14.5" Weber Smokey Mountain Cooker Model 711001


 
Alright, so I have held my tongue a while, but I still haven't seen anyone do a long burn test on the 14.5" yet. I know several of you out there have them, I'd like to know how long you can keep 250 or whatever on a load of some good old Kingsford for comparison purposes. Are they going to be able to do a couple butts or small briskets without reloading? I see some people suspect no, but it might surprise us!
 
AJStrider said:
Alright, so I have held my tongue a while, but I still haven't seen anyone do a long burn test on the 14.5" yet. I know several of you out there have them, I'd like to know how long you can keep 250 or whatever on a load of some good old Kingsford for comparison purposes. Are they going to be able to do a couple butts or small briskets without reloading? I see some people suspect no, but it might surprise us!
Click to expand...

I did a 7.5lb butt on the 14.5" most recently. It went for 11 hours without reloading and could have probably went a couple more hours. I was using Stubb's charcoal; it was on sale.

I also did a 13.7lb turkey on the 14.5"; it was pushing the limit but I don't think any part of the bird was in contact with the sides or lid of the smoker.

 
I have noticed on my 14.5 anything that is around the edge of the grate gets well done, I have seen that with Sausages when I fill the center with chicken and the bangers around the edge.

Did the same thing happen to the turkey or how did you avoid it.
 
Jeff Padell said:
I have noticed on my 14.5 anything that is around the edge of the grate gets well done, I have seen that with Sausages when I fill the center with chicken and the bangers around the edge.

Did the same thing happen to the turkey or how did you avoid it.
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I did not notice the turkey being well done around the edges. Maybe the shape of the turkey worked well with the convection movement. The legs and wings cook to a higher temperature; being on the perimeter might have actually helped balance the heat transfer.
 
Hey Everyone - so, I have wanted a WSM but I don't have a ton of room, and would need to bring the smoker in from the backyard. I've been using my 22.5 OTG, which works but I would love my own dedicated smoker. I am very excited about the 14.5! I am on my phone at work so it is a little tough to search and sort, but what's the word? Are people loving the 14.5? Would you recommend? The size seems perfect for bringing in and out and also for smaller BBQs. I am going to go look at one after work today, I am so excited!

Thank you!

Laura
 
Laura, I don't have one yet, but it seems like everyone on here that has one is happy with it. It seems like the perfect size for a small family and to be portable as well.

I don't see how you could go wrong with one
 
I agree, I really like my 14.5, much better quality than my mini, the Smokey Joe isn't that bad but the aluminum legs are spindly on the SJ. It is easy to move around.

 
Laura D , If I had to choose on a wsm , for a dedicated smoker , I would go for the 18.5 , always better to have a little more room than what you think you might need . I have the 22.5 and 18.5 wsm , and I find the 18.5 very easy to move about , and also easy to clean when need be , if you get the 14.5 you might find it a little small if you want to cook for a few friends without crowding it , thats just my oppinion though .
 
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Thanks Everyone - I went and looked at it today and I'm in love. I like the size for my tiny place and what I'll be smoking, although I want to make sure I can do ribs on it just fine. Sounds like I can, I just want to do more research. Thank you for your help! - Laura
 
I picked one up last week. Took it to Masters in May competition to do my chicken entry. Worked like a champ! Only issue was the thermometer accuracy, but I had a Maverick checking temps. They could just do away with the cheap thermo and it wouldn't bother me a bit
 
Wow.
I've just seen the wee fellow in a store, GBP299 precludes any thoughts of purchase but hey was it cute!!
Love my 18.5 but that little runt.........!
 
Hi Chris.
Just got delivery of my small WSM and really just wanted to add my two cents worth. I have now all three and to be honest I bought the small one with the intention it would be a good addition for camping trips and takes up less space. The result was a full 100% satisfied I did purchase it. Went camping on the west coast of scotland with my four kids and did slow beef roast along with some dutch oven peach cobbler and it performed great. I was very impressed with the ability to keep temp controlled. In fact found it easier than the large 22.5" WSM. Again to all the members it is a great little smoker and if your not cooking a ton of food it works a treat.
Alan
 
Funny.. when I redid the 18 and designed the 22, I did make a few 14 1/2" smokers. I have one in my garage.

I drew up the design for re-release, used all the appropriate grates and bowls from the Smokey Joe. The original water pan was from the old torch that Weber used to sell. That was the only "original" part I couldn't find and ended up using a stainless steel bowl from the dollar store.

I pushed the idea and they said "nope.. no market for it."

Now they released one years later. I guess it's just like all the patents that they cut me out of, wait until the body is cold.

How long until they admit that Mike Kempster concocted the story of "kettles originally were buoys used in Lake Michigan, " as a romanticized story to sell more grills back in the early days. Has anyone ever found a reference by a source outside of Weber?
 
Mike Durso said:
Funny.. when I redid the 18 and designed the 22, I did make a few 14 1/2" smokers. I have one in my garage.

I drew up the design for re-release, used all the appropriate grates and bowls from the Smokey Joe. The original water pan was from the old torch that Weber used to sell. That was the only "original" part I couldn't find and ended up using a stainless steel bowl from the dollar store.

I pushed the idea and they said "nope.. no market for it."

Now they released one years later. I guess it's just like all the patents that they cut me out of, wait until the body is cold.

How long until they admit that Mike Kempster concocted the story of "kettles originally were buoys used in Lake Michigan, " as a romanticized story to sell more grills back in the early days. Has anyone ever found a reference by a source outside of Weber?
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Welcome back, Mike!

Can you clarify your comment about the buoys? There are references to this story all over the web, but I assume they all trace back to Weber as the source. George worked at Weber Brothers Metal Works where they made buoys that were used on Lake Michigan. Maybe they had some old buoys laying around in the shop. The guy cuts one in half to make a grill. Seems like a plausible story, at least in terms of creating an original prototype, not that they were recycling old buoys into kettles for sale.
 
The cast iron Cook 'n' Kettle came out in 1947 and sure resembles the later, original first Weber kettle.
http://www.cooknkettle.com/

They're still being made.
This "Senior" table model is $920.
senior2.jpg


Here's an early model on eBay:
$_57.JPG


edit to add, it even had a vent:
$_57.JPG
 
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Chris Allingham said:
Welcome back, Mike!

Can you clarify your comment about the buoys? There are references to this story all over the web, but I assume they all trace back to Weber as the source. George worked at Weber Brothers Metal Works where they made buoys that were used on Lake Michigan. Maybe they had some old buoys laying around in the shop. The guy cuts one in half to make a grill. Seems like a plausible story, at least in terms of creating an original prototype, not that they were recycling old buoys into kettles for sale.
Click to expand...

Hi Chris!!

What is interesting is I got that story right from a pair of the Stephen sons when we were all employed there. As told to me, there was no direct connection other than the parts. He had a grill made from half a buoy. But they needed a backstory to generate sales: A failed grilling attempt, the rain putting out the fire, and then…a man's victory! He won back the honor of the neighborhood!

All marketing. The actuality is that all along it was just a story to sell grills.

Fair enough. Nothing is better than a cool story to sell your product. We are all roped in with that kinda stuff, that's what marketing is. So perhaps you and I are saying the same thing. But it’s more of a tall tale and a play with words.

When I was still employed there, I looked further into this. All the online references I had found were always along the lines of "legend has it that George took a buoy.. " But those sources were never from Weber-Stephen or any reliable source such as the City of Chicago, the Chicago Yacht Club, Chicago Park District, or Chicago Historical Society, et al. It was all fan sites just repeating the marketing story, never any relation to Weber or Chicago.

Wouldn't you think at least once Weber would have used this bragging right and fun historical fact in an advertisement? People eat that up. I looked through the archives they had there, I never noticed any significant print of this story. Then again, their archives were not a complete collection.


The process of spinning or when they are stamped is simply a disc of metal stamped into a bowl. Then he put a flat lid on it. Not too dissimilar from the pictures that Bob Correll posted, but the stamping and welding process is cheaper and faster than the cast version. It’s interesting that they have 3 legs and a handle on top. While the Cook ‘n’ Kettle hardly puts a dent in Weber sales, they are probably safe. But because Weber never patented the kettle design, their only protection they have found is a trademark -the look. That's why greeting card companies, July 4th flyers from Home Depot with clip art, ANYTHING with the silhouette of a kettle, a handle on top and 3 legs; Weber goes after those companies with a vengeance.

Once in a while I still browse on here and today I noticed they released the 14-1/2" smoker. We had 6 or 7 protos made up for testing. I'm not sure what happened to all of them, but I might know the whereabouts of one of them. The doors were hand cut by me from the old style 18" (no wings -I always hated those latching wings.) I tried a few bowls, but ended up with a stainless steel one from the dollar store. I used a smaller thermometer/bezel like on the 18". I really wanted them to push and sell this at the same time as the release of the 22”. If only they listened to me in 2006/07..

So today I did another search about the buoy. Finally there is a blog post from someone in marketing as found here and this may be the first “official” owning of that story: http://www.weber.com/weber-nation/blog/weber-kettle-born-from-a-buoy

Well. Not exactly.
 
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