WSM on a wooden deck?


 
D

David Collier

TVWBB Fan
Rear deck is 15 feet or so off the ground, but convenient to my back door. I place a metal tray (used to place under automobile engine) with a border of cheap door mats under the WSM. Overnight smokes could be dangerous, am I flirting with disaster? At least I think I would not try wooden lump. Thoughts???
 
You'll be fine if you use common sense. Do a search and you'll have a lot to read on this. A lot of us do overnights on a deck.
 
I don't think it's a problem if you have a metal pan large enough and if the wsm is stable and secure when it's standing. But the question is, if the wsm tips over for any reason, will the charcoal fall on metal or wood?
 
I do not see how 'overnight smokes could be dangerous'. The fuel is contained, heat goes up not down.

I use straight lump most of the time, my cooker is on a deck that's uncovered and with no windblocks on any side, and it sits directly on the wood. Tropical force winds have not budged it but I store it during hurricanes. I have had no issues at all though you certainly could take more precautions than I have--which it seems you've already done. I don't think you have anything to worry about.
 
I don't think you have anything to worry about. Just keep the dogs inside and no worries about it getting pushed over.

I haven't ever had any issue and have no plans to move my WSM off my deck.
 
Personally, I wouldn’t cook on a wooden deck without at least some protection unless I was there to monitor ~ Overnighters ~ Never. I know of several people that do; one of them has 3 little girls in his house and refuses to place even a 7 dollar oil drip pan under it even after many of his friends basically begged him to. I just wouldn’t take that kind of chance. An example of what can happen; someone in Virginia, I believe, was cooking on his BGE in his driveway last year and somehow, a hot coal ended up in his open garage burning most of his home to the ground. No one was hurt. Granted, that was a fluke but it can happen. Many here probably know whom I’m referring to.

I use the oil drip pan under mine. If there’s more than 10 or 15 MPH winds, no overnighter for me. Some may think that’s overcautious; I’d rather be safe than sorry with my family’s safety on the line.

Bill
 
My deck is about 15 feet off the ground,and I took was worried at first, but it works out fine. Have done a couple overnights with no worries. Just b
e careful when you re0load charcoal, not to drop any on the deck.
 
Right, Dennis. And true--an errant hot coal has nothing to do with the cooker per se; it has to do with the cook

I have done numerous WSM cooks in the woods, and at home I never put the dogs anywhere. Animals aren't going to get that close to a hot cooker. One can take whatever precautions makes one feel better, but worry--and many of the precautions--are illogical.
 
I dont have a deck just a cement porch but if your that worried instead of securing the legs you might want to secure the middle section from tipping over. Get some steel cable and secure it to a board on the railing of the deck or something.
Last month the wind was so hard I guess it used the cover and a parachute. Knocked the middle section and lid off and blew all 3 pieces to the side of my house. When I got home from work I thought they had stolen it along with my gas grill.

What sucks is when it fell over it chipped the bottom and middle section and bend the tabs on the bottom vents. I got it in Nov and now it looks a little beat up
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The first time I used my WSM, I accidentally dropped a few embers on my wooden deck while dumping in the coals from my chimney starter. While it didn't start my deck on fire, it made a nice trail of tiny black burn marks to explain to my wife.

I went out the very next day and bought a Grill Pad. It's about $30 for the round one I have, and I've dropped lit coals on the thing for about 20 seconds before with no noticeable marks afterwards.
 
A little late but I have used a kettle on a wood deck for a year and the only issues are errant coals when dumping the chimney...and that time I Grilled barefoot but we will not talk about that...besides we sanded and painted over those burn marks this summer....

I have also acquired two WSMs this summer and will be doing an overnight smoke of 4 pork butts this weekend. I have 8 16" Square pavers on the deck for the WSM to sit on. I can't put them in the yard b/c we live on the side of a hill and there isn't a flat spot anywhere in what little yard we have.
 
same sentiment as everyone else. I smoke overnighters on the wood deck and never had an issue. By a 20 fire mat at HD, its designed to sit under grills and the such on wood. Any errant ember falls on the mat, not the deck. Screwing up the Q scares me more than smoking on the deck...
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A chain of events is required to light the house on fire. Smoking on the deck would only be the first event. Don't smoke on the deck and that chain is irreparably broken. My fear would be an animal tipping it over, considering the good smells 'n all. The fire can go low enough were a hungry dog, cat, raccoon, bear, etc. wouldn't fear tackling it, and the introduction of fresh air would feed the newly released coals.

Many house fires have started from incredible circumstance. Sure, it may be a one-in-a-million chance, but most of us take hundreds of one-in-a-million chances every day. After a while the odds don't look so good.
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