WSM Door


 
J

JayHeyl

TVWBB Pro
Amazon recently had an infrared pistol thermometer for a pretty ridiculously low price (~$13). Since I've always kind of wanted one, the price made it a no-brainer. Of course, since it arrived, I've been taking the temperature of everything, including the WSM.

I know the topic of replacing the door on the WSM has been discussed many times but it's usually based on the door being leaky and just generally not fitting as well as most people would like. The infrared thermometer showed a huge temperature difference between the porcelain-coated part of the middle section and the door, with the door being a lot hotter. (I forget the specifics now, but it was on the order of a 100F difference.) This suggests the thin aluminum door is bleeding heat like crazy. (What a shock!) Has anyone attempted a mod to address this particular shortcoming of the stock door? Adding gasket material would seal the door but wouldn't stop if from bleeding heat through the door.

I realize the aftermarket cast iron door would solve this and several other problems with the door, but I'm not looking to spend that kind of money.
 
Jay, I am assuming that you are referring to the stainless steel door from Cajun Bandit? I don't (yet) have an IR thermometer but I would bet that it would solve that 100* differential. When I get that IR, I will check. Interesting thoughts.
 
Jay.

Common metals.
Aluminium is one of the best heat conductors around, only second to copper.

Ceramics.
Porcelain, (a type of ceramic), is not a good heat conductor.

Ergo: The heat in the WSM is bounced off the porcelain, (to a certain extent). The aluminium absorbs it more. Hence why the door & vents are considerably hotter than the rest of the unit.
 
Jay. I would like to add. I have the SS CB door. And it gets HOT!!
 
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@Tony, I understand why the situation is such as it is with the materials involved. It also doesn't help that the door is a lot thinner than the rest of the WSM. I was more wondering if anyone had ideas on how to improve the situation short of going with the stainless steel door.

Whatever material is used will eventually get hot. That's just physics. The difference would be in how efficiently the material transfers heat from inside to outside.

The only mod that comes to mind is to get a second door, cut off the protruding bits, cut out the handle, and then bolt the two doors together with some high heat insulating material sandwiched between them. Wouldn't even need insulating material if you could seal up the edges. The dead air space between them would work well on its own.

But, as Tim so aptly pointed out, this is probably a solution is search of a problem. It's totally about efficiency, not efficacy. The stock WSM is obviously adequate for turning out tasty BBQ. Whether you'd save enough charcoal over time to recover the cost of the second door and other materials is questionable. Not that ROI is a factor in most mods.
 
Jay.

Your points are well noted. And I agree….with regards to physics.

However, if there was no door on the WSM, how many more briqs/lump less would we burn to attain the net result? A neglible amount in my opinion, (with regards to cost).

I really don't think it's worth worrying about whether the door is hotter than the rest of the unit. :)
 
I just acquired a 14WSM, thank you Walmart. My question is, do I need the SS CB door. Obviously it is a better door than the Weber door. What does it bring to the game?
 
Pat G said:
I just acquired a 14WSM, thank you Walmart. My question is, do I need the SS CB door. Obviously it is a better door than the Weber door. What does it bring to the game?
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Pat,
I can only speak for myself.
I've never remotely seen the need for a different door on my 18 or 14.
Strictly my opinion, but if I wanted a totally sealed, well insulated smoker I would go ceramic.
 
Pat.

The CB door brings nothing to the game. It does not alter the efficiency of the cooker one iota!! It's just a crying shame the OEM door-handle is of poor quality, (& Weber have known about this for years), otherwise I would not have changed it.

Edit: Check out my OEM handle mod I did nearly two years ago, coz the OEM handle was crap!!

I agree with Bob C, there is absolutely no need whatsoever to go with the CB door upgrade, if Weber had put a robust locking handle on the door. And I did that with my mod.

So why did I not stick with my door mod? You tell me!! :confused: The CB door & compression latch looks sexy……..that's it, nothing else.
 
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Agree with Tony. The CB door and latch just look great. Not sure if the CB door improves efficiency any but I just wanted it and I like the look.
 
TonyUK said:
Edit: Check out my OEM handle mod I did nearly two years ago, coz the OEM handle was crap!!
Click to expand...
Interesting mod, though I'm curious what you found so deficient with the OEM handle. Perhaps they've redesigned it, but I find the handle on mine adequate. I wasn't even thinking of replacing it if I added more insulation. In a place far away (long story) I have an older WSM that I know has a different handle than the one I bought this year. My issue with the door, aside from the heat leakage, is more with the hokey way the tabs fit in the bottom. I did pork shoulder on my last cook and had to reload charcoal part way through. The door isn't very convenient when you have to full remove it and find a place to put it, and then wiggle it back into place when you're done.

Speaking of my older WSM, am I just imagining things or has the charcoal ring gotten shorter in the last 15 years? I'd swear I used to be able to fit a whole 20 lbs. of KBB, plus several fist-sized chunks of wood, into the ring without overflowing. On this last cook I couldn't more than about 3/4 of a 18.5 lbs. bag in there, and I couldn't mound it in the center without hitting the bottom of the water pan. I know the pan is a lot bigger than in my older one. Did they shrink the charcoal ring to make room for the deeper pan?
 
Jay.

The brass to plastic grommet in the handle rounded off. And it was a hit or miss trying to lock the door in. PITA. Weber sent me a new one, & the same thing happened. That's when I went with my own mod, which was more than adequate, then went with the CB door and SouthCo latch coz it was sexy.

I ditched my waterpan and had an extended charcoal ring made, so I could load it up, and still open the door to add wood if needed. Foiled terracotta plate as a diffuser/heatsink. Never looked back. I can get a 12+ hr cook on a full ring using the tin-can Minion with 12 lit briqs, with no re-fuel, (14.5).
 
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Just wrap the whole smoker in fiberglass insulation. Why worry about only heat loss on the surface of the door when you can worry about it on all the surface area.
 
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