Reloading Charcoal in an 18.5" WSM


 
J

John W

TVWBB Member
Hey all! I've had my 18.5" WSM for almost a year now and I'm getting more and more addicted to this hobby! I absolutely love this forum too; so much good input and great stories.

I've only run into a few situations where I've had to add more charcoal because I either did not start with enough, or the weather was cold.

My question is, what is the easiest way to add more charcoal mid-term during the smoking process? I have been simply tossing more in through the access door, but do others remove the top 2/3rds of the WSM to have full access to the charcoal bowl? The access door approach makes it a little tricky with the water bowl in-place, and my sections tend to stick together really snugly, not to mention the heat :)

I'm starting to go with lump now more than briquettes, so I'm worried that this situation will come up more often on longer cooks with or without an ATC.

Thanks!
 
John, I prefer lump as well, but as you've found, simply tossing lump through the door of the 18.5" wsm, lit or unlit, doesn't get you very far. The door is rather small, and besides, the '09 and newer wsm water pans are so deep that access to the fire is quite limited. Nothing you can do about the size of the door, but a Brinkman water smoker charcoal pan holds almost as much water and will give you a lot more room, access-wise, as well as for wood and charcoal. Get one of those so you can pack your ring tight and high with a good, dense lump like Ozark Oak and refueling will be a rare issue. Oh, and use a windbreak or cook in a spot sheltered from the wind.

To answer your question though, I do prefer the "hot squat" refueling method with the 18" wsm. The necessary precaution is to simply not refill the water pan when your fire is getting low, and you can take the dome and top grate off to substantially reduce the weight if necessary. Add handles if holding the middle section at the rim feels awkward, but be advised that they will make your cover fit much tighter. Speaking of tight, if your sections fit tight, that's a good thing. I'd probably just go with a couple of garage door handles. I just removed my grate hardware and positioned two vertically with no need for drilling any holes. Ergonomically better, though, if you mount horizontally below the rim. http://virtualweberbullet.com/handles.html

Anyhow, I simply scatter unlit lump on what's left in the ring, and then dump some lit on top of that to refuel. I don't remember the last time I had to do that with my smaller wsm, but the bigger bullet is a fuel hog and I basically do the same thing with the lit on top of the unlit lump. Thankfully though, there's room to use a flat-headed shovel. Regarding bad smoke issues though, if there's any partially burned up wood chunks, you might want to remove them. Other than that, any smoke from the lump dissipates quickly so that you can get the cooker back together and cooking.

Hope that helps.
Dave
 
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That's great info Dave! I will definately have to get that Brinkman charcoal pan and try out the handle mod.

Much appreciated!
 
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Dave's method works fine. I personally add through the door. I made a chute out of aluminum tapered so it will fit in the door. I have a bucket that I put the lump in before pouring down the chute. When I get ready to add more charcoal, I have an old fireplace shovel that I shove the charcoal in the smoker toward the rear and add the new up front. Make sure that all your meat is foiled when you add charcoal or you could get dust on the fooe. If not foiled, Dave's method is probably better, but I use water in the pan with ribs so I really don't want to lift all of it off to add charcoal, but probably if just ribs, won't need to add charcoal.

One tip, opening the door will give a big shot of air and a possible temp spike. I shut all vents, even top vent for just a few minutes before I add. This tends to kill the fire just enough to avoid a spike.
 
If the coals aren't burnt down too low, add some new, unlit charcoal. Add a little, leave the door open to give it a boost, then add some more if needed.

If the fire is burnt mostly out, get a chimney starter going, and use an old garden or fireplace shovel to put it in.

I have a Brinkmann charcoal pan in my 18 1/2" WSM. I don't use water and it's much better.
 
Great suggestions everyone! I obtained an old fireplace set as well, so I should be able to put the shovel to good use. Thanks again!
 
I lift the center section with the meat in it and the lid together off the bottom, pour in some more coal, put the section and lid back on, takes maybe 30 seconds and I'm back up to temp very quickly, I have done this on 2 cooks in the past month with below freezing temps and no problems.
 
I remove the top 2/3's of the smoker intact to help retain the heat.
Then, I vigorously fan the remaining coals in the bottom section to blow the ash away.
This fanning also makes the coals brightly glow so I can see if there are any cool spots for redistribution.
Next, add the new charcoal and give it a fan or two to help get things going.
Reassemble and, if you're quick, the food never even knows anything happened.

I use the lid to a plastic tote for a fan. Pretty hard to beat.
 
I just go a bit overboard with the charcoal. I would rather waste a few dollars then risk having my temp too low and messing with getting it in there.
 
Thanks again everyone for all of the great suggestions. I ended up running low last weekend and used many of these with success :)
 
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