Why is the WSM so popular?


 
S

Steve Petrone

TVWBB Diamond Member
It is easy. It is predictable. It is portable. It is versatile. It does not require anything else to work well. Except a thermometer.

So for about 2 decades I enjoyed an 18.5 WSM. I sold it to downsize. I moved to the 14.5. It works-OK. I must admit, I miss setting the vents of my old WSM at 25% and going to bed...no alarm required. The 14.5 won't run as long as I like to sleep. Seems like 5 or 6 hours of run time for the 14.5 is typical for me. So I'm moving back. Back to the 18.5. I want a full night of rest. Also, when I want to cook 2 butts and a full brisket, I can.

So for me, the 18.5 does all the above and the 14.5 does, well, less. For some, the 14.5 works fine. I found, after wanting the small WSM to be my go to, I'm moving to back.
 
Steve Petrone said:
So for me, the 18.5 does all the above and the 14.5 does, well, less. For some, the 14.5 works fine. I found, after wanting the small WSM to be my go to, I'm moving to back.
Click to expand...
I have a mini as apposed to the 14, I have the 18 and the 22. I’ve all but destroyed my 18 doing high heat cooks. I have to say that running my 22 with my 18 charcoal ring has more than filled the bill for the 18. If I didn’t have a mini, I’d have a 14. So for me, I’d have to have the 14 and 22, forgoing the 18. If I could only have one, it would be the 22 but it would require having the 18 charcoal ring. No, I haven’t been able to run my 22 as long as I could run my 18, but then I’ve never really needed to. My 12 plus hour cooks are the least frequent of my cooks, so the charcoal use hog 22 would be my one and only, long as I have the 18 charcoal ring.

I can’t imagine not having a WSM
 
Steve, thanks for posting this. My son gave me his 22 but it's just too heavy for me to deal with so I (with his approval) sold it. Now I'm debating between the 14 and the 18. One is going in order to help de-clutter the garage. I was going to sell the 18 but can't seem to pull the trigger on that. You made me think even more.
 
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Q: Why is the WSM so popular?
A: Because of TVWBB!

But I digress (slightly)... did Weber win their audience through advertising?
 
Barb and I have a mini and an 18.5. The mini is great for pork butts and sometimes I only do two 1/3 slabs bacon and I use the mini. The 18.5 is used for my annual brisket on smoke day and when I do ribs or when I do a full pork belly (3 1/3 pieces). With just the two of us the mini gets the most usage but the 18.5 is nice when I need the extra room.
I don't do overnight cooks so I wouldn't have a need for a 22.
The mini is super efficient the 18.5 uses a lot more charcoal I can't imagen feeding a 22.
 
I love my 22. I like being able to lay down three slabs or ribs or a large brisket with no fuss. I get it, though. It is a fuel hog. I can't at all see dealing with just a 14.5
 
I'm with you guys... the biggie for me is the inability to get a full overnight cook in. Thats always been my favorite cook. I fretted over how to expand the charcoal ring to make overnight possible. Someone smarter than me will figure it out, then I might return to the 14. Light weight & very efficient.
The A-B-C-D thought process is brilliant. I would add E.

E-effortless
 
I stumbled across the WSM ,any years ago after we ate pulled pork at a friend’s house. He had a Traeger. The bbq was better than anything I could get in a restaurant, so I instantly had to have a Traeger. That was until I found out how much they cost! The 18.5” WSM fell right into my self imposed budget, and the reviews all were great so I bought one. I have built several minis, and given all but 1away as gifts. I sold my 10 year old 18.5 for $40 less than I payed for it and found a 22” WSM on letgo for.....$120!! I have never regretted it. Cost, ease of use, predictability, and this website all contribute to why I love my WSM so much.
Tim
 
So there you are Tim in the heart of some of the best BBQ in the world-Lexington NC and you are making better BBQ than you can get in those famed restaurants.
Speaks to your ability and to the quality of WSM.
 
Steve Petrone said:
So there you are Tim in the heart of some of the best BBQ in the world-Lexington NC and you are making better BBQ than you can get in those famed restaurants.
Speaks to your ability and to the quality of WSM.
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To be honest Steve, I haven’t eaten a bbq sandwich from a local restaurant since I got my WSM. In the rare occasion we got to a bbq joint, I get a hotdog or a burger. Once I realized how tasty my own bbq can be, and how simple it is to make, the Q at the local joints started tasting bland. “Better” may be in the eyes of the beholder, but for the price of a sandwich and fries, I can make 5-7 lbs of bbq made to the taste my family enjoys.
Tim
 
I think because it works
Holds temp , is efficient, runs on charcoal
More fuel simple to add, lift off shell
And the porcelain coating lasts a long time
Painted items rust away where i am


I had a POS meco i got from work as safety prize
It would do about 6 hr
Barely got to 225-250
Had to wrap in cardboard

All i really did was turkeys with it, sometimes finishing in oven.

Not much different from brinkman my dad used when i was growing up.

The wsm is a real cooker. It will cook whatever you want, at whatever temp, and it will last. Anything you cook in oven you can cook on charcoal in wsm, and it will taste better. Ok, maybe a cake wont taste better, but you could bake it if you want.
 
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MartinB said:
... I had a POS meco i got from work as safety prize
It would do about 6 hr
Barely got to 225-250
Had to wrap in cardboard
...
Click to expand...

Kind of funny that I started with a Meco also. Bought in 1977, retired it in 1997 due to the ash pan finally rusting through. Replaced with a New Braunfelds Model 1400 vertical water smoker that was truly a POS. Open bottom with absolutely no air flow control. So I bought a Weber Genesis Silver B in 2000. Placing smoking wood chunks (1 or 2) on the flavorizors was our bbqing method until I bought the 22.5 WSM in 2011. A satisfied customer !!!
 
I also started with a ECB (El Cheapo Brinkman) and struggled with that for a few years. Got a Brinkman horizontal smoker and struggled with that for more years.( both were also safety prizes)
Finally started to get serious and started to do my homework. Checked out a few vertical smokers, either propane or wood fired from a few sites and then I found this site..
After a few days just reading and absorbing all the collective knowledge about The WSM I knew I had to have it.

Members like you Steve, pushed me over the edge.:wsm:

Tim
 
I had a Brinkman back in the 80's, had no idea what I was doing with it. And then someone stole it off my patio and put me out of my misery. Huge favor, they did me.

In the 80's, I had no idea a WSM existed.
 
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