So I got a WSM...

[dcbc 14,556]

Have you called Weber?  I had to call about parts for my kettle once and they were great to deal with.

[Clintonaldo 2,577]

57 minutes ago, dcbc said:

Have you called Weber?  I had to call about parts for my kettle once and they were great to deal with.

No but I will tomorrow. I am lazy

[thunderlounge 7,979]

Craigslist?

[Clintonaldo 2,577]

13 hours ago, dcbc said:

Have you called Weber?  I had to call about parts for my kettle once and they were great to deal with.

Customer service was awesome. They quoted me $88 and I really wasn’t going to complain but I was quiet for a minute so now it is $55. Really impressed with them. 

[dad 557]

Wait so they told you the price and you just sat there quietly for a minute lol?!

[Clintonaldo 2,577]

Wait so they told you the price and you just sat there quietly for a minute lol?!

First one to talk loses the power. The art of the goddamn deal # no cloakroom


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[dcbc 14,556]

15 minutes ago, Clintonaldo said:

Customer service was awesome. They quoted me $88 and I really wasn’t going to complain but I was quiet for a minute so now it is $55. Really impressed with them. 

I think I need to make three separate calls---one for a lid, one for a center section, and one for a charcoal bowl.  I can source the grates and water pan locally.

[dad 557]

I’ve never heard of this technique haha. Good to know. I’m going to try this with my wife.

[Clintonaldo 2,577]

I’ve never heard of this technique haha. Good to know. I’m going to try this with my wife.

Let me give you some more advice. Buy a whore.


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[dcbc 14,556]

I want to revisit something I mentioned earlier and get some opinions.  My WSM is set up near the edge of our covered porch in the back yard.  To keep the smoke from collecting in that area for too long, I run a ceiling fan.  Controlling temps never has been an issue, but do you think the ceiling fan is stirring up the air at ground level enough to cause shorter burn times?  Ceiling fan is 10 feet overhead.  It runs at a good clip, but not at an obnoxiously high speed.  Easy enough to move the cooker out from under the porch and put something under it so it's not sitting on a wooden deck.  But it's really convenient to have it where it is, particularly if it is a little windy out apart from the fan.

Edited July 24, 2018 by dcbc

[thunderlounge 7,979]

What about something like this? http://www.acehardware.com/product/index.jsp?productId=1292287

It's a pad you set your grill on. I got something similar and put it on the floor of my shack. No problem. There are round ones, square ones, etc. Sometimes called hearth mats, etc.

 

Now, air movement certainly does take a toll on your fuel burn/consumption. Whether your fan is playing a part in that I can't say for certain. Can you feel a breeze from the fan near your vents? If you're running ~16hrs on average for a brisket cook, then a full (if not slightly overfull) ring should get you pretty close to that time (at least from my experience with mine) without any additional factors. Now I've had to refuel at the 8 or 9 hour mark before, but that was pre-shack and the wind was a cruel bitch that day; steady 25mph with gusts 40+.

The first thing I would try is taking some scrap plywood and making a triangle wind block. Something with ~30"-32" long sides, and at least 2ft, if not 3ft, tall. You want at least a 4" clearance around your WSM. Or maybe you have a bunch of cardboard, or a big cardboard box handy. You could try that instead, but you want 1ft clearance all around and I would watch it carefully. You don't want it blowing out of position and coming close to the pit. (Cardboard is a temporary idea, just to evaluate the effectiveness of blocking wind and should be watched closely to avoid a mishap. /CYA) Or whatever you can safely rig up to block airflow into the vents.

Another option would be something like a BBQ Guru (https://www.bbqguru.com/StoreNav/GuruCookerGuide?ProductId=0&DeviceModelId=181) where all your bottom vents are closed, save the one you have the Guru connected through. I haven't tried one myself, though I've read many great things about the units. That'll run more than building a windbreak, but one of those setups would have been less than what I put into the shack. (Although you could build my same type shack a little cheaper, as I over-engineered some of it.)

 

There are also other venting options which you could try, that would allow you to leave the fan off. Anything from a mini portable fan just blowing air across the ceiling and out, all the way to a smoke hood type vent.

 

I don't think your fuel burn is massively out of whack, but could be a bit better maybe. I find blue to be consistent in temp and such, but overall I'll take a bag of Stubbs over anything else. Consistent, clean, slow burn. Although I can only find bags that are slightly smaller than a normal bag of blue.

 

I'm wondering something else as well, and maybe this is having an effect as well. How long with the 10-12 coals does it take for you to come up to temp? Anything I've read regarding the minion has it lighting off at least twice that many, if not.a little more (like when it's cold out.) Maybe you're losing a little of your burn time on coming up to temp? Compound several small bites out of your time (slight breeze, coming up to temp, etc) and you can end up losing a good chunk of time real quick.

 

[TornACL 7,733]

I can't imagine the fan is causing that much of an issue. Only time wind has ever played havoc with my fuel consumption was when I hauled my WSM down to Rockport and the smoker was out back by the water. Holy fuck, that sea breeze just went right through my WSM and I must have added coals twice during the middle of the night.  But that was a steady 15-20, nothing your ceiling fan is going to cause.

 

[dcbc 14,556]

Thanks, all.  I consistently get 12 hours out of a 15 lb bag.  If I can fit 20 lbs in the ring, that will, at least, get me a complete brisket cook without refueling.

I may try a makeshift windbreak, a small fan that keeps things moving above the cooker, or more coals to start(1 thing at a time of course). 

With limited coals and clay pot bases in the bowl, I'm up to temp and locked in in half an hour or so. 

The BBQ Guru looks nice, but I can hold the temp I want with relative ease as it is.  Seems unnecessary on the WSM.

Thanks again for the tips.  I'll report back after my next long cook. 

[thunderlounge 7,979]

Trial and error, that’s about all you can do. The guru in your situation wouldn’t be so much for steady temps as it would be for complete airflow control. Granted that it’s a serious step with many options before that.

It could be that it’s just the way your particular cooker is, and nothing more. 

[dcbc 14,556]

1 hour ago, thunderlounge said:

Trial and error, that’s about all you can do. The guru in your situation wouldn’t be so much for steady temps as it would be for complete airflow control. Granted that it’s a serious step with many options before that.

It could be that it’s just the way your particular cooker is, and nothing more. 

I'm going to start with a gasket between the barrel and the lid.  I don't think I have any leak issues on the lower connection.  That should get done before the weekend if Amazon is on time.

As far as the Guru, I'd rather sink the money into more charcoal, meat, and cooks.  I've had way to much good luck dialing this thing in. 

All I really want is to be able to set it, crack a beer, and not have to wake up early to refuel, even if that means I just dump on a lot more charcoal for long cooks than most people seem to have to do. The refueling part is the only obstacle for me at this point.   

Edited July 25, 2018 by dcbc

[Dr Fear 1,268]

Here is a good deal on an ash can. Free pick-up in store.

https://slickdeals.net/f/11859843-6-gallon-behrens-galvanized-steel-locking-lid-can-8-99-at-walmart

[Landomatic 3,813]

1 hour ago, Dr Fear said:

Here is a good deal on an ash can. Free pick-up in store.

https://slickdeals.net/f/11859843-6-gallon-behrens-galvanized-steel-locking-lid-can-8-99-at-walmart

 

Oh...ash can.

Edited July 25, 2018 by Landomatic
Thought you said ass man.

[thunderlounge 7,979]

19 hours ago, dcbc said:

I'm going to start with a gasket between the barrel and the lid.  I don't think I have any leak issues on the lower connection.  That should get done before the weekend if Amazon is on time.

As far as the Guru, I'd rather sink the money into more charcoal, meat, and cooks.  I've had way to much good luck dialing this thing in. 

All I really want is to be able to set it, crack a beer, and not have to wake up early to refuel, even if that means I just dump on a lot more charcoal for long cooks than most people seem to have to do. The refueling part is the only obstacle for me at this point.   

 

Makes sense. 

[Chico_SA 521]

I had much better temperature control my second time. Did a Boston Butt and didn't mess with the vents as much. I injected it the night before it it had pretty nice flavor.  I still had a spike about hour 6.  I'm using minion method and I wonder if its just the way it hits the coals at that time.   I also moved my grate temp probe into the center more and it seemed to be more of what I would have expected. 

So I've done brisket and pork.  I'll probably try ribs as my deck upgrade is complete.  I hope I don't over do it and burn out, but its really a cool way  spend that quite time when the 5 and 3 year old are asleep. 

[dcbc 14,556]

1 hour ago, Chico_SA said:

I had much better temperature control my second time. Did a Boston Butt and didn't mess with the vents as much. I injected it the night before it it had pretty nice flavor.  I still had a spike about hour 6.  I'm using minion method and I wonder if its just the way it hits the coals at that time.   I also moved my grate temp probe into the center more and it seemed to be more of what I would have expected. 

So I've done brisket and pork.  I'll probably try ribs as my deck upgrade is complete.  I hope I don't over do it and burn out, but its really a cool way  spend that quite time when the 5 and 3 year old are asleep. 

Might have gotten a bit of wind in hour 6 or maybe a couple of wood chunks caught a little hard.  🤷‍♂️

[thunderlounge 7,979]

For an introduction to ribs, you need  Hornians 3-2-1 method. Might want to make the 2 more of a 1.5 though. 

[TornACL 7,733]

17 hours ago, Chico_SA said:

I had much better temperature control my second time. Did a Boston Butt and didn't mess with the vents as much. I injected it the night before it it had pretty nice flavor.  I still had a spike about hour 6.  I'm using minion method and I wonder if its just the way it hits the coals at that time.   I also moved my grate temp probe into the center more and it seemed to be more of what I would have expected. 

So I've done brisket and pork.  I'll probably try ribs as my deck upgrade is complete.  I hope I don't over do it and burn out, but its really a cool way  spend that quite time when the 5 and 3 year old are asleep. 

How much of a spike are we talking about?

I think it's pretty common for new WSM's to overcorrect on the vents and monkey around with them too much. As you get more familiar with your WSM you'll have a great feel for what's normal, what's abnormal, and you'll be much more inclined to just leave 'er alone.

The good thing about the WSM is that even if you "burn out" a bit, that baby is still just sitting there waiting for you whenever you're ready to cook again. I usually slow down my smoking big time during the summer when it's hotter than fuck outside. But it's back on when football rolls back around.

[dcbc 14,556]

Got my  top barrel gasket installed this afternoon.  I was impressed with how much of a season I had put on the WSM.  Had to take a blunt, flat edge to it to really shave it down.  Followed with a wet paper towel and some Dawn soap.  Rinsed with a wet paper towel and dried.  Followed with several paper towels soaked with rubbing alcohol.  Then applied the self stick gasket.  Had a bit stick to my fingers and almost never got it off.  Seated the lid on top of it and will let it settle and adhere in this lovely 104 degree weather for 24 hours or so.

[immortal13 4,059]

On 7/26/2018 at 7:01 PM, dcbc said:

Got my  top barrel gasket installed this afternoon.  I was impressed with how much of a season I had put on the WSM.  Had to take a blunt, flat edge to it to really shave it down.  Followed with a wet paper towel and some Dawn soap.  Rinsed with a wet paper towel and dried.  Followed with several paper towels soaked with rubbing alcohol.  Then applied the self stick gasket.  Had a bit stick to my fingers and almost never got it off.  Seated the lid on top of it and will let it settle and adhere in this lovely 104 degree weather for 24 hours or so.

You will be impressed with the seal you get

[dcbc 14,556]

14 hours ago, immortal13 said:

You will be impressed with the seal you get

Leaked a little at first, but sealed up pretty quickly.  Dumped as much charcoal as I could into the ring.  Guessing it was just shy of 20 lbs.  Running a trimmed brisket overnight.  Waited to add the meat and am bringing things up to temp now.  No billowing smoke after a minute or two of assembly, which is good.

Edited July 28, 2018 by dcbc

[thunderlounge 7,979]

Well got damn. Get on it! 

[dcbc 14,556]

This one was a pretrimmed CAB fellow.  Probed done at 200 after only 12 hours.  WSM was running strong and I had a good amount of fuel left.  So I threw on some spare ribs.  Brisket is going to sit wrapped and warm until dinner.

Also, I tried something new, which was the supposed John Lewis mustard cut with a little pickle juice slather before putting the rub on.  I kept it very, very light, but I like the way the bark set up.

Edited July 28, 2018 by dcbc

[dcbc 14,556]

Update on my burn time.  I know they say only change one thing at a time, but I'm not sure I care.  To recap, I

1.  Added more coals to the ring to the point that the stack was above the level of the ring.  I'm guessing around 20 lbs, but couldn't say for sure.  It was one full 15.5 lb bag and not quite half of another. 

2.  Added a gasket to the lid.

3.  Didn't run the ceiling fan.

WSM has been running in the 240 range for approaching 18 hours.  I'm floored.  It has to be the lid gasket.  While I added more charcoal, it wasn't a significant amount since 15 lbs pretty much fills the ring level.

Edited July 28, 2018 by dcbc

[dcbc 14,556]

Closing in on 19 hours.  Just pulled the spares.

Edited July 28, 2018 by dcbc

[dcbc 14,556]

 

Edited July 28, 2018 by dcbc

[dcbc 14,556]

I'm about to take the WSM show on the road for Labor Day.  Hoping it will fit in one of those hitch cargo baskets.  Basket is 24" deep and 6" tall.  Looks like the bowl will clear the height and the distance between the legs in a triangular configuration is about 22".  Counting on Amazon's return policy if it won't.  Taking the barrel along for chicken and ribs.

Edited August 1, 2018 by dcbc

[Dutch 4,489]

I'd eat that.  Great bark, does not look DAF.  Please have an Affirmative Surly Internet.  Did you cook that one fat cap up or down? Wrap or no wrap?

[dcbc 14,556]

2 hours ago, Dutch said:

I'd eat that.  Great bark, does not look DAF.  Please have an Affirmative Surly Internet.  Did you cook that one fat cap up or down? Wrap or no wrap?

Fat cap down.  No wrap.  Pulled at 199 F.  Rested and kept warm in the oven for seven hours before slicing.

[Dutch 4,489]

Thanks.  I've been unimpressed with my past few briskets (always did fat side up) and was strongly considering switching to fat down for the next cook.  Was your oven set to a specific temp while holding?

[dcbc 14,556]

1 hour ago, Dutch said:

Thanks.  I've been unimpressed with my past few briskets (always did fat side up) and was strongly considering switching to fat down for the next cook.  Was your oven set to a specific temp while holding?

I'm not convinced it matters much.  To me, the shape of the brisket lends itself to having the fat cap on the grill grate.  I wasn't particularly busy that day.  So I would set the oven to it's lowest setting of 170.  When it got there, I would turn it off.  I set a probe on top of the brisket.  When the probe temp dropped below 150, I'd turn the oven on and get it back to 170 or so. 

This is a huge pain, but my oven temp is into the 200s at "170."  A cooler and a towel work fine if you're only going to hold it 3--4 hours.  I just had a bigger time gap between pulling it and dinner.

I have considered getting a cheap turkey roaster with a 150 degree "Warm" setting and seeing if that would be better for holding briskets and the like for longer periods of time.  But coolers are pretty cheap (and can hold beer when they aren't holding meats). 

Edited August 1, 2018 by dcbc

[Mojo Hand 4,580]

On 5/8/2018 at 10:45 AM, Baboontyme said:

Well not the outside of it.....I mean come on, that's absurd. But foiling the inside of the bowl, yes. I thought for years that's what foiling the water pan meant. It did make cleanup "easier" but only slightly and I was always confounded as to why people would rave about how easy cleanup was once they started foiling the water pan. 

Well, fuck.   I've been doing this too.   Thanks for this.

[dcbc 14,556]

7 hours ago, Mojo Hand said:

Well, fuck.   I've been doing this too.   Thanks for this.

It doesn't help that the first video that comes up on this topic shows a guy foiling the inside and underside of the bowl. 

Edited August 2, 2018 by dcbc

[Mojo Hand 4,580]

Have any of y'all ever cut off a few inches from the end of the flat to fit it on the WSM?   I couldn't resist buying a 16.5 lb'er today, but it's long and I may not be able to fit it on my 18.5", even if I bend it down under the handle hole in the grate.   The end of the flat gets pretty narrow anyway. 

[dcbc 14,556]

1 hour ago, Mojo Hand said:

Have any of y'all ever cut off a few inches from the end of the flat to fit it on the WSM?   I couldn't resist buying a 16.5 lb'er today, but it's long and I may not be able to fit it on my 18.5", even if I bend it down under the handle hole in the grate.   The end of the flat gets pretty narrow anyway. 

I have a 22, but I'd be tempted to fold that big, bad beast over a bit to get it all on there.  If not, no harm in trimming the flat a bit so it fits.  I tend to square them off a bit when they taper a lot in hopes of getting as even of a cook as possible.

[Mojo Hand 4,580]

What is the reason for spraying the brisket with liquid (50/50 Worcestershire/water, or apple juice, or whatever) before wrapping?   I've never done that and don't get what the benefit would be.  If you're wrapping, it's because the brisket is already sweating and losing heat, so you don't need the moisture, right? 

[dcbc 14,556]

38 minutes ago, Mojo Hand said:

What is the reason for spraying the brisket with liquid (50/50 Worcestershire/water, or apple juice, or whatever) before wrapping?   I've never done that and don't get what the benefit would be.  If you're wrapping, it's because the brisket is already sweating and losing heat, so you don't need the moisture, right? 

Just trying to keep it moist.  I give it a good spritz before I wrap it or, if I don't wrap it, I give it a few spritzes during the cook.

[Mojo Hand 4,580]

1 hour ago, dcbc said:

Just trying to keep it moist.  I give it a good spritz before I wrap it or, if I don't wrap it, I give it a few spritzes during the cook.

I just don't quite get why that is needed.  When I wrap, there's always plenty of moisture pooling in the crevices on top, and that's the entire reason for wrapping — moisture keeps coming out and evaporates, cooling the brisket and causing the stall.  So why add more?  I mean, it probably doesn't hurt or anything, and I'll totally start doing it if it really makes a positive difference, I just don't get it.   But would love to know if I'm wrong. 

[dcbc 14,556]

37 minutes ago, Mojo Hand said:

I just don't quite get why that is needed.  When I wrap, there's always plenty of moisture pooling in the crevices on top, and that's the entire reason for wrapping — moisture keeps coming out and evaporates, cooling the brisket and causing the stall.  So why add more?  I mean, it probably doesn't hurt or anything, and I'll totally start doing it if it really makes a positive difference, I just don't get it.   But would love to know if I'm wrong. 

I think there also is the idea that spritzing regularly after the first few hours helps the bark set up better (smoke sticks to wet better than dry is the idea).

https://genuineideas.com/ArticlesIndex/srasmokeparticles.html

That said, that brisket I posted above (the most recent one) sat on the smoke unbothered for 12 hours, got a spritz right before I pulled it off to let it rest and nothing more other than sitting wrapped in foil for 7 hours afterward. 

 

Edited August 4, 2018 by dcbc

[Landomatic 3,813]

Aaron says spritz...so spritz it is.

[dad 557]

Need recommendations on a triple probe WiFi or Bluetooth thermometer. Got a weight loss bet going with a friend and that's going to be the prize. I've heard the brand Maverick thrown around quiet a bit. Most things i've found in a quick google search are only double probe but I'd love triple to be able to track a pork butt, brisket and grate temp all at once.

[thunderlounge 7,979]

iGrill can do up to 4 probes. I have one. It's good. The range isn't super, but good enough. Uses phone/tablet app.

[Chilly Water 419]

Threw a couple pork butts on last night at 9:30 and woke up this morning around 8 with the smoker temp dead on at 225* and meat at 170*. I love how well this thing holds temp. Theyre almost probing like butter and sitting pretty at 192* right now. The only thing missing is football....next week can’t come fast enough

[solamente73 1,132]

Following up on dad’s question above... my FIL is asking about a computer for a WSM.  I use a DigiQ on my BGE, and that’s great for my BGE, but is there a favorite among the WSM faithful?  Are there considerations that need to be made for WSM, say any difference between what’s needed on an 18” vs. 22”?  I would think not, but just trying to be thorough.

Secondarily, for those of you with computers, do you wish your computer had functionality and/or features that it doesn’t already, and if so, what would you buy instead?  For example, though I like my DigiQ, the model I have doesn’t have connectivity / app to monitor remotely, so I’d like to have that on my next purchase.

TIA

[luke duke 6,420]

Buy the one you want and give the FIL your old one. He probably doesn’t care about any features other than holding temp.

[dcbc 14,556]

4 hours ago, solamente73 said:

Following up on dad’s question above... my FIL is asking about a computer for a WSM.  I use a DigiQ on my BGE, and that’s great for my BGE, but is there a favorite among the WSM faithful?  Are there considerations that need to be made for WSM, say any difference between what’s needed on an 18” vs. 22”?  I would think not, but just trying to be thorough.

Secondarily, for those of you with computers, do you wish your computer had functionality and/or features that it doesn’t already, and if so, what would you buy instead?  For example, though I like my DigiQ, the model I have doesn’t have connectivity / app to monitor remotely, so I’d like to have that on my next purchase.

TIA

How long has he had it?  I'm all about gadgets for making life easier, but I can hold temps with little to no effort just by closing down two vents and closing the third down to the size of a pencil. 

Edited September 6, 2018 by dcbc