WSM Wind Screen


 
Chris, it was raining so I got lazy after last nights cook and left the wind screen up around the WSM. The wind came up last night and this or morning, not hurricane force, but it was gusting pretty good sometimes. I put the coal shovel on the top to keep it in place but the windscreen stayed right in place. Didn’t move at all. And, at least with the top on, it acted as a good insulator as it was quite warm inside the screen.
 
Originally posted by Chuck R:
Matt,

I’m ready to crank up the WSM in a few hours to BBQ some brined chicken. It’s supposed to start raining so I made a little Pagoda hat for it to protect it from the rain.
Click to expand...

That's awesome! Great idea. Duct tape rules!
 
Chuck ,
That is one smart looking windscreen. I have seen the material but was concerned it would make contact with the smoker and melt . You worked all that out , Great job!


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Rick
 
I think I need to seriously consider making one of these brilliant devices. I love how it folds up for summer storage. Great job.
 
For what it is worth, I've done one out of Plywood that is super easy, cheap and effective.

Here are a couple of shots.



I can turn it in any direction. Its very sturdy. Folds up flat.
 
Keith, looks good, simple and effective. Are all 3 pannels equal lengths? I think this is the route I'll go if I ever get around to building mine.
 
I just simply went to Home Depot purchased a regular 4' X 8' sheet of good plywood and had the guy there cut me the peices. The back (Middle) peice is 3' wide. the other two are 2.5' wide. I bought two piano hinges and had one peice of strapping (if you look closely at the left hinge behind the WSM the piano hinge is mounted on the strapping to allow room) so I could fold it all up. While I was there I picked up a packing balnket and some clamps so I could fashion the blanket as a top (if necessary. I don't use it much). The only other thing I did was staple a peice of present ribbon to it to use as a "Tell Tale" for the wind direction. Let me know if you have any more questions. It was really easy. Took about 15 minutes to make once I got it home.
 
those windsreens are all really nice.

i just use the wind screen that came with my wsm. unfold the box all the way and duct tape the flaps so they're not all floppy-like. wrap it around the cooker as tight as necessary. not too worried about it catching fire. if i'm worried about it getting too hot, i just try to maintain about 3-6" of clearance between the box and the wsm. most of the time it's about a foot away, not trying to insulate, just block wind.

Rob
 
Hi Greg,

Not sure you'll get a quick response on this thread, it's four years old. But, since I live in the St. Paul/Minneapolis area like you do, this windscreen has survived most of the gusty winds we typically get at anytime during the year. I use tie downs (they are behind the screen) and the screen stays in place without issues. Tornado like winds on the other hand are another story ;)
winscreen1.jpg
 
Thanks Chad.

A lot of the threads on wind screens are pretty old. I don't mind building a screen like yours, my concern is that they are pretty heavy. I could see myself installing some wheels & a handle to help move it around

Do you have any pictures of the tie down side? I'd like to see how fellas are fastening this stuff together.

I've only done one cook so far (last week) & I was wondering if the WSM resists loss of heat to the wind more after a few uses. Anybody know for sure?
 
I took a 6 by 10 foot blue tarp, and made a PVC pipe frame to create two hinged 6' high x 5' wide section with feet. I put the WSM in a corner by my garage, and the windscreen covers the open area. It's very light weight, and if it gets too windy, I use a few canopy weights on the feet. Works great.
 
Greg Thorpe said:
Thanks Chad.

A lot of the threads on wind screens are pretty old. I don't mind building a screen like yours, my concern is that they are pretty heavy. I could see myself installing some wheels & a handle to help move it around

Do you have any pictures of the tie down side? I'd like to see how fellas are fastening this stuff together.

I've only done one cook so far (last week) & I was wondering if the WSM resists loss of heat to the wind more after a few uses. Anybody know for sure?
Click to expand...

Glad to help. I'll take some more pics and put them up as soon as I dig out the patio...again, :mad:by the weekend.
As you continue to use your WSM, it will get a build up of "insulation", aka smoke crud, and that does help seal it up a little bit. Keeping the WSM out direct wind though is she best option.
 
Well, I opted for the dog kennel / reflectix wind screen.

Got the two rolls (48" wide) of reflectix at Home Depot for about $70. The 8-sided kennel at Petsmart on sale for $68. I just used duct tape to attach it all. It was a pretty crude assembly done under a bit of a time constraint due to the fact that I had a scheduled cook this Saturday. I've gotta add one more panel and just add some finalizing tape to it to finish it off, but I completed enough of it to complete the cook as planned.

My first cook (ever) on my WSM 18.5" last weekend went well, but I wound up battling the wind more than I wanted to. Without the wind screen, my IQ110 handled the first 2 hours well, but after that I began to notice it really push to keep the temps up...I let my fuel get low.

So on a day predicting snow & high 30's....I added the wind screen & switched from lump charcoal to briquettes.

Result...a solid 250F for 5 hours and even after I was done cooking with all the valves closed, it still didn't dip below 200F for another 2 hours. Amazing & fun cook. Anybody can cook when the weather is nice, but cooking when the weather isn't nice is much more challenging.

We have daily visits from a herd of deer and I wonder which attracts them the most...the smells or the shiny looking thing?



Untitled by evh347, on Flickr


Untitled by evh347, on Flickr


Untitled by evh347, on Flickr


Untitled by evh347, on Flickr
 
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