18.5 WSM lower vent on SJ Platinum?


 

W Tyler

TVWBB All-Star
Anyone here added the 18.5 WSM lower vent to the Smokey Joe Platinum? Seems like it should be a natural fit, and get me what I'm looking for.
 
George,

The link you posted is for the One Touch venting system, I was looking for someone who may have done a mod using the swivel, 4-hole vent that the WSM uses.

I'm envisioning this mod to be a single vent on the side-bottom, a couple inches from the very bottom. That way air can be drawn in from below the charcoal grate (for hotter fires and longer burns), yet allow the option to dump ash out the bottom off to the side (similar in position of the old three circular dampers on the Bar-B-Kettles).
 
Just modded the SJP, adding a single 3-hole vent made for the 18" WSM.

The hole is offset an inch-and-a-half shy of the bottom center. Waiting for the hi temp paint to dry, then will fire it up tomorrow to cure. Probably hit it with a shot of "Pam" cooking spray to help "season" the cut area.

Will post pics once done. I think this will get me the airflow I'm seeking.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by W Tyler:
Just modded the SJP, adding a single 3-hole vent made for the 18" WSM.

The hole is offset an inch-and-a-half shy of the bottom center. Waiting for the hi temp paint to dry, then will fire it up tomorrow to cure. Probably hit it with a shot of "Pam" cooking spray to help "season" the cut area.

Will post pics once done. I think this will get me the airflow I'm seeking. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

How did it work? IMHO it doesn't sound as elegant as the One Touch method, but it sounds SO MUCH EASIER

rich the lazy
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Rich,

It actually works 'OK', not as well for hi temps as I thought. Main problem, it turns out, is that the single WSM vent doesn't allow enough airflow to maintain high temperatures for very long - maybe 30 minutes. The WSM vents are three holes and appear to be smaller than the old style kettle bottom vents.

When I ran my first trial run it was night time, and I noticed a noticeably redder glow of the coals in the area immediately above the vent.

So I believe adding another vent at the bottom will allow as much air in as needed to hit ANY high temp, and take care of the airflow issue. Another interesting observation is when I opened the side vents on the Jumbo Joe (along with the bottom vent) the coals did heat up noticeably hotter.

Since I'd rather have the sides closed, and use top/bottom for high heat management, I (at some point) will add a second lower vent.
 
Pics included:

The lower vent definitely helps, but realistically is just too small to keep temps high. But with the side vents wide open you can keep pretty decent moderate temps. 700 degrees for 10 minutes? Forget it!
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From the inside ..... needless to say, at least one more lower vent is needed to maintain adequate high heat. Not nearly enough airflow with this one vent.

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<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by george curtis:
at this point i would just add another 3 hole opposite the one you already installed. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Yep George - that's basically the plan. I wanted to go with the smaller WSM vents and not the large One Touch vents, since the SJ Platinum bowl is basically the WSM bowl/lid. I assumed (correctly) that the contours would mean a perfect fit and it is.

When closed, the tiny lower vent seals so well that it contains ash with no spill and allows shutdown of the cooker to save the remaining fuel. It cools down fairly quickly too.
 

 

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