Cleaning WSM after use


 
P

PCMancini

TVWBB Member
Hi all, what do you all do after a smoke to clean your WSM. Not looking for any extensive cleaning/rehab info, just basic care. What I do now is scrub the grates with a grill brush, empty out the water pan, charcoal chamber and then do a quick hose down of the rest. I then let it dry in the sun/air for a day. No soap, cleaning fluid, abrasives, or (other than the grates) scrubbing.

Thanks in advance,
Paul
 
Clean the grate and water pan. grate with copper scouring pad, water pan with non-scratch scrubbing pad. Every couple cooks wipe down inside of wsm with a palmyra brush. Also dump any ash.
 
People clean them?? o_O

If nothing else, scrape & oil the grate & make sure to clean the ash, because it absorbs moisture and can cause the bottom pan to rust.

That being said...all I do is brush the grate, give the grates a spray of avocado oil, save the unburnt briquettes, dump the ashes and call it a day.

I use a drip-pan over the foiled water pan....if any grease or food gets on the water pan I'll swap out the foil at the next cook.

About once a year, (or if I notice the interior flaking*), I'll brush off the loose stuff with a bristle brush.

*carbonized grease...happens in the lids of Weber kettles too
 
Rick P said:
People clean them?? o_O

If nothing else, scrape & oil the grate & make sure to clean the ash, because it absorbs moisture and can cause the bottom pan to rust.

That being said...all I do is brush the grate, give the grates a spray of avocado oil, save the unburnt briquettes, dump the ashes and call it a day.

I use a drip-pan over the foiled water pan....if any grease or food gets on the water pan I'll swap out the foil at the next cook.

About once a year, (or if I notice the interior flaking*), I'll brush off the loose stuff with a bristle brush.

*carbonized grease...happens in the lids of Weber kettles too
Click to expand...
Yep, that’s about all the work I do too.
if things really get grubby I fill the water heater pan and let things soak a bit. A couple of times a year maybe.
 
Rick P said:
People clean them?? o_O

If nothing else, scrape & oil the grate & make sure to clean the ash, because it absorbs moisture and can cause the bottom pan to rust.

That being said...all I do is brush the grate, give the grates a spray of avocado oil, save the unburnt briquettes, dump the ashes and call it a day.

I use a drip-pan over the foiled water pan....if any grease or food gets on the water pan I'll swap out the foil at the next cook.

About once a year, (or if I notice the interior flaking*), I'll brush off the loose stuff with a bristle brush.

*carbonized grease...happens in the lids of Weber kettles too
Click to expand...
Same here
 
I'm pretty lazy on the WSM. I clean it before I cook usually, which means dumping the ash and cleaning the grates and get any loose creosote on the underside of the lid. I'll give it a deep clean here and there. I don't put water in the pan, usually so I just refoil if needed.
 
I don't use my WSM(s) as often as I should, they spend months at a time in my shed. I don't have to worry about weather, but they sure get dusty.
I pretty much do as Rick P explained above. I store them with the vents open so any stray moisture isn't trapped.
 
PCMancini said:
Hi all, what do you all do after a smoke to clean your WSM. Not looking for any extensive cleaning/rehab info, just basic care. What I do now is scrub the grates with a grill brush, empty out the water pan, charcoal chamber and then do a quick hose down of the rest. I then let it dry in the sun/air for a day. No soap, cleaning fluid, abrasives, or (other than the grates) scrubbing.

Thanks in advance,
Paul
Click to expand...
Pretty much the same but spray with the grates Pam or veggie oil to preserve after the cleaning.
 
So is kingsford original toxic?
Do I need to wary about it poisoning my land?
If I’m understanding this correctly some of the literature that I just read states it’s (and I’m paraphrasing ) the same group as matchlite and should be taken to your garbage can when cold.
I’ve always dumped ash in my burn pile and then later into my ravine on the far side of my land or sparingly into my garden.
This is important to me because I eat from my land and am its docent.
 
I would not use the word "toxic" to describe any Kingsford product, whether the Original blue bag charcoal or the lighter fluid infused Match Light charcoal. I don't think there's any question that plain ashes coming from lump charcoal or a natural briquette (charwood + starch binder) are fine when used sparingly in a garden or landscape. My bigger concern would be screwing up the pH of my soil by adding too much ash. But when it comes to ashes from Kingsford products that contain traces of mineral char, carbon char, borax, and perhaps lighter fluid, I would not suggest using that in a garden. That's just my sense of things and not based on any scientific analysis of the ashes.

Kingsford.com says, "Never compost or fertilize with old briquets. The ingredients in Kingsford® and Kingsford® Match Light® briquets don’t aid in the breakdown of organic matter."

www.virtualweberbullet.com

Frequently Asked Questions - The Virtual Weber Bullet

Answers to the most frequently asked questions about the Weber Smokey Mountain Cooker, including temperature control, troubleshooting, cleaning & more.
www.virtualweberbullet.com www.virtualweberbullet.com
 
Chris Allingham said:
I've written about this subject extensively.

www.virtualweberbullet.com

Cleanup, Maintenance & Storage - The Virtual Weber Bullet

Tips on cleaning your Weber Smokey Mountain Cooker before and after cooking, periodic maintenance items, how to burn-out the cooker, and tips on storage.
www.virtualweberbullet.com www.virtualweberbullet.com
Click to expand...
All great articles and videos, so thanks for that.
That said, have you figured any good sizes of garbage bag for the ash/water pan of a 22”?
I can’t figure out how to get rid of the ash and the water pan grease with a bag big enough to swallow the WSM/water pan. Thoughts?
 
I run my WSM without water and foil wrap the water pan with several layers of foil.

After each cook before storing:
1. Scrape the grates, let the debris fall into the water pan and the base section
2. Remove the water pan and peel off the top 2 layers of foils that have grease and bits, re-foil with 2 fresh layers.
3. Use 40 a gallon trash bag as a stocking cap over the bottom section (ring and grated removed), grab two of the base legs, flip and dump the ash and debris into the bag.
4. Reassemble, cover, and store - done.

I may or may not use 409 spray to clean the kettle top -depends on how finicky I'm feeling before storing my WSM.
 
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