WSM Questions

[RLEBL23]

I’m a long time Weber Kettle user but I’ve been in the market for a smoker. With a 3 month old, the wife wasn’t too keen on me babysitting an offset for hours on end so I’ve been thinking about a WSM instead. I have a few questions though that I’m sure y’all can help me out with.
1. 18.5 or 22.5? I’ll mostly be using this to smoke the occasional dinner for us for now, but plan on using it to cook for gatherings later. 18.5 would probably be sufficient but does it make a difference on long slow cooks? Will the larger fuel area get me more hours, or with the extra space it has to heat will it be a wash?

2. I noticed it comes with a grommet already for a probe. Will that be enough for both levels, or do y’all add a second?

3. I’m thinking of either an igrill2 or a thermopro. Does the igrill have anything WSM specific on it that comes in handy?

Thanks in advance!

 

[SmokinAl]

I can't help you with the therms, since I don't have either one, except that you can fit multiple probes thru the grommet.
But as far as which size to get, I would definitely go with the 22.5.
Al

 

[gmc2003]

1. I went with the 22 because I wanted the extra space for doing multiple ribs lying flat, and for the times that I smoke larger quantities of food for family gatherings. In retrospect the 18 would have satisfied most of my needs. I still use my 22 kettle for smaller smoking adventures.

1A. The 18 is a fuel miser, the 22 not so much. That being said I stock up on charcoal when it goes on sale, and reuse the unburnt coals that are left in the 22. So it hasn't been a big issue. If you shut down all the vents it will snuff out the fire and leave you with the remaining unburnt coals which can be used in your next smoke or in the kettle.

2. I haven't fed a probe through my grommet yet. I run the wires under the lid. As for the second grate it usually runs about 20* cooler then the top so when I use it I plan accordingly.

3. I don't use one so I can't answer that.

Chris

 

[lemans]

Hey
I have 2 -22s ya know a bag of Kingsford is $8.00 so that fuel thing is not an issue.. having the xtra room is always good.
The grommet will accommodate any probe..
As far as thermometers.. the igrill is ok(its Bluetooth range is limited) can’t go wrong with a thermapro product
I have a grilleye .. it’s great but you reall should look into any therm that has a phone app.. carry around a reciever is not the way to go..
You want set it and forget it. Invest in a pitmaster IQ130 for your WSM..

 

[bdskelly]

If you will ever be cooking a packer brisket you will want the 22. And as Al said the grommet is made of high temp silicone and you can slip multipal probes through opening with no problem. B

 

[RLEBL23]

Thanks guys. Very helpful! I guess my question had more to do with not requiring me to add more charcoal in the middle of a cook (only a problem if I was doing an overnight cook and didn’t want the alarm to wake the baby/wife). If the 22.5 let me add enough coal to burn 4 more hours then it’s worth it to me even if I don’t necessarily use the real estate.

 

[noboundaries]

There's absolutely nothing wrong with the 18", but the 22" gives you much more flexibility. It is just me and my wife, but I'm happy I have the larger WSM. As others have said, whole racks of ribs fit flat on the grates. Roasting pans for turkeys up to 25 lbs fit nicely. Full packers are no problem. Plus, I can "meat" the needs of block parties and family gatherings without giving it a second thought.

Once you learn your cold fuel/wood and hot charcoal loadings, plus your vent settings, you can leave that baby alone for 12-14 hours, or longer, before you have to do anything like knocking the ash off the charcoal. One word of advice, don't follow the WSM guidelines in the owner's manual for loading your smoker with charcoal. I don't know ANYONE who does it as published in the manual. The experience on SMF will be better guidance for how to charcoal load your WSM.

Memorial Day is coming up, and that's when a lot of us stock up on charcoal for the year. In the off-season I'm still using my Kettle or WSM at least once a week. That increases to 2-4 times a week during the warmer weather months. Between the Kettle and the WSM, I use about 500 lbs of charcoal a year, or 32 x 15.4 lb bags of Royal Oak Ridge charcoal, $128 total when purchased on sale at $4 a bag. I can get one long smoke (20+ hours) out of a full load (piled to about 2-3" above the charcoal ring), or 3-4 shorter smokes by reusing the charcoal.

I've had up to 6 probes pushed through the silicone grommet.

I can't make recommendations about the igrill or ThermoPro because I haven't used either. My old Ivation (aka Maverick) is still putting along after years of use, but the probes suck. Thankfully they've dropped in price substantially compared to what they were years ago (about $10 each now).

 

[RLEBL23]

Thanks a ton. I think that answers my questions. Now I just have to impatiently wait for Father’s Day. I’ll be watching for some sales/FB marketplace/craigslist ads. 22” sounds like the winner. I’ve been watching a lot of T-Roy Cooks on YouTube. Seems like he knows his stuff and I like his personality. He’s got a great vid for the minion method and setting the vents.

Any mods y’all would recommend to increase efficiency? I’ve read about the steel door upgrade. I won’t be doing any before a few smokes though to see what leaks seal up.

Also plan on using this on my back covered patio so I’m thinking some casters might be nice.

 

[noboundaries]

The Nomex gasket kit would be the only mod I'd recommend. $25-$30 and it seals the lid and OEM door, enabling you to hit low n slow temps right from the start on a dry smoke. Otherwise, it takes several uses for the system to seal, unless it is out of round. Mine was out of round and did not seal after 6 months of use. Took longer to clean it of the buildup (an hour) than it did to apply the seal (15 minutes). Now I can smoke at 150F or 350F+, my choice.

Or, you can skip the gasket. A new WSM likes to cruise along at 260-280F, which still is a great smoking temp. Even after applying the gasket, I often smoked at that temp, or higher, to speed things along for butts and briskets.

 

[lemans]

 

[lemans]

Wheels on the platform.. very stable
Gasket on the door opening..