Foiling the water pan


 

R McQueen

New member
I’m new to the whole smoking idea here but have seen some pictures of many of you foiling the bottom and top of your water pan. Is it necessary to foil? If foiled, do you still put water in the water pan?

Basically, pros and cons of foiling for my first smoke...
Thanks
 
Hi McQueen and welcome here and to smoking! There will be several answers to this question. Here is what I do: I do keep the water pan in the smoker but I do not use water (nor any other liquid, sand, etc.). I foil the upper portion of the bowl in order to keep drippings out of it because it would be difficult to clean after a smoke without foil. I foil it loosely, leaving dead air space between the foil and bowl bottom. I do not foil the bottom of the bowl but I'm aware that some people do.

If I were going to use water in the bowl I would not use foil.
 
It's to make cleaning up easier.

I'd personally foil the top of the bowl even if you put water in it. As it evaporates, whatever's dripped down will stick to the foil and not the bowl. You'll still need to give the bowl a wipe down but it won't be a disaster.

If you want to put water in it, crimp the foil tightly to the bowl. If you don't, that's not as necessary.
 
Without foil, if you use water in your water pan, it'll be a grimy mess to clean up. After a 12+hr smoke, a lot of the fat that drips into the water and rests on it will just get disgusting. Foil helps cleanup in this situation immensely.
 
I've been foiling both sides, irregardless of water. Much easier to clean.

I do not replace the bottom foil every cook like I do the upper layer.
 
Personally, my wsm bowl has never seen water and it has always been foiled during a cook. Like some others, I leave a large space between the foil and the bowl bottom (inside).

It keeps the captured drippings from burning as easily.
 
When I use water I don't foil and deal with the mess. I slopped my Grandpa's hogs as a kid so after walking barefoot through a hog pen some grease in a pan doesn't seem like much of a mess to me. I know I'm in the minority on that but just try it a few different ways, as most of us have, and settle on what works for you. Water in the pan for your first few cooks may help you keep the temp from running away too fast.
 
I Dont use water
I Dont use pan

I use ceramic planter bottom
And yep, wrap in foil. Cleanup takes 5 sec after its cooled

No time to be washing a pan
 
I foil the top, then double foil a terra cotta plant saucer and set that in the pan, no water. Cleanup is pretty much a snap!
 
Ok, why would you do that? Foiling the top with the water is the same as putting a lid over a simmering pot... eventually it will boil over .

I don’t think he’s foiling the pan with water in it but rather the empty pan and then he puts water in it.
 
first thing I did when getting a new WSM was to make sure there were no major leaks around the different sections...check for out of round conditions with a tape measure and correct if needed, big air leaks= out of control temps.. I never use water, only an empty pan with a foiled top...

half of a weber chimney of lit coals placed on unlit in the charcoal bowl. Assemble cooker and put meat on cooking grates with all air vents wide open, once Im within say 5- 10 degrees below my target temp I close the lower air vents equally about 30% and keep an eye on it for 10-20 min to see if the cooker settles....my cooker generally settles in between 250-280 degrees doing this, poultry I leave the all vents wide open most of the cook …..I tried water once and hated the experience especially cleanup
 

 

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