glen jones
TVWBB Pro
Wish I had known got credit for any purchse from amazon......I have made a lot of purchases latley.
18.5" vs 22.5"
- Thread starter Luis L.
- Start date
chris schnautz
New member
That's great!! I will do the same...we do a lot of Amazon shopping also!
JSMcdowell
TVWBB All-Star
Steve L. (Georgia)
New member
I know the discussion has moved on from 18.5 vs 22.5 but I just went through this internal debate. I have retired my Brinkman 15" and was deciding between the two sizes of wsm. I eventually went for the 18.5" for several reasons. One, my Brinkman had plenty of space for 4 racks of ribs, which is more then my family can eat with plenty of extras for friends/left overs. So, the extra 3.5" per grill is more welcome space. However, I couldn't justify the extra 7.5" of extra space since I have never maxed out my Brinkman. Not to mention the extra fuel costs and unit cost. I was able to use the extra $100 that I saved for some fine accessories and charcoal. I should receive my baby tomorrow and then the neighborhood will be enveloped in the smell of hickory smoked meat....
JSMcdowell
TVWBB All-Star
Steve,
Congrats on your purchase and remember, without pictures it didn't happen
Looking forward to seeing the ribs your put out on the WSM.
Congrats on your purchase and remember, without pictures it didn't happen
Steve L. (Georgia)
New member
JSMcdowell
TVWBB All-Star
It's a really easy smoker to use. If you use the minion method, which most due, just make sure to start out with the right amount for lit. For lower smoking temps, only use 1/2 chimney lit. For higher smoking temps, use a full. About 20 degrees from target temp take the bottom vents down a bit and you will be set. You will quickly gain confidence with a WSM.
Where in Georgia are you located ? I am on the east side of Atlanta.
Where in Georgia are you located ? I am on the east side of Atlanta.
Steve L. (Georgia)
New member
Thanks Josh,
I am just south of Gainesville.
I am just south of Gainesville.
Well, after reading a lot of posts I zipped over to Home Depot and checked out the 18.5" and decided to wait and order the 22.5". My plan is that for the infrequent times I'm gonna use the smoker, I want to be able to do a significant amount of ribs just laying them flat without using racks. It seems like to get let's say six racks of ribs in there, I need the 22,5". So I guess that's what I'm gonna get.
I bought a kettle 22.5 in the meanwhile .
I bought a kettle 22.5 in the meanwhile .
Dude check the post I made on another forum. It'll show you how to get your 22" for about 320, maybe even less.
http://www.bbq-brethren.com/fo...wthread.php?t=101002
Dude check the post I made on another forum. It'll show you how to get your 22" for about 320, maybe even less.
http://www.bbq-brethren.com/fo...wthread.php?t=101002 </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
THANKS MAN!I'm gonna give that a shot tomorrow.
HE Etheredge
TVWBB Member
I agree with Steve 100%. Love my 18. It's more than enough for me and my family. I don't ever see myself using it to capacity.
Go Dogs!
HE Etheredge
TVWBB Member
I am from the Northeast side. Johns Creek
JSMcdowell
TVWBB All-Star
Darren,
I love both my 18 and my 22. 22 is huge though. If you are mainly buying the 22 for rib capacity, you could add a 3rd rack or use the BGE grate extender or both. Check out the mods section, I added a 3rd rack to my 22 for butts. I dropped the lower rack on the 22 since there was room for this, but that was to accomadate butts. You woulnd't have to on the 18 for ribs. In fact, I am going to add a 3rd rack to my 18 so I can lay out 6 racks flat sometime next week, and then use the BGE extender on top for an additional 2 if needed.
I love both my 18 and my 22. 22 is huge though. If you are mainly buying the 22 for rib capacity, you could add a 3rd rack or use the BGE grate extender or both. Check out the mods section, I added a 3rd rack to my 22 for butts. I dropped the lower rack on the 22 since there was room for this, but that was to accomadate butts. You woulnd't have to on the 18 for ribs. In fact, I am going to add a 3rd rack to my 18 so I can lay out 6 racks flat sometime next week, and then use the BGE extender on top for an additional 2 if needed.
JSMcdowell
TVWBB All-Star
HE,
We need to get an Atlanta WSM party going one day! I used to live in Johns Creek, off Peachtree parkway over near the Whole Foods.
We need to get an Atlanta WSM party going one day! I used to live in Johns Creek, off Peachtree parkway over near the Whole Foods.
Dude check the post I made on another forum. It'll show you how to get your 22" for about 320, maybe even less.
http://www.bbq-brethren.com/fo...wthread.php?t=101002 </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
THANKS MAN!I'm gonna give that a shot tomorrow. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Lowes also offers a discount (10% I think) to Vets.. so potentially another $30 or so off the price.
John
I have two thoughts on this.
1) If I were wanting to do a lot of ribs flat, I'd figure out ways to mount extra grates. You could probably fit two easy between the upper and lower grates. I would consider suspending them from the top grate with baling wire or mounting angle brackets to the side of the middle section. You could probably get one Smokey Joe grate above the top grate if you could figure out some way to prop it up there. Offhand I can't, but someone probably can.
Of course you could do this with the 22" WSM and make even more ribs.
2) My other thought is that if you are only using the smoker for ribs, you are missing out on a lot of other good stuff.
RichPB (richlife)
TVWBB Wizard
I have two thoughts on this.
1) If I were wanting to do a lot of ribs flat, I'd figure out ways to mount extra grates. You could probably fit two easy between the upper and lower grates. I would consider suspending them from the top grate with baling wire or mounting angle brackets to the side of the middle section. You could probably get one Smokey Joe grate above the top grate if you could figure out some way to prop it up there. Offhand I can't, but someone probably can.
Of course you could do this with the 22" WSM and make even more ribs.
2) My other thought is that if you are only using the smoker for ribs, you are missing out on a lot of other good stuff. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
OK, I'm not sure what the fascination is with laying rib racks out flat, but one alternative for the 18.5 would be to follow the "stacking" instructions found somewhere on TVWBB. Another would be to simply cut all the racks in half and fit them in (again, I'm not sure that there is any real benefit to cooking intact rib racks).
Personally, I've come to prefer coiling the racks anyway, and three coils will fit on a grate.
As for suspending a grate from the upper grate -- instead suspend it from the upper grate supports. I can think of several ways to do that. Done right, each rack could be removed simply by lifting out the one(s) above.
Rich