Be honest now, what DON'T you like about the 22" WSM?


 
R

Ricky Ginsburg

New member
I'm giving serious consideration to buying a 22" WSM to replace my Backwoods Party. Having been through the bullet smoker, compliments of several Charbroil H20s many years ago, I'm kinda leery about the WSM.

Please tell me the downsides to it, before I plunk down $400.
 
Ricky,
First, why are you replacing your Backwoods smoker? Was there something wrong with it or is it just wearing out...I only ask because I looked at those before getting the 22 WSM.

I can't give you a lot of info on the 22 as I have only had one smoke on it (the next one is tomorrow which will be (4) 7 1/2 lb pork butts and 6 racks of baby backs). My last smoker was a cheap offset that had trouble holding temps so that made the WSM attractive to me, and boy did it deliever in this case. I still have some kinks to work out in regards to vent opening and all, but my first smoke went well.

As far as issues I can name a few. 1) the charcoal grate sits on the bottom vent tabs, so you will have to make some type of mod to correct this. 2) the door leaks like a sive (sp?). Cajunbandit is working on a stainless steel replacement door which should be ready for purchase next week. Individuals that bought the one of the 18 WSM have posted good results. 3) the lid also leaks alot, I'm probably going to get some high-temp food grade silcone to solve this issue. 4) My only other issue is that I tent my pork butts for the last 4 or so hours. It will be interesting how that works tomorrow as the 4 butts will be on the bottom grate and the ribs will be on the top, so I will have to reach down into a hot smoker to transfer the butts to a roasting pan. I have an idea of how to grab the entire grate with some hooks that I have to make it easier, but that is really the only thing about the bullet design that I don't like.

Also, just as an FYI, buy.com has the 22 for $350 after shipping and there is a $10 coupon out there for first time buy.com customers...just to save you some money if you do go with the 22 WSM. I hope this helps.
 
Derek - The Backwoods has reached a point where the only way to keep the temperature at 225 degrees is to have the outside air temperature at 225 degrees as well. I get more smoke out the door than the chimney and charcoal pan is so warped that I have to put a large rock under one corner to keep it level.

What do you mean about the charcoal grate and the vent tabs? Can you take a picture of it? Thanks.
 
Aside from what Derek said (both points I agree with) I wish Weber had put handles on the sides of the unit because it's pretty awkward as is. The extra handle on the lid is nice, but doesn't help when you have to move the darn thing. I also think they could have made the charcoal ring larger (deeper) because there's plenty of room to do so without interfering with the water pan.
For the kind of coin people are putting out for this unit I can't believe Weber put such a cheap door on it. It's a good thing it's such a dynamite design, but too bad it needs so many mods.
 
My only issue so far; it takes a LOT of charcoal, even if you only wanna do 3 racks of ribs.... at least twice as much as my old 18"... I am in fact considering selling mine, and getting the smaller one...
 
Originally posted by Trev:
Aside from what Derek said (both points I agree with) I wish Weber had put handles on the sides of the unit because it's pretty awkward as is. The extra handle on the lid is nice, but doesn't help when you have to move the darn thing. I also think they could have made the charcoal ring larger (deeper) because there's plenty of room to do so without interfering with the water pan.
For the kind of coin people are putting out for this unit I can't believe Weber put such a cheap door on it. It's a good thing it's such a dynamite design, but too bad it needs so many mods.
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There is NO WAY Weber Legal would EVER allow handles on the center section... but, I am going to put two on mine...
 
I haven't found the need for a 22" yet so I haven't purchased one, but I can't see where it is much different from the 18" (save, perhaps, for increased fuel use, an issue Ralph notes that I had not heard).

I have not modded at all, to speak of, I have no idea why people get so carried away about the door. It is easily bent to shape to the curvature of the center section, and contrary to the beliefs of many, it in no way needs to be airtight.

I cannot imagine I would mod a 22--except for getting rid of the built-in therm. Hate those.
 
I talked with a friend "Paul of Hickory Flats" at a comp a few weeks ago who uses both and asked him what he thought. He said they cook the same, holds temps the same. One is just way bigger. The big one is impressive.

Kevin, Actually the thermo looked like it was high quality. Very nice looking and not cheap at all.
 
Originally posted by Ralph Grunz:
There is NO WAY Weber Legal would EVER allow handles on the center section... but, I am going to put two on mine...
Click to expand...

It's a shame that legalities get in the way of common sense, isn't it. I'll likely end up putting them on mine too, I find it difficult to move around sometimes.
Kevin, you're right that the door is easy to get into shape if you put the time into it, but it's cheap and doesn't seem like the same quality as the rest of the smoker.
 
Originally posted by Dale Perry:
I talked with a friend "Paul of Hickory Flats" at a comp a few weeks ago who uses both and asked him what he thought. He said they cook the same, holds temps the same. One is just way bigger. The big one is impressive.

Kevin, Actually the thermo looked like it was high quality. Very nice looking and not cheap at all.
Click to expand...
It IS a lot bigger than I expected too; and it IS very impressive.... I can see it on my new deck from my family room, I leave it uncovered if no rain expected, just I so that I can glance out at it once in a while and admire it... lol
 
Trev-- Yes, the door is cheap. But, being so, it's easy to mold to where you need it to be. A door of quality wouldn't be. Not sure that's in Weber's best interest (I could be wrong) as, both being curved, the door and the center section would require tighter tolerances during manufacture, adding to the cost, were the door to be made of substantial material.

Dale-- It isn't so much quality or lack thereof with a mounted therm. It is that so many go off (get dirty, jostled too many times, lose calibration) or break more easily when mounted. I cook at the homes of others with WSMs (and other grills) with mounted therms. They are almost always off or useless within a year of installation or purchase. One that isn't mounted has to be removed. It is then easier to clean before putting it away, and seems to last much longer.
 
I didnt check but I would think that you could remove the thermo to clean,calibrate,ect with ease. Anyhow, it looks good the way Paul Everman had his all shiny, perfectly clean..

Hey you lucky owners, can you do that ^ ?
 
Build a UDS and be done with it. Heck you can make one for anywhere from nothing like I did to a total of less than a hundred bucks easy. Same size as the WSM 22 too.
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Originally posted by K Kruger:
Trev-- Yes, the door is cheap. But, being so, it's easy to mold to where you need it to be. A door of quality wouldn't be. Not sure that's in Weber's best interest (I could be wrong) as, both being curved, the door and the center section would require tighter tolerances during manufacture, adding to the cost, were the door to be made of substantial material.
Click to expand...

Kevin, you're right. After all the b!tching I've done about it I've got the thing fitting pretty good anyway. Same technique I used with my 18"- bend, fit, bend, fit, curse, bend, fit and repeat as necessary. Fit's okay, and really what you're saying is true; a stainless door would be sweet, but it would really add to the overall cost.
Ah well, live, learn, smoke. What else is there?
 
i have both a 22 and an 18 wsm. i would say the only area which could stand a lot of improvement is the door itself. it takes a lot of fiddlign to get the door to fit right as it is made of relatively light weight aluminum.

fuel usage is about the same as the 18. i dont use water just an empty pan so while there is a lot more room to put fuel it really doesnt need to be filled to the top for each cook. what really drags down the efficency of water smokers is actually using water. the pan on the wsm 22 holds 2 gallons and that is an aweful large heatsink for hte fire to overcome and maintain heat. running it wihtout water makes it very efficient for fuel usage. for ribs which is anywhere from 5-6 hours i use two layers of unlit and a chimney of lit.

the ease of use and general high quality makes it worth the cost enough so to me i bought a second one just to have the larger more convienant cooking area. being able to cook a whole turkey or a couple of chickens along with 5 or 6 racks of ribs is pretty handy when i have guests over.

the upside of the door is taht it is actually large enough to add fuel if needed without removing the center section and manage the fire when doing things like smoking jerky which requires extremely low temps.

the therm in lid is pretty handy and if it breaks or something happens to it there is a handy predrilled hole to stick a therm through.

as for the tabs its no biggee there just bend em til they break off leave the bottom one on and its done.
 
I've had my 22" WSM since Dec, but have not used it yet. Just haven't had to do a big cook yet. That said, I expressed my disspleasure about the door elsewhere here on TVWBB. It is what it is, and can be worked to fit perfect. Just shouldn't have to do it IMO. Looking at it, I wish they would have made it about 4" taller and put a middle grate in there.The charcoal grate laying on the bowl tabs is also a big WOOPS! but that's an easy fix as well, shouldn't have to do it, but once again it is what it is. That's all I got.
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What don't I like about the 22 WSM?

I walked into my local Ace and there it was, in all its shiny glory. I was about to plunk down the money when I thought I'd better disassemble it to make sure all the parts were there and that everything fit well.

Imagine my surprise when I couldn't lift the center section!
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So, it's back to my old reliable, 22-year-old 18 WSM. I sure did covet the 22", though. It was like getting a long-awaited ice cream cone and then the ice cream falls out.

Rita
 
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