Clay saucer in water bowl


 

Paul Dalbey

New member
I posted yesterday my first experience with my WSM 22 in another thread but don't want to hijack that in another direction so I'll start new.

I've seen a lot of talk about using a terra cotta/clay saucer in place of water in the bowl. I've found this one that is available at my local Lowe's (https://www.lowes.com/pd/16-25-in-Orange-Clay-Plant-Saucer/1000189759) and may go pick it up. Someone in the reviews even said they used it for this exact purpose.

I'm know this is a seriously amateur question, but could some who wraps theirs and places in the water bowl please post or direct me to some pictures of how this looks? It sounds like peeps wrap their water bowls (I'm assuming a complete wrap of the inside and outside) and wrap the saucer separately. Then some people talk about placing the saucer inside the bowl and wrapping everything again. I guess my concern is, won't the drippings run off the all-encompassing outer foil?

So many questions...
 
Here is a thread about that very subject on a 22.
https://tvwbb.com/showthread.php?73600-Water-pan-cover
As I said in the other thread,I have an 18. My clay water pan cover fits the 18 water pan like a glove. The rim of the clay plate just barely overhangs the water pan. The rim of the terra cotta plate sits on the rim of the water pan. I just wrap the top with a big piece of foil.
In the thread with the link guys are were having a hard time finding an exact fit for a 22 if i remember correctly.
 
Don’t wrap them drum tight, I,wrap mine so the foil conforms to the shape of the bowl and the shape of the saucer, I tried the slight sag in the saucer but I didn’t care for the sloppiness.
Just make the foil conform to both components. I change the saucer foil every time but the bowl about every third smoke.
 
I did some pulled chicken thighs yesterday. I used a single piece of heavy duty foil across the top of the bowl with a depression of just an inch or two below the rim. Just enough to ensure catching anything the dripped from the chicken. I don't wrap the bottom of the bowl. Not saying it's wrong, I just don't do it.

Unless you know you have an issue with heat radiating from the bowl, I don't really see the point of putting a saucer on top of the bowl. Completely replacing the bowl, yeah, I get that, but as a lid for the bowl I don't see what that brings to the party.
 
Paul, I used a clay saucer in my 18.5 and I foiled the saucer and the water pan. When I got the 22 I looked for something that would be easier to foil. I found a heavy pizza pan on Amazon, 19" diameter, and it fits on the water pan bracket. If you go the "no water" route just know that if your temps get too high it takes a while to bring them back down. You will burn less fuel but the 22 is still a fuel hog - with or without water. You are in the fun but scary period of WSM ownership. Just keep playing with and and you'll be fine and you'll be eating good.
 
The first few times I went without water,I just foiled the water pan on the top side. It worked well until i did like 5 slabs. I left a seam where grease leaked through. (5 slabs makes a lot of grease) It smelled like burnt bacon,and left a real mess in the water pan. While it stunk,the ribs still turned out great. Thats when I started using the clay plate. With the plate even if the grease were to leak through onto the plate it wouldn't get hot enough to burn. I have lost count of how many times I have used the plate and see no reason to replace it. A wide roll of foil from the dollar store covers it without any seams though.
I never took any pottery classes,but i bet a plate wouldn't be all that hard to make for the 22. I'm surprised nobody has done it.
 
It’s not making the plate but having a kiln big enough to make three of them. One will break before you get it home, one will seem to last forever and you lose the third one in the garage five years later.
I can’t make one for $12! (To fit the 18)
I have used the same one for three years, I figure I will drop it the next time I foil it! I plan on picking up another when the end of season sales come around.
 
It’s not making the plate but having a kiln big enough to make three of them. One will break before you get it home, one will seem to last forever and you lose the third one in the garage five years later.
I can’t make one for $12! (To fit the 18)
I have used the same one for three years, I figure I will drop it the next time I foil it! I plan on picking up another when the end of season sales come around.

I agree. saucers for 18's are easy to find. But this thread is about 22's,and it looks like they are unobtainium for 22's
 
I agree. saucers for 18's are easy to find. But this thread is about 22's,and it looks like they are unobtainium for 22's
OP shows one which he is considering in his post(16.5”) commercially available at Lowe’s for ~$16.50.
When using that I’d double foil the water bowl and simply rest the foiled saucer inside it, easy peasy.
 
I go against conventional wisdom I guess. I worked hard to season my cooker and the last thing I need is shiny alum foil in it reflecting heat. So, I don’t wrap my pan or saucer. I’ve been using it this way for years. Sure, every now or then I’ll scrape out the build up into an empty charcoal bag headed for the trash but that’s about it. Works great and temps are rock solid around here.
 
Dwain, you make a very good point, “there are no rules”, there is only experience and patience. The more time one spends with their smoker the more knowledge you amass. The more knowledge the better the subsequent experience!
 

 

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