14.5 vs 18.5


 
Clint said:
18.5 was the only option for a very long time, it's very versatile

1) put the fire grate & charcoal ring on the lower shelf to grill on
2) put the grate right on the fire ring & cooks the best steaks I know how

I've never cooked on a 14.5 but judging from the pics I see here a lot of people love theirs...as evidenced by the thick buildup of smoke & grease
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Clint,
This sounds interesting and good. Do you have any steps, photos, link?
 
I believe the instructions are in the manual and on this site, I've seen it in print before but I'm short on time---gonna go ski uphill.....leaving in 20 and I'm not ready yet :)

Check the owner's manual - I'll find better instructions later.

Look here: http://virtualweberbullet.com/tour.html

not in the
WSM Owner's Guide & Cookbook: 2005 - 2008
[/FONT][FONT=Arial,Verdana,Helvetica,sans-serif]Adobe PDF, 12MB, 28 pages (5.5" x 8.5")
Black & white diagrams, clipart
Part number: 63230
 
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Steve, you hit on another reason why the 14.5 is ace. :) You wouldn't think the difference in inches makes such a difference, but it does. On the plus side, 14.5 can cook a ton and is SO much easier to manage. Clean, etc. But if you feel the need for space the 18.5 is the way to go. Smaller cooks will just take more resources. (To heat the larger setup)
 
Brady ATX said:
Clint,
This sounds interesting and good. Do you have any steps, photos, link?
Click to expand...

This is how I get my best steaks:

bowl2.jpg




Here's the fire grate where the lower grate usually sits - I've only cooked like this a couple/few times... I liked it though & will do it again - it really is a viable cooking option IMO.

ring.jpg






http://virtualweberbullet.com/grilling.html
 
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I have both and tend to use the 18 for long cooks, large items, or high heat cooks. The 14 fills up with ash quicker and needs to be refueled more often but has become my go to for small short smokes.

Here soon i plan to do some chicken direct with lump to see how hot I can get the 14. I added 3 vents to my 18 already to run higher heat more easily. Probably why my charcoal grate sagged 3/4" lol.
 
From what I've read so far, from both a capacity and length-of-cook perspective, it doesn't sound like there's much that the 14.5 does that can't be done fairly easily on my Performer (where I can easily get 8-9 hours on a single charcoal load for smoking, do "super ultra" high heat cooks, and so on).

The 18.5 WSM does provides some space advantages with both grates going, but having that smoker AND a Performer I can't justify the 14.5 (sold mine after sitting in the box months unused).
 
We have both & love them equally.
The 14.5 is great in terms of low charcoal use & "small" cooks - it's just wifey & I.
However... sometimes we need the capacity of the 18.5 & it will cook a lot of food.
We had an Apollo that was mid way between the 18.5 & the 22.5 & it was just "too big" for us.
It used lots of fuel & was overkill for us. Offed it on CL.
 
I have a 22.5 and built a mini, I have to admit I bought the 14.5 because it looked great. My mini is almost as good but the door on the 14.5 makes a big difference.
I have two problems, one I am usually only cooking for me as my wife doesn't like smoked chicken which brings me to my second problem

I am not rich as it seems based on how much pork and beef people cook most posters must be with the price of the meat now. I try to keep cooks down to $10 and chicken does that.

My mini went with one of the kids and I use the 14.5 most of the time, doing up to 16 chicken wings at once or 12 drums.

0321141539_zps45de91a3.jpg
 
W Tyler said:
From what I've read so far, from both a capacity and length-of-cook perspective, it doesn't sound like there's much that the 14.5 does that can't be done fairly easily on my Performer (where I can easily get 8-9 hours on a single charcoal load for smoking, do "super ultra" high heat cooks, and so on).

The 18.5 WSM does provides some space advantages with both grates going, but having that smoker AND a Performer I can't justify the 14.5 (sold mine after sitting in the box months unused).
Click to expand...

I have a performer as well as my 22.5 wsm and actually bought a 14.5 today for camping trips. I had an 18" wsm and sold it to get the 22.5. I like the 22.5 because of the height and size. As for me, the performer does do long cooks and smokes, but I am a true believer in using a water pan with water for my smokes. For me it makes a huge difference, especially with low temp control and smoked rib taste. I know some may argue the water theory though. The performer is a pain to try and wet smoke with.

I hope my new 14.5 operates the same and keeps as stable temps as my 18 did and 22 does. Another observation I notice between the three models are the doors on the larger smokers don't fit nearly as tight as the smaller ones. Especially the 14.5, it's a really nice fit. The lids however seem to fit much better on the larger smokers.

I don't want to hijack this thread, but does anyone have any advice for me with my new 14.5? Do they operate the same as the bigger wsm? How much charcoal do you start with?
 
I am on the way out the door and can't straight right now, but there are several good threads on the 14.5 here

Real quick, the 14.5 is susceptible to wind, more than the 22.5 I have but with a windblock even a jury rig one works fine. With the Brinkman racks you can 2 two racks of ribs cut in half of each grate, that is 4 racks, more than my family has ever eaten at one sitting. Once in a while I have had trouble getting to 325-350 but I crack the lid and it shoots right up. I find I can get a 7 hour cook with KBB on it but when it is very cold, below zero it uses more KBB but it is so easy to lift the entire top and middle off as one unit dump the coals and put all new already lit in.
in the picture above you can see I put it on cinder blocks to put the height were I want it.
 
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