I have an 18.5" WSM and have noticed that it is extremely fuel efficient. Most times I can get many hours from only a single chimney load of charcoal, or less.
Unfortunately, I'm an anal retentive on operational performance and I have to wonder if there is a better way to get controlled burns from small loads of charcoal. Primary example; I recently did a couple of Tri Tips which turned out great; but they cook in less than 1.5 hours...and 4-6 hours of charcoal gets wasted in the process.
So I've been thinking of buying a 14.5" WSM Charcoal Ring to use in my 18.5" WSM. It seems to me this would keep the smaller load of charcoal held tighter together. When I dump the partial chimney into my 18.5, the coals spread way out to the edges of the ring in a fairly shallow manner. I'm then spending time re-stacking burning coals back into a pyramid and then doing it again once I drop wood onto the coals (which disrupts them again).
Thoughts?
Unfortunately, I'm an anal retentive on operational performance and I have to wonder if there is a better way to get controlled burns from small loads of charcoal. Primary example; I recently did a couple of Tri Tips which turned out great; but they cook in less than 1.5 hours...and 4-6 hours of charcoal gets wasted in the process.
So I've been thinking of buying a 14.5" WSM Charcoal Ring to use in my 18.5" WSM. It seems to me this would keep the smaller load of charcoal held tighter together. When I dump the partial chimney into my 18.5, the coals spread way out to the edges of the ring in a fairly shallow manner. I'm then spending time re-stacking burning coals back into a pyramid and then doing it again once I drop wood onto the coals (which disrupts them again).
Thoughts?