New 22" WSM Question - Stoker 5 CFM fan?


 
P

Pat McCreight

TVWBB Pro
Do you think the 5 CFM blower will be sufficient for the new, larger WSM? I am just wondering if I would need a new blower in order to use my stoker on the new cooker.
 
Yes, I believe that a 5 CFM fan will work on the newer, larger, 22" WSM.

My 5 CFM(s) works fine on my WSM, my Stump's Smoker GF 222 CM and my Stump's Tailgater. The GF 222 CM is about 1-1/2 to 2 times as large as the 22" WSM, and the Tailgater is NOT really a low-flow smoker.

You can get the larger fans, but in MY opinion, the fan will be off more than it is on, and that could cause larger temperature swings.

I'd try your 5 CFM, and if you aren't happy with it, buy a larger one. You will eventually want a separate blower and pit probe for each of your smokers. (Don't ask how I know this)

BOB
 
Thanks Bob.

I should have mentioned I currently own 3 blowers and a set of probes for each of my 3 WSM. If / when I get the 22", I will want to unload at least one of my current cookers.

I realize the vents are larger on the 22", but I can either order a new adapter or just drill a 1" hole for the air and another 1/8" hole for the bracket. I know some people do this anyways.

I was also thinking I could use two of my fans if necessary. I don't know if I could tie them to the same pit probe or not, but I know I can work something out.

EDIT: I talked to John at Rock's and he seems to think the new 22" cooker would require the 10 cfm fan, especially if the cooker was fully loaded with meat.

He did say, though, that I can wire two blowers together so they both work off the same pit probe. Since I'll be giving up one WSM, this sounds like a good option, versus buying the larger fan.
 
I would argue that a modded 18" WSM can hold as much meat as a non-modded 22" WSM. My most recent cook was 2 full packer briskets and 4 pork butts, and the 5 CFM fan handled it just fine. Once the smoker was up to temp, I had the top vent closed down to about 25%. With the larger WSM you could probably leave the top vent closer to 50% and get a little bit of additional assistance from natural draft.

Don't get me wrong, I don't have anything against getting a 10 CFM fan, but I'd probably wait until the 5 CFM fan proved to not be able to handle the task before I would order it.

Perhaps high temp cooks would be a bit more difficult on the 22 without a bigger fan, but I don't do many high heat cooks.
 
Todd,

How do you have your WSM modded? I can fit 3 pork butts on 1 rack if I need to, but I've never been able to get more than 1 packer on the rack. Do you stand the packers up on their sides? Or do you have extra racks? Any pics?

I agree about trying the 5 CFM fan first. If anything, I'll go the 2 fan route so I don't have to buy anything new stoker-wise.

I do like to finish my meats at higher temps, so I need the ability to run the smoker at 300 on the top rack, albeit for only a couple of hours.
 
Pat,
I followed the helpful hints here
In the stacking grates section, I did the mod in pictures 8&9 on the bottom rack, and added the BGE grid extender shown in picture 3. So bottom shelf gets one brisket, the middle shelf gets the second brisket, then 2 butts on the top shelf, and 2 butts on the BGE extender above that. The butts wind up touching through the BGE grid, so when I get up in the morning I rotate them so the barked portion of the butts on each shelf rotates to the middle and gives the previously touching portions exposure to the air for the rest of the cook. Works well.
 
I have made myself 2 magnum smokers using a 22" kettle and a 55 gallon drum for the center section. I have had 3-4 full racks and never have had a problem getting to temp using the 5cfm fan. Now it hasn't been 3-4 racks of butts or other large cuts. A common combo is rack of chicken wings, rack of pig wings and 3 slabs of ribs. I also do on a regular basis a full rack of butts (4) and a rack with a chuck roll. I haven't yet wished I got the bigger fan.

I say save your money and get something different.
 
I'm going to buck the trend here; I did my first Stoker cook on my Kamado yesterday and I've got to say while it worked just fine, I did find myself wishing I had the 10 cfm blower when she was coming up to temp and after I put the meat on. If you're not worried about coming-up to temp and recovery time then I think you'll be fine with the 5, I'll probably buy a 10 for the K.
 
I built a Stumps clone, cook chamber dimensions= 22W x 24D x 36H, I purchased the 10CFM fan but have since switched back to my original 4CFM fan because the 10CFM blows too much ash around and creates a "blowtorch" effect and I worry about burning something up. Using the 4 CFM fan it takes 20-40 minutes to get to temp and it takes less than 15 with the 10 CFM. After the unit is up to temp neither fan struggles to maintain temperature. A couple of other things to think about... The 10 CFM requires a much much larger power supply and the connector doesn't fit like it was designed for the Stoker. Also, you can not use Radio Shack extension cables with the 10 CFM as it draws too much current for the wire, I had to make custom extensions out of cat 5. I used a twisted pair for each solder point and it still drew too much current for a 20 foot run I had to cut my run down to 10 ft to get everything to run from inside the house. I purchased a 12' length 4 wire 22 ga at Home Depot today and will make a new extension, hopefully it will work as the cat 5 is too stiff.
 
Thanks for all of the tips. I think I will start by using one of the 5 C cfm blowers to start and see how that works.

Question for Joe - If I was to solder two 5 cfm blowers together, do you think the radio shack extension cables would still work? I currently use a 25' extension. Thanks
 
I was curious about wiring two blowers together. Since there are "smarts" in the plug itself that tell the Stoker what device is plugged in, can I assume that one would have to cut both blower wires and splice them together and then onto the severed pigtail of one of the two removed plugs? At least this way, there would only be one blower (as far as the Stoker is concerned).

Another question: would the stock power supply handle the two blowers? I think read somewhere around here that the 10cfm came with a new, bigger (more current supply and physically larger) power supply.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">can I assume that one would have to cut both blower wires and splice them together and then onto the severed pigtail of one of the two removed plugs? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Yes, that is exactly what John told me I would need to do. Splicing them together eliminates the need to have 2 pit probes for the 2 blowers, and the stoker would only see 1 blower.

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">would the stock power supply handle the two blowers? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

I currently run 3 blowers off the stock power supply, so I think it would be just fine.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Pat McCreight:...........
Question for Joe - If I was to solder two 5 cfm blowers together, do you think the radio shack extension cables would still work? I currently use a 25' extension. Thanks </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

I don't know as I've only ever run one blower at a time with the Stoker. I can confirm that the 10CFM will not work with the Radio Shack extension. At one point I called John and he confirmed the RS extension could not handle the 10 CFM fan. I have run the 10CFM, accidentally, with the stock ps and it got hot quite fast. Fortunately I realized it within 5 minutes of turning everything on.

Pictures of the 10CFM, PS for 10CFM and 4CFM fan.

IMG_7370.JPG
 
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