18 or 22, I'm struggling.


 
Ordered it, my new 22 will be here Tuesday. I'll run a trial/seasoning and hopefully do a butt Saturday!
 
Mac LA said:
Pepper, lots of it.. : p

Really tho, there is a good walk through on Amazon (author - Harry Soo). I did 3 steps before I ate anything off it - overkill, probably....
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Thanks Mac, I've read a lot of Harry Soo stuff tonight and it helped me make my decision. I will make sure to follow his seasoning suggestions.
It was a tough decision and I hope I made the right one.
Thanks everyone.
 
Bruno said:
Thanks Mac, I've read a lot of Harry Soo stuff tonight and it helped me make my decision. I will make sure to follow his seasoning suggestions.
It was a tough decision and I hope I made the right one.
Thanks everyone.
Click to expand...

I was in the same exact boat, I don't regret it for one bit. For me, I'm the type of guy that would rather have it and not need it, than not.

These things hold value pretty decently so if you feel it's too much, you can always sell and downsize.

You'll like it.

Johnny
 
Steve Porter said:
Hard to beat the combo of an 18.5 WSM and 26.75 Kettle!
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Unless it's a 22.5 WSM and a 26.75 Kettle. Sorry, couldn't resist. :coolkettle:

Actually, I grilled on 22 Kettles most of my life...throughout the 70's and 80's, I could cook dang near anything on a good ol' Weber kettle grill. Got fancy about 20 years ago, when I moved into a new house with a built-in gas grill in the back yard. So, I forego the charcoal and wore out that old gas grill. It was hard to cook on, but it was easy and convenient. So, I decided after it wore out that I wanted to keep that convenience, and went Weber propane in the Genesis models for a lot of years. And, after several Genesis grills through the years, and even a Q to take on the road, I finally said enough...bought the 26.75 Kettle last year, and have not used my Genesis E-320 since. And, now with a new 22.5 WSM, I can't see my Old Country Wrangler stickburner getting much use. Funny, now that I think about it, this Wrangler offset is the very first non-Weber grill or smoker I've ever owned. And, I think I've finally figured out that just about anything I want to cook, I can cook on one of those two. So, I'll probably end up making somebody a good deal on an expensive propane grill and a stickburner.
 
Dustin Flavell said:
I think Nick's point is spot on. I have all three sized WSM and the 22 is best for brisket and ribs flat (personally I'm not a fan of ribs in a rack). I use the 14 for everything else. The 18 was the last one I bought and I often wonder why I did since it is the dust collector, though I use the 18 coal ring a lot in the 22 (expensive coal ring).
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If you ever get rid of you 18, you can take a $20 strip of expanded metal from HD/Lowe's, 4 nuts+bolts+washers, and create a smaller charcoal ring. I recently did this myself, and it took about 10 mins. I just split the strip of metal down the middle (12x24 sheet so I'd end up with two 6x24 strips) with an angle grinder+wheel, and bolted them together.
 
Good choice getting the 22. If you absolutely have to have the smaller one, I often see an 18 on craigslist for a reasonable amount. I have the 18 and wish I had the 22 for some of the larger pieces of meat.
 
Bruno said:
Thanks again. I've settled on the 22. I'll be ordering it in a couple weeks. I'll have enough points from my Amazon card it'll be "free"! Ha, if only the wife saw it that way.
Now what to cook on my first run? Probably go with a pork shoulder or baby back ribs. Decisions, decisions!
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Make sure you order from Chris' Amazon link.
 
Peter K said:
Good choice getting the 22. If you absolutely have to have the smaller one, I often see an 18 on craigslist for a reasonable amount. I have the 18 and wish I had the 22 for some of the larger pieces of meat.
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Yep, this seems to happen a lot. I'm not sure I've ever heard somebody that got a 22 regretting it wishing they would have gotten the 18.
 
I did the math on cooking areas for the 14/18 & 22, then divided the cooking area by the cost to buy, then did some basic assumptions on the fuel I would likely need to cook per hour assuming the top grill only was being used and that it would probably be reasonably filled with meat. The 22 came out as far and away (by miles) as the most cost effective all around option even if it did mean that on occasion I was heating dead cooking space.

I suspect that the best combo if you were to have two would be the 14 and 22 and I can fully understand why those with all three sized WSMs see the 18 gathering dust if, like me, you tend to feed the masses when you fire up the 22.
 
Well I haven't placed my order yet, a lot of rain coming our way and a couple of days aren't going to kill me. I did go down to our local OSH and took a look at an 18 and 22 kettle just to get an idea of what i would have to work with (at least on the top grate), since I plan on doing a bunch of ribs it's a no brainer at this point. I'm definitely getting a 22.
 
i just ordered a Master Touch 22" and my plan is to get the 22 next month. For me is better to have extra space than be too tight lol.
 
I seasoned mine with food that I cooked. I honestly dont think "seasoning" a WSM is of any value. I washed it just to clean any manufacturing goo, and started making new goo with pork butts, chickens, ribs, .......

Enjoy your cooker.
 
You can fit a lot on the 18.5. I wish I had a 22, but I can't say having the 18 has been much of a pain. Now if you are doing large briskets a lot, get a 22
 
Buy em both. You could pick up one or the other cheap on CL.:)
The plus on the 18.5" is you can get creative and cram a lot of food on there.
The minus on the 22.5" is buying it and using it for one butt.

Tim
 
timothy said:
Buy em both. You could pick up one or the other cheap on CL.:)
The plus on the 18.5" is you can get creative and cram a lot of food on there.
The minus on the 22.5" is buying it and using it for one butt.

Tim
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Yep, I've done 40lbs of butt on my 18.5 with room left over. I think I could get creative and do 60lbs if I wanted, but to tell the truth, after shredding 40lbs with my "bear claws", I'm bushed! I've never wished for the 22.5, but as you can tell there's many out there that really like the 22.5! If nothing else, the 22.5 is really impressive to look at, it's huge compared to my 18.5. For ribs, I still say it's hard to beat the 26.75 Kettle.
 
I went through the same debate and ended up getting the 18.5" and am pretty glad I did. In lots of reading, of course I saw lots of comments to get the larger one so you wouldn't be wanting for space. But at the same time, I also saw lots of people who had gotten the 22" and now want the 18.5" because the 22" is too large for smaller cooks.

We're a family of four, and even with extended family 10-12, I thought the 18.5" would be sufficient for us 90% of the time, so I went with that. I've only had a few cooks, but so far it's been great. Week before last I cooked two pork butts (both on the top grate), and it was great. And of course I could have done two more on the bottom grate.

Also, I really don't have a lot of interest in cooking ribs (right now). So, my only "problem" will be brisket, when the time comes. And I think I can still squeeze one in, as I've seen people here comment that they've done 15 pound packers on the 18.5", with a little scrunching.

Now, if I knew up front that I wanted to do a lot of brisket, full racks of ribs, or had a larger group of family/friends to feed, I probably would have gone with the 22".

Jason
 
Get the 22 especially if you do ribs they lay better in the 22 and birsket will fit with out bending or cutting you will like the more room you have but that my 2 cents. it's what works best for you .but get the 22 you will enjoy
 
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