New larger wsm?


 

PaulBz

TVWBB Fan
I have a 14.5 wsm and I think I want a bigger one. I know the 18 is $300 and the 22 is $400. It seems like one should just save up and get the 22 instead of buying the 18? But then the 18 probably uses less charcoal. Often I make one rack of ribs or maybe a couple pounds of chicken wings. The 14.5 is fine for chicken wings. But it is rather annoying trying to fit a rack of ribs on the 14.5, And sometimes if I need more wings for a party I don't have room. Does the 22 inch take up that much more charcoal than the 18 to make it a difference in price for buying charcoal? It seems like I might waste charcoal in the 22 inch. I guess for a small batch of wings I'll just use the 14.5, But for ribs I really want a bigger rig. Any thoughts?
thanks
 
I have a 14.5 wsm and I think I want a bigger one. I know the 18 is $300 and the 22 is $400. It seems like one should just save up and get the 22 instead of buying the 18? But then the 18 probably uses less charcoal. Often I make one rack of ribs or maybe a couple pounds of chicken wings. The 14.5 is fine for chicken wings. But it is rather annoying trying to fit a rack of ribs on the 14.5, And sometimes if I need more wings for a party I don't have room. Does the 22 inch take up that much more charcoal than the 18 to make it a difference in price for buying charcoal? It seems like I might waste charcoal in the 22 inch. I guess for a small batch of wings I'll just use the 14.5, But for ribs I really want a bigger rig. Any thoughts?
thanks

My biggest fear I would have for you is if you dropped $300 and spent the next 20 + years wishing you would of just gotten the 22 inch one. If you think you would want or use the extra space get the 22" one and don't look back. Just because it DOES hold more charcoal, for shorter cooking times like wings, ribs etc it doesn't mean you have to fill the thing all the way up with charcoal.

Having said all that, I bought the 22" a few years ago. If I am being 100% honest as I look back now, for ME, I think I could of gotten away with the 18". But sounds like you may be having a lot more parties and doing a lot more ribs.

Anyway, honestly I can just hear it in your post that you want the 22". Life is too short - if that is what you want f' it, go get it.
 
I have the 18. Getting ribs on initially isn't a huge problem. I just roll or fold them around the rib rack and I can easily get 3 racks on each grate. The problem is I've taken to the 3-2-1 method and you can't roll or fold the wrapped ribs. Three racks of wrapped ribs don't fit on a single grate without overlapping them. Two racks is fine, three means shingling or stacking.

Whole packer briskets can be challenging. They'll usually fit if you have something to drape it over that raises the center by several inches. They'll generally shrink up enough by wrapping time that it will fit on the grate without difficulty.

I've never done wings but I have done thighs several times. A whole saddle pack of thighs from Costco will fit. I think that's 8 pounds.

I have occasionally wished I'd gone for the 22 rather than the 18, but then I've never used the big one and may be wishing the opposite had I gone that way. My understanding is most of the additional fuel usage on the 22 is due to larger surface area of the exterior of the smoker transferring more heat. This can be mitigated with additional insulation. Apparently just setting up a temporary wind break can make a big difference.
 
Keep the 14" and get the 22". I started out with a 18" and then got a 14". I no longer have the 14", but I do wish (a lot times) that I had the 22" instead of my 18". The 22" will give you so much flexibility and room with your cooking over the 18". What's a little more charcoal?
 
I waited for an 18 for a long time, finally got one at a good, fair to both parties, price. Now, I am acquiring my brothers 22, just today as a matter of fact, I’ve spent the day moving things in the garage to accommodate both smokers which I didn’t have last year, I was wondering how I’d get the 18 in and now I have to deal with both, I’m not really complaining really!! I know I will not be disappointed, you can do small things on a big unit but, it’s pretty hard to get a really big piece in a small one. Charcoal is cheap, well, relatively cheap.
Get the big one!
 
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I have a 14 and an 18 for the two of us it's a perfect combination. Did a 14 pound packer on my eighteen without a problem, just put a brick under it to gain a little more room.
You sound like you really want the 22. My only concern was I have to move my smokers around to use them and my friends 22 is a pain to move, if you're not going to be moving it a lot I would go with the 22.
 
I don't have a lot of parties. And I have fit three racks on the 14.5 in the top and bottom rack. I almost never have parties bigger than that to require more space. it's a huge pain fitting the ribs on the 14.5 and not having the ends get burnt from being too close to the wall. My dream is to open a sports bar and sell bbq maybe once a week. In that case I would need a few wsm 22's. So in case that happens I guess get a 22. I feel like I'll use almost a whole bag of charcoal for once cook which is 11-13 for kingsford. And the bag of weber which I need for long cooks is $18 . Or at least it was last time I was at home depot. And I can get two and a half cooks out of my 14.5. So it does save a bit of money. I can still make chicken and fish on the 14.5 with no issue. But if i want to make one rack of ribs I'd want to do it on the 22 so I have more room. But then a whole bag of charcoal for one rack (I make one rack of ribs for 2-4 people all the time by the way) seems a bit pricy. Thank you all for your advice. I can't afford a 22 now but maybe christmas and I can save. You never know, maybe santa will be good to me. Can he fit the 22 down the chimney though? That may be a reason to get the 18.
 
Just because you have a 22" doesn't mean you have to fill the pan. :)

If you already know how much charcoal you're using for 1 rack of ribs in the smaller one it will be the same or slightly more in the larger one.
 
Ah ok so I can put less charcoal in there and it will still go for 5 hours to make one rack of ribs. Whether I'm making 1 or 4 though I still need the same amount of smoke time. And then if I have a long cook i can fill it up more and it will last longer I am assuming. I'll have to play with it once I get it. Getting it seasoned is the annoying part!
 
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My first WSM was the 18.5 and it worked great and using a little ingenuity I fit enough meat on it to feed 15 people. My son gave me his 22.5 and it has great capacity but it does use more charcoal to cook the same amount of meat. You're heating up about 50% more volume inside the cooker. The 14.5 is my workhorse because it's usually just me and my wife and it's not heavy. After I got the 22.5 I gave the 18.5 to our daughter but if she ever wants the big one I'll be happy to trade with her. I'm 76 and the 22.5 gets heavier every month. :wsm:

Consider this. You can find an 18.5 on Craigslist for $150 or less and even if it's older it's still a great cooker. Try it out and if you want the 22.5 then sell the 18.5 on Craislist for what you paid for it.

Also, I grew up in St. Louis County. Which part of town are you in?
 
Personally, I think the 18” is the best bang for your buck smoker on the market. I have gotten 6 racks of ribs on it as it is. If you check out the mods portion of this sight, you can find ways to get extra racks in it to fit even more. You could do the same with any of the sizes if you wanted. All sizes are great options though. Weber knocked it out of the park with this style of smoker.
 
Hmm still thinking about the 22 versus the 18. I know charcoal isn't expensive. But using an entire bag of charcoal just for one rack of ribs does seem a little much. I am thinking I can get two cooks out of the 18 with one bag of charcoal and the 22 would be one. I read the notes about putting less charcoal in the smoker. I don't see how works. I can't believe it adequately heats the smoker wouldn't you have hot spots? I don't think I want to go the route of putting less charcoal in there. But I would love thoughts of people who have put less charcoal in a 22. I am eventually thinking about a business. But that is still a pipe dream as I have no money. But you never know. If the business does ever come to fruition (sports bar with great bbq once a week or so as there is a huge market for that here in stl) then i assume whoever my investors are could be tempted to invest in some 22's and I can still use the 18 in my arsenal as well. I have been doing well with the 14.5. But fitting even one rack of ribs on it is hard to not get the ends burnt on the sides. So I have been frustrated with it's small size. I am leaning towards the 18 so i don't have to spend so much on charcoal. I smoke a lot of meat. So if it's $13 for a bag of kingsford and I cut that cost in half with the 18, I think it's a better bang for my buck. Now it doesn't fit whole racks of ribs from what I heard and you need to use the rack still. But that's fine. I have two weber rib racks. But another thing is the weber rib rack. You still need to twist it in there. You can't just lay it up on it's end in the 18? I think only the 18 fits in like this. But with the 18 I think I can just lay it on top of the rack so it's raised a little and I can fit it on there.
 
"But fitting even one rack of ribs on it is hard to not get the ends burnt on the sides"

Ribs on the 14"

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I have the 18" too, but rarely use it cooking for just two.
The 18" will seem large after using the 14"
 
I have never tried to skewer technique. That is cool. Maybe I just need to figure out how to squeeze racks on there. I’m rarely cooking for more than 2-4 people. I squeezed an 8 pound brisket on there for corned beef on St. Patrick’s day. I just think the 18 will be much easier to use. And I can fit more wings on the 18. I make wings a lot and I can only fit two pounds on the 14.5. Sometimes I wish I could have a few more than that. I don’t think the 18 will use that much more charcoal and might suit my needs the best. After reading all of this that is my thought right now.
 
"But fitting even one rack of ribs on it is hard to not get the ends burnt on the sides"

There's an old cooking trick to keep the ends of the meat from getting burnt...when they get to near the point you like them (color-wise) cover them with foil. Just put end caps on the ribs. :)

I cook for two also, but I put the extra meats up in the freezer. When the cold winter days hit and there's 2 feet of snow on the ground and you crave some BBQ all I have to do is reheat it.
 
I have an 18,and couldn't be happier with it. But it's my only smoker. Since you already have a small one ,grate wise the 18 really isn't that much bigger. The 18 does hold quite a bit more charcoal and a LOT more water (if you use the water pan.) But I say since you are going for a bigger one you might as well get the biggest.
What I'm trying to say is if someone is planning on having only one smoker the 18 is the best of both worlds. But if someone is going for two. The smallest,and the biggest makes the most sense to me.
 
If I lived farther up north I would have to worry about that. I live in St. Louis so we don’t get two feet of snow and I smoke all year round. So I’m good. 3/4 of the year here it’s good for golfing or hanging outside. So I don’t need to freeze anything. I have watched those shows about people way up north and in Alaska that have to freeze food just to have food for the winter. I like fresh smoked meat too much so I couldn’t live that far up north.
 
I am still undecided on the 18 and the 22. My main thing would be the charcoal usage. I’ll still use my 14 for small things. I may just stay with the 14 I guess and try and fit the racks of ribs on it. I don’t know. I have a little bit of money coming in a couple of weeks so I thought about a bigger smoker but maybe the 14 is still good. And it’s already seasoned.
 

 

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