil WSM Fritz. My suggestion for first cook is to smoke a meatloaf and eat every bit of it. Spatchcock chicken would be good also, just cook to 155-160*F and finish with a torch or over hot coals to crisp the skin. As far as thermometers go, you have a pretty good one. Just note that the temp at the grommet or grate will be different than at the dome. But if I may help you spend your money, ThermoWorks products are very popular around here.

Thanks Colin1230 , a smoked meatloaf sounds like a great way to start. I've got a couple recipes that I've perfected for preparation in the oven and will try adapting to the smoker. One of them uses a 50/50 mix of ground chicken thighs and ground bacon--that one over smoke should prove interesting.

It didn't even occur to me that the temperature under the dome would be different than at the grate. Makes perfect sense.

I appreciate the suggestion on the ThermoWorks thermometer. My current one has hit the deck a few times, so I'll use that as rationale for getting a better one.

 

[normanaj]

The 14.5" WSM is a great a little smoker.Been using mine a lot more lately after having gotten lazy using my electric,but with the ACs running a lot more lately it's made sense to start using the WSM more often.

The only thing I seasoned mine with was fire and smoke.

As far as the vents go you can kind of get a baseline during "seasoning" but that will change with a load,a pork loin would be a good 1st smoke as it'll take up some room and give you enough time to adjust vents without having to do an all day smoke like you'd have with say a pork butt.As long as the IT of the loin reaches 140-145 you really wouldn't have to worry about rock steady temps as it really wouldn't be in there for a considerable amount of time.There is no magic vent "setting" it really does come to down a little trial and error until you get to know your smoker but I do start with them wide open and then adjust until I get to where I want to be.
One thing to consider though is if you're going to use water in the pan or not as it can help regulate temps.I personally do not use water but instead fill it about half way with sand and foil it over.That's just a personal preference on my part as I don't really feel like dealing with the water aspect.

Thermopro is a decent product.I just get a multi-probe unit.

 

[Fritz Lane]

One thing to consider though is if you're going to use water in the pan or not as it can help regulate temps.I personally do not use water but instead fill it about half way with sand and foil it over.That's just a personal preference on my part as I don't really feel like dealing with the water aspect.

One thing I din't mention yesterday is that I'm running a FireDial in the smoker. On the advice of my coworkers, they recommended not dealing with the greasy water. I still have the water pan and may try it for myself to see what kind of a difference it makes.

 

[JLinza]

Looks like a great rebuild. Sounds like you got some great advice above, now I'm just exited to see what you're gonna cook on it. Nice work

 

[hotch]

Nicely done!

 

[Fueling Around]

Late to this and I don't have a WSM
I have kettles and modded my charcoal grates by cross welding in wire from local supply. I use lump and it keeps the shards from dropping out. Cheaper than a second grate and actually works better.
I would love to find a curb kick WSM. Wife not so much. She thinks I have too much clutter around the house.

 

[tbrtt1]

l,too, am late to this, but a WSM in a pile of debris: Score.

nice work on the refurb. Looks fantastic.

By now you have likely cooked enough critters on it to have it seasoned enough. Frankly, I’ve had 6-8 smokers and an 18 and 22 Weber kettle(technically I could claim 9 or 19). But who’s counting, and I’m not boasting, by any means. Just addicted. But I learned not to fret over the curing/seasoning.

Pam and some med-high heat is my go to for seasoning. It’s good that you did a high temp burn to kill cooties. But on my last 5 or so smoker purchases/builds (made a UDS using a brand new food grade 55 gal drum), I sprayed with Pam ( or equivalent) all over everything inside and ran it at ~350* for a couple hours…..then put something on it to smoke. Why waste a good bead of coals and a preheated smoker?

Towards the end of the “curing/seasoning” process and depending on the fuel left , a yard bird or rack of ribs is great for a maiden voyage.

Sounds like you have the tools and obviously have a clue as to how to smoke meat, so ………smoke the piss out of that lucky find.

If you haven’t already done so, pics of a smoke or two in the future would be great. There are more than a few voyeurs on this site.

 

[Fritz Lane]

l,too, am late to this, but a WSM in a pile of debris: Score.

nice work on the refurb. Looks fantastic.

By now you have likely cooked enough critters on it to have it seasoned enough. Frankly, I’ve had 6-8 smokers and an 18 and 22 Weber kettle(technically I could claim 9 or 19). But who’s counting, and I’m not boasting, by any means. Just addicted. But I learned not to fret over the curing/seasoning.

Pam and some med-high heat is my go to for seasoning. It’s good that you did a high temp burn to kill cooties. But on my last 5 or so smoker purchases/builds (made a UDS using a brand new food grade 55 gal drum), I sprayed with Pam ( or equivalent) all over everything inside and ran it at ~350* for a couple hours…..then put something on it to smoke. Why waste a good bead of coals and a preheated smoker?

Towards the end of the “curing/seasoning” process and depending on the fuel left , a yard bird or rack of ribs is great for a maiden voyage.

Sounds like you have the tools and obviously have a clue as to how to smoke meat, so ………smoke the piss out of that lucky find.

If you haven’t already done so, pics of a smoke or two in the future would be great. There are more than a few voyeurs on this site.

Thanks for the kind words and advice, tbrtt1 . I can see how this could get addictive. I’ve already been looking for old water heaters or air compressor tanks to build an offset smoker.

I had completely forgotten about using a cooking spray to season. In the Jan/Feb 1999 issue of Home Shop Machinist magazine, Steve Acker (Gunsmith Machinist) wrote an article about building an offset smoker. IIRC, he recommended using cooking spray and medium-high heat, like you said. Something to keep in mind for the next one.

I’ll get around to another smoke this coming weekend. Likely a chicken and/or a meatloaf, depending upon other demands on my time. This time, I’ll document what I’m doing with pics.