18.5 WSM Water Bowl Options


 

Rich Mathews

New member
I’m new here, so hopefully I’m not sharing old information. In search of an alternative for the 7 inch deep water pan used in the 18.5 WSM, I ordered the Winco MXB-1300Q that Chris Allingham suggested as an alternative to the original water pan. Unfortunately the manufacturer has these mixing bowls mislabeled and out of the 3 bowls I ordered, only one came in correct (That was the first one that I ordered). So I researched another option and this is what I came up with. I went to my local Tractor Supply and picked up the 10 quart Spot Mirror Finish Stainless Steel 606 pet dish. It’s 14.75 x 4.5 and fits great. So by using this as a water pan, it opens up 2.5 inches of space for added charcoal. Then I decided to lengthen the tabs that support the water pan by cutting 4 one inch pieces of 1/2 inch EMT electric conduit and flattening them to where they fit snug over the existing tabs in the smoker. I hope this helps anyone who is looking for an option to the original 18.5 water pan.
 

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Timothy, the charcoal basket came from Arborfab.com. All stainless steel, the grate, ring, and handle are one assembly. Adds a tremendous amount of cook time and with the design it has more even air flow. Also smaller pieces of charcoal won’t fall though the grate.
 
Timothy, the charcoal basket came from Arborfab.com. All stainless steel, the grate, ring, and handle are one assembly. Adds a tremendous amount of cook time and with the design it has more even air flow. Also smaller pieces of charcoal won’t fall though the grate.
I do not have an aftermarket basket for my 18 but I do have an arborfab assembly for my 14. It works fine with factory water pan and holds a ton of charcoal.
 
I wish I could find a basket like this in Canada.
I just went to the Arbor Fabricating website to see how much it would be to purchase and ship the charcoal basket and minion starter. The cost of the 2 items is $97 and the shipping here to Edmonton is $67.54. Impossible to justify the purchase when shipping is 2/3 the price of the product. I am on the hunt for something here to, if I find anything I will drop a note.
 
The previous post was for WSM 22, here is link for the 18.

 

 

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