18.5 or 22.5 for a newbie


 
Brian Quintal

Brian Quintal

TVWBB Member
Newbie here decided to dip my feet into the smoking arena. I've read a lot of reviews and decided to go with the Weber, now I'm trying to decide which size. A majority of my cooking will be for 2 - 4 people with the occasion of 6 or 8 once a month. I love baby back and St Louis style ribs so that will be a frequent item on the menu. I want to make sure I get the right size to do at least 4 racks, as well as possibly a brisket, turkey, or ham. What are people opinions?
 
Having had 2 18.5" for years and having just recently (today...) purchased 2 22.5" I'd say go with the 22.5" if you have the space. As soon as I bought my first 18 I wished I had bought the 22.
 
For the number of people you will be cooking for an 18" will meet your needs. However, if the 22" is in your budget and you have the available space the 22" would be the way to go. If you go with the 22" you can make a smaller charcoal ring out of expanded metal for shorter cooks. There are tricks to getting full racks and packers on the 18" but it sure is nice to just plop them on the grill and let them cook. Also be careful thinking 6-8 people will be the max. It is amazing the people that come out of the woodwork when they smell good BBQ in the air.
 
Marty W said:
For the number of people you will be cooking for an 18" will meet your needs. However, if the 22" is in your budget and you have the available space the 22" would be the way to go. If you go with the 22" you can make a smaller charcoal ring out of expanded metal for shorter cooks. There are tricks to getting full racks and packers on the 18" but it sure is nice to just plop them on the grill and let them cook. Also be careful thinking 6-8 people will be the max. It is amazing the people that come out of the woodwork when they smell good BBQ in the air.
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I actually have to keep that in mind. My wife and I have a seasonal sight on a campground and I'll be doing this up there on weekends. I imagine as the smoke wallows thru the campground all day I'm going to have lots of friends. That's was my thinking also on being able to just lay the ribs on the racks. How about temp contol in the 22.5 are there any issues in the bigger unit? Also what does "expanded metal" mean?

Thanks.......
 
Steve Cole said:
I've never heard of anyone who bought a 22 and then said they wish they had bought an 18...
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100% truth. the old rule of thumb is always buy the size larger than what you need in a smoker. an 18 will work fine and they are great cookers but youll kick yourself that you didnt get the 22
 
This question comes up fairly often. If you can go to a store that has the 18 and 22 side by side I think you will come to the same conclusion: IMHO ...go 22".
 
18.5 is smaller more efficient and adquate. 22.5 takes a LOT of room and is large. i feed my family of 4, co-workers and neighbors off my 18.5 just swell. I do have to roll my ribs to get them all in...only drawback. 18.5 makes up for it in cuteness. If I had a 22.5, I'd want two; the 22.5 and a mini-WSM.
Just sayin'
Happy Thanksgiving
 
Kenny S said:
I have the 18.5. i bought it two weeks ago and it has plenty of space. As a newbie myself I'd vote 18.5.
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A full size aluminum pan will fit in a 22 1/2" WSM, only a half size pan will fit in an 18 1/2" WSM. If you cook large cuts of meat like a packer brisket, a beef plate, a beef clod or a full pork shoulder, it makes a big difference.

You can fit full length racks of spare ribs on a 22 1/2", you can't fit them in an 18 1/2", you would have to roll them. Rolling is fine, but it's just more work. When I make rib tips, depending on how much I make, I can often fit them on one rack in my 22 1/2" WSM, if I used the 18 1/2" model, I'd have to use both racks. Same for chicken wingettes. Over 4 dozen fit on one rack in the big WSM, you'd have to use both racks in the smaller model.
Being able to use just one rack just makes the cook easier. Then if you are cooking a lot of meat, you still have the availability of the second rack for extra capacity.

I use an 18 1/2" charcoal ring in my 22 1/2" WSM, it does help the fuel consumption a bit, under many circumstances.

Bob
 
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Thank you all for you input it was very informative. I haven't made up my mind yet but leaning towards the 22.5. I'll just have too wait to see what Santa brings me.

One more question if I may. Many have mentioned using a 18.5 in charcoal ring I assuming the smaller ring for smaller amounts ie. if I just wanted to smoke two racks on top rack, or a couple of chickens, go with the smaller ring to conserver charcoal?
 
Brian Quintal said:
Many have mentioned using a 18.5 in charcoal ring I assuming the smaller ring for smaller amounts ie. if I just wanted to smoke two racks on top rack, or a couple of chickens, go with the smaller ring to conserver charcoal?
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For those cooks, it will work well.
For larger or higher heat cooks, using the stock, 22 1/2" charcoal ring can be better.
 
These cookers are so efficient and air tight, it is no problem using the 22 even for smaller cooks. When you are done, just close all vents and it will die out. The unused charcoal can be used again.
 
My first and only smoker is a 22", I've had it about three years, and it's perfect. There are two adults and two kids here and I almost never use the bottom rack. So yeah, in a sense I don't need that unit that large. But a) it's a lot more convenient to just use the top and not be screwing around with rolling ribs or whatever other games people use to get things to work with an 18", and b) I've had occasion (kids birthday parties) to make ribs for a couple of dozen people and suddenly that extra space was darn convenient.

I will warn you - if you start feeding friends and neighbors you will need more capacity than you think. Somehow I'm cooking big prime ribs for Christmas Eve dinner once my mother-in-law tried some I was having as leftovers. And once you do it once it's a tradition. Plus a smoked turkey, and maybe a smaller prime rib for somebody's birthday and then there's the ribs at the neighborhood block party... even if it's only occasional you may find the ability to crank out 6-10 racks of ribs without a lot of fuss to be really handy.

I don't entirely understand the urge to use a smaller ring. I always just fill the ring, close the vents at the end, and then next time stir out any ash and dump fresh lump on top. Maybe it's because briqs don't reuse as well although even there I think I would just fill it up half way instead of buying something. But if the large charcoal capacity gives you trouble, hey, it's always an option. But I'd rather just have a ton of charcoal in there just in case. My only warning with this is to not do this until you've done a couple of cooks and spattered some grease inside the interior and you have a nice seal so you're sure the fire will go out in a timely fashion.

Anyway, if you have serious storage issues or if the extra money for the 22" will be a hardship the 18" is a fine smoker and with the tips here you can get it to do almost anything. If you just want to make things easier on yourself and know it's a smoker you won't grow out of even if you get sucked into cooking more food than you thought spend a little extra and get the 22" and you won't risk wanted to upgrade later.
 
I've decided to go with the larger 22" version. I don't have any space contrainsts and the extra cost is not an issue. Plus I love cooking and since I will be doing this on weekends at my campground I'm sort of hoping it attracts attention and big crowds gather, the more the merrier. I can think of nothing better than sitting around a campfire with loads of friends drinking beer and eating some good BBQ. It will give me an opportunity to experiment and practice with larger cuts of meat also, I'll use them as giunea pigs lol.
 
I just failed in my attempt to smoke a turkey in my almost new 22.5 at 350 (finished up in the oven... and it turned out moist and smoky). Could not get the Weber thermometer over 250. However, I have learned since that a) the temperature on the upper grill may be 75 degrees higher than the temp shown on the thermometer, and b) there are methods of getting the temp up to 350 that I will try next time.
 
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