WSM smoker AND traditional grill?


 
A

Andrew J

New member
Hello gang,

I am not (yet) the owner of a WSM but am trying to do my thorough research and make sure I get the right thing!

I wanted to know if either the 18 or 22 WSM could be used as a traditional grill in addition to a legendary smoker I keep reading about.

Quick bio about to me give context to my question: I'm in my late 20s just bought a house in January and had my first baby in June. I am hoping for a summer filled with delicious BBQ and all that with the hordes of family passing through. I have never owned a BBQ before and grew up not really watching my dad cook on his gas guzzler. I guess something changes in a person as they get older because I can't stop thinking about having and cooking my own BBQ.

I was turned on to the WSM and this website from Amazingribs.com but can't seem to find a straightforward answer to my question. My ideal would be something I can smoke with one weekend and grill the next. Something that I could smoke up a delicious brisket with and turn around and grill up juicy burgers with relative ease.

Unfortunately as my older brothers would be happy to point out - I'm not very handy so if requires in depth modifications I'm not too interested.

So that about sums everything up. I really appreciate everyone reading this taking the time to do so and an extra big thanks to those with parting words of advise.

Thank you all in advance!

Andrew

P.S. if the WSM is what I'm looking for should I spring for the 22 or keep the 18? Reviews from amazingribs said the 22 had problems keeping temps below 275 which could dry out the meet but the 18 wasn't quite big enough for ribs. Your thoughts are definitely encouraged and appreciated!
 
Andrew J said:
can't seem to find a straightforward answer to my question. My ideal would be something I can smoke with one weekend and grill the next.
Click to expand...
First off welcome, congrats on your home and baby

Your question is difficult to get a straight forward answer, because there really isn't one straight forward answer. But to be forthcoming as possible, and practical, I would suggest making a WSM Mini

You can pick up a Weber Smokey Joe for $30 at Home Depot, Walmart, Target, Lowes, you name it, you can get it. You'll then have your grill, and just need to add the "smoker" part to it. It's very easy, if you can drill holes and screw in screws, you can build it. Yeah, you can go nuts, and make an extreme mini, but you can also go basic and it cooks just as good as the extreme mini's

http://tvwbb.com/forumdisplay.php?74-Smokey-Joe-Mini-WSM-Project

You can easily have it all for < $100 that includes:

Smokey Joe $30
Smoker Pot $25
Termometer $15
Extra Grate $12
Defuser $7
Screws $3

That's what I reconmend for you, it would take you one day to build it (max) basically build on Saturday and cook on it Sunday (if not Saturday night)
 
Hi Andrew, welcome aboard. I have a 22 WSM that I use for Q and a gasser that I usually grill on. But, after I got the WSM, I also wanted to be able to grill over charcoal / wood to get those flavors some times. I did a fairly simple modification to the charcoal ring / grate to make it into a true firebasket and I am able to set my top cooking grate on top to directly grill over.

All extra parts I mention I got from Home Depot and might have spent $50 on them.

The Weber 22.5 WSM comes with a charcoal grate and metal ring that holds the coals. I bought a second replacement grate (sized for the 18.5 WSM), rotated the smaller grate 90 degrees and sat it on top of the original grate. This made the grate "bars" running in opposite directions of each other, making small squares that little pieces of charcoal won't fall through.

I bought a bag of stainless steel zip ties and used these to secure the two grates and the coal ring together, thus creating a basket that could be easily removed for clean up. They make special tools for working with stainless steel zip ties, but I did a Google search and found out that you can use needle-nose pliers to coil the strap and they'll stay locked.

I then wanted to put two handles in the firebasket to be able to pick it up and shake out the ashes. Later, I realized that adding four handles would allow me to prop the top cooking grate for direct grilling. For the handles, I got four stainless steel 10" eye bolts, 8 nuts, 8 large flat washers, and four locking washers. Make sure they are stainless steel. You don't want galvanized as the fumes might get someone sick.

I threaded a nut and a large washer onto each bolt about the same distance up the thread, stuck it through a square in the coal grates, put on another large washer, a locking washer, and the final nut to tighten in place.

Some pictures to help you understand:

Securing with the zip ties:

1779291_794854403876160_1066245460_n.jpg


Handle through the crossed grates:

1618574_794854380542829_987255400_n.jpg


Finished with two handles. I added two more handles the next day at the 12 and 6 o'clock positions:

1898020_794854317209502_634523304_n.jpg


Cooking some Korean Ribs over the coals:

1962688_798948800133387_1269756024_n.jpg


As for the 22 or the 18, it depends on what you will cook on it. I usually just cook for 3 or 4, but I like having the size for when I cook for 50. I have had no issues with my WSM as far as holding temps, getting low enough (I have cooked at 225*, but I prefer 275*), getting high enough (I smoke my chicken at 375* plus), or seen a fuel issue. When I am done cooking, I close all the vents and my fire / coals are out in about an hour saving them for next cook.

Disclaimor: I have added gaskets from BBQGaskets.com, the Cajun Bandit Stainless Steel Door, and a compression latch, so my WSM is pretty air tight and only smokes out the vents like it should. But, that's another topic....
 
I have the 18.5 and if I could do it over again I would buy the 22.5. I would like the bigger surface for cooking my ribs.
 
You could buy the 18" WSM and a 22" kettle for the same price as a 22" WSM. There are other methods for smoking ribs than flat on the grill.
 
Welcome to the forum!
I have 22 WSM and i smoked a lot. About grilling I saw round the forum some folks grilling w/o medium section. Just over the charcoal grill put the grate and grill! I didn never grill like this but some posts in the forum say it works.
 
Unfortunately, you need some modification but nothing major though...
I added U-bolts to the ash grate - they serve as cooking grate rest as well. I also mounted bowl handles - the handle's screws also serve as cooking grate support.

we6.jpg


Leg tabs help keep the lid in place:

we3.jpg

we2.jpg
 
Welcome Andrew and congratulations on the new arrival! You should also consider the issue of having to bend down to grill at this point. Or having to put the grill now on a table top surface so you aren't bending down all of the time. For the money, I'd rather buy an 18 inch and a 22 grill so I don't break my back. I think the 18 inch is fine as long as you trim to St. Louis and lose 2-3 bones. Those smaller pieces can be cooked separately. This way, you should be able to smoke 3-4 racks easily. But if you wanted to smoke more, you'd need a 22. It all depends on what you want to smoke, grill, how much space you have, if you have an extra table top, if you mind bending down, and how much money you have and what your wife will allow!

Best of luck!
 
What Donna said. Using the cookers as anything other than what they were designed for will always be a compromise and while they will work, they won't work as well as a cooker designed for the purpose. I have a CB conversion and it does smoke very well, not as well as a WSM.I have even used it like a UDS (no pan or lower grate). Worked ok, just not as good as a UDS, and I'm not a big fan of the UDS.
My suggestion is to decide what you will be doing more of, grilling or smoking. Buy the cooker for that and then look on CL etc. for the other cooker and save a little bit. If you can afford both, go for it. You won't be disappointed.
 
There is also the option of putting the charcoal grate in place of the water pan and grilling on the top grate. Chris has an article about it on the main website.

http://www.virtualweberbullet.com/grilling.html
 
Last edited:
The WSM bottom is the same as a Kettle bottom. The only mod you need to do to the WSM bottom is to replace the 3 top bolts that hold the legs with slightly longer ones. The longer bolts will now hold the grate/grill in place just like a Kettle for maybe $2.00 in parts.

Re. the 18 vs 22, it depends on how much you want to cook and there are many threads on this topic.

There's probably no right way to go, either (1) 18 WSM and Kettle or (2) 22 WSM and use it for both smoking and grillling

I've been around the block a little.. and if I had limited options I would get a Performer and also use it for low and slow, but I have developed my techniques to mimic the performance of a WSM on a Kettle. I rarely use my WSM.. instead I use a 22 kettle/Performer or just the WSM bottom/Kettle top for most everything including 10+ hour cooks for brisket and pork shoulder.
 
Last edited:
What Donna and J said! A guy needs the right tools, so use a grill for grilling, and a smoker for smoking! 22.5" kettles are pretty common on CL and I recently gave the neighbor the OTG I'd picked up for $50 since I now have both a Performer and a big 26.75" OTG kettle.

Now as to the wsm, there's no telling how many times I've smoked four 8-9 lb pork butts on my 18" wsm, and for the family reunion last month I smoked half a dozen KC spares on it. I honestly prefer to roll and skewer ribs, no matter which wsm I use, and don't pay any mind to the folks that haven't learned how to use their wsm's bottom grate, yet! Lol!

Anyhow, from a guy that has too many Webers, all you really need is a kettle and a wsm, 22.5" and 18.5", respectively. You ought to be able to find one or both used and at half the price of new.
 
Hey Andrew. I currently have a 26.75" kettle, my first Weber product, and 22.5" WSM, after selling my 18.5" WSM to a buddy. Based on my experience, it's easier to smoke on a kettle, than it is to grill on a WSM.

What type of meat are you thinking about smoking? I sold my 18.5" because I love BBs! I was sick of trying to fit them on the 18.5". They fit better on the 22.5". It doesn't mean you can't do it on the smaller cooker, but you have to be careful that the ends don't get torched because the sides of both cookers run hotter than the core. Easy to fix with rib racks etc...The water pan provides protection, but it doesn't expand the entire circumference, and, as a result, the edges run hot.

If you can swing it, I'd buy a kettle (pick a size) and an 18.5" WSM. That will get you the best of both worlds. If you can only do one, and can afford it, buy the 26.75" kettle and you're set!

I can turn out great Q and grilled meat on my kettle. Conversely, I can only turn out great Q and so-so grilled meat on my WSM. YMMV. Anyhoo, just food for thought.

Enjoy the journey!
 
Last edited:
Andrew welcome to the site, in your PS you mentioned the reviews on the 22.5 running hot, don't let that discourage you, my 22.5 does run hotter than my son's 18.5 but not to that extreme, his will run all day at 240 and mine will run all day at 260, I can get it lower with different coal arraignments but found 260 to work fine for me, I believe that review is years old. I have the 22.5 and an OT with plans to buy a performer platinum soon, hope this helps
 
Andrew J said:
Hello gang,

I am not (yet) the owner of a WSM but am trying to do my thorough research and make sure I get the right thing!

I wanted to know if either the 18 or 22 WSM could be used as a traditional grill in addition to a legendary smoker I keep reading about.

Quick bio about to me give context to my question: I'm in my late 20s just bought a house in January and had my first baby in June. I am hoping for a summer filled with delicious BBQ and all that with the hordes of family passing through. I have never owned a BBQ before and grew up not really watching my dad cook on his gas guzzler. I guess something changes in a person as they get older because I can't stop thinking about having and cooking my own BBQ.

I was turned on to the WSM and this website from Amazingribs.com but can't seem to find a straightforward answer to my question. My ideal would be something I can smoke with one weekend and grill the next. Something that I could smoke up a delicious brisket with and turn around and grill up juicy burgers with relative ease.

Unfortunately as my older brothers would be happy to point out - I'm not very handy so if requires in depth modifications I'm not too interested.

So that about sums everything up. I really appreciate everyone reading this taking the time to do so and an extra big thanks to those with parting words of advise.

Thank you all in advance!

Andrew

P.S. if the WSM is what I'm looking for should I spring for the 22 or keep the 18? Reviews from amazingribs said the 22 had problems keeping temps below 275 which could dry out the meet but the 18 wasn't quite big enough for ribs. Your thoughts are definitely encouraged and appreciated!
Click to expand...

I have both a 22.5" WSM and a 22.5" OTG, so I can grill AND smoke. If I REALLY need to grill or smoke more, then I also have a Smokey Joe Silver (with the mini WSM setup).
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

 

Back
Top