Unknown BBQ WSM Hinge


 
How many of you guys have installed this hinge on a 22.5" wsm? I noticed pics of one upthread or on the other thread, but the website only mentions it being for the 18.5". Looks heavy enough to me, but would just like more info before buying lid hinges for both of my cookers. Any feedback would be appreciated, especially if someone knows how to contact the sellers.
 
J is working on the 22" hinge, it's in beta testing right now (I got one of the prototypes).

If you wait just a little bit he should have them available for sale.
 
Testing on the 22.5" WSM is now complete and the hinges are available for purchase at Unknownbbq.com . The hinge kits are universal for the 18.5/22.5 WSM. They all now ship with a Stainless Steel quick release pin at no extra charge! I'm going to eat the cost on the pins because I want the best product out there at a fair price. Also anyone who purchased hinges before this I will give you a pin upgrade free of charge, you just cover the shipping. Should only be a buck or 2. Thanks JW
 
J Whitcomb said:
Testing on the 22.5" WSM is now complete and the hinges are available for purchase at Unknownbbq.com . The hinge kits are universal for the 18.5/22.5 WSM. They all now ship with a Stainless Steel quick release pin at no extra charge! I'm going to eat the cost on the pins because I want the best product out there at a fair price. Also anyone who purchased hinges before this I will give you a pin upgrade free of charge, you just cover the shipping. Should only be a buck or 2. Thanks JW
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I'm looking forward to installing them on my cookers.
 
My hinges arrived today and so now I have to decide where to put in relation to the doors. I'm thinking I'll position the hinge to the opposite side of my 22" wsm since it has a front handle, and to the side for my 18. Make sense or not?
 
Dave, on my 22" I have it opposite the door. Works out great for me--I keep one leg back there which puts one vent right in the front, and it's easy to lift the lid on the hinge. I don't have any input on the 18" since I only have 22", but if there's no front handle then the hinge on the side sounds like it would make sense. Only thing to keep in mind is that there's going to be a hot lid there--make sure it's not somewhere that you'll bonk your arm into it while you're loading and unloading meat.
 
I did a side-by-side cook this weekend with both of my 22" WSMs, one with the hinge and one without. I'll be ordering a new hinge really soon--the hinge worked perfectly and saved me having to set the lid on the ground all the time. I don't know about you guys, but my lid is all nice and gunked up from smoking, so if I set it on the patio it leaves a black ring, which is a pain. The hinge totally fixes that.
 
Dave Alvarado said:
I did a side-by-side cook this weekend with both of my 22" WSMs, one with the hinge and one without. I'll be ordering a new hinge really soon--the hinge worked perfectly and saved me having to set the lid on the ground all the time. I don't know about you guys, but my lid is all nice and gunked up from smoking, so if I set it on the patio it leaves a black ring, which is a pain. The hinge totally fixes that.
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The dome hinge is absolutely the coolest mod I've done to both of my bullets. Maybe not as necessary as the notch for my wires, as helpful in controlling temps as my extra top vent, as problem solving as the Cajun Bandit doors completely eliminating leaks, or as productive as the extra grate mods.....still though, absolutely the COOLEST mod! One you won't know what you've been missing unless you came from using a smoker that had a hinged lid. I'd been using drums with Weber kettle lids just before getting my first wsm, so I'd already forgotten how nice the hinged lid was on my old cheap offset. There's absolutely zero downsides to the Unknown BBQ hinges on the wsm, and my covers even still fit.
 
Would this hinge work for the 14.5" WSM or Smokey Joe Mini WSM? I have a 18.5" WSM water pan I want to use for the top of my mini WSM, and this would help me keep it on top of the tamale pot without having to form tabs (since there's no flange at the top of the pot to hold the lid on).
 
Steve P. (Timmee) said:
Would this hinge work for the 14.5" WSM or Smokey Joe Mini WSM? I have a 18.5" WSM water pan I want to use for the top of my mini WSM, and this would help me keep it on top of the tamale pot without having to form tabs (since there's no flange at the top of the pot to hold the lid on).
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Hey Steve, I don't think the current configuration would match the radius of the lid. The hinge plates with the mounting holes are 14ga ss so they could be manipulated to match the 14.5" radius. My main concern would be matching the verticle radius of the lid. The side profile of the WSM basically gives you a flat mounting surface to attach to. Where as the top bracket mounting plate would need to tilt down to work on the kettle lid. The kettle lid hinge on the Unknown BBQ site is also alot shorter to match the surface of the lid and not leave a gap. If that wasn't confusing enough for you :) Basically you would need the bottom of the WSM hinge and the top of the Kettle hinge.The only problem is I don't think the top kettle hinge wouldn't be long enough to reach the lid.
 
very interested in getting this set up. I see some mounted on the side and some mounted in the back. What is recommended and why? It will be going on a 22.5.
 
Mike DiMaggio said:
very interested in getting this set up. I see some mounted on the side and some mounted in the back. What is recommended and why? It will be going on a 22.5.
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It doesn't matter really, since the middle section can be rotated as desired. However, on my 22.5" I mounted the hinge opposite the door because it's dome has a handle in the front. I can just as easily position the cooker where I can lift it to the side, though.
 
J Whitcomb said:
Hey Steve, I don't think the current configuration would match the radius of the lid. The hinge plates with the mounting holes are 14ga ss so they could be manipulated to match the 14.5" radius. My main concern would be matching the verticle radius of the lid. The side profile of the WSM basically gives you a flat mounting surface to attach to. Where as the top bracket mounting plate would need to tilt down to work on the kettle lid. The kettle lid hinge on the Unknown BBQ site is also alot shorter to match the surface of the lid and not leave a gap. If that wasn't confusing enough for you :) Basically you would need the bottom of the WSM hinge and the top of the Kettle hinge.The only problem is I don't think the top kettle hinge wouldn't be long enough to reach the lid.
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I wasn't planning to use the Smokey Joe's lid, this is basically what I'm attempting.

http://img27.imageshack.us/img27/5657/020kw.jpg
 
All you guys need is some painter's tape, a drill, 1/8th" bit, step drill bit, phillips, and a wrench. It's a piece of cake.
 
J Whitcomb said:
I see what your saying now. So that's the water bowl from a 18.5" and the bottom from a smokey joe?
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Yes, that's the plan for my mini WSM as well.

Now, at least partially because of this thread, I have a WSM hinge and a kettle hinge ordered (as I have both), so I'll be able to see if it's possible to use a hinge for the mini. :)
 
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