22 inch calling to me


 
D

David-B

TVWBB Super Fan
hello all haven't been on here in a while but life has been busy, I currently have an 18.5 wsm but it is 800 miles away in a storage building :( Ive been desiring the 22inch wsm even though the 18.5 has been doing me just fine. I have some questions though, how easy is it to transport? I have a full size truck but worry about it sliding around when taking it to friends houses...anyone have issues with these beasts getting damaged when shipping from amazon??? does the door leak a lot of smoke?( I reshaped my18.5 door where it has an excellent seal).. how well does the water pan fit? I only use a dry pan covered with foil... is the gray piece on the side a temp probe inlet? if so does this cause any issues?
 
When I bought my 22 from Amazon it was shipped fast and came in perfect condition. I have never taken mine away from the house, but I would think that with a few movers blankets and tie downs you should have no problems transporting it. Mine is a few years old so it does not have the temp probe inlet. That is what it is for. Good luck and go for it. Order it from the Amazon link from this site so the site will benefit also.
 
I just got the 22.5 about 3-4 months ago. I do not have the 18.5 so hard to compare the 2. I would say I think if I had the 18.5 it would more than meet my needs 95% of the time. Only reason I got the 22.5 is at the time Amazon had a $50.00 coupon for all grills over $300 and this was included, so it was just a $50.00 difference between the two.

Now I will tell you quite honestly when I got mine from Amazon and went to open the box I think the next day the cooking grates that lay across the top were pushed down into the center section at an angle. After watching the unboxing video on this site I thought that was not quite right.

Sure enough, when I went to assemble, the lid (which was in the bottom) would not fit on the center section. Not even close. was not a bear hug adjustment issue, but was pretty far off.

So I have used Amazon for years and never had an issue, but in this case YES I actually did. Was it Amazon? Weber? UPS? who knows but somewhere along the line something happened to the box or one was placed on top with enough force to bring the center way out of line from the grates.

i DID call Weber and explain and to their credit Weber immediately sent me out a NEW center section as well as grates. I know it might of been amazon's fault, but to return to Amazon I would of had to mail the entire unit back when I thought only the center section needed replaced, and they would of just sent back to Weber (I think) so I thought this was the best solution anyway.

NEW center section works great.

As far as the temp probe thing - it is great. I have found the probes go through much better through the longer slot then the smaller holes. there is no leaking and issues

finally maybe I got lucky with the new center section, but the door and center section aligned very well and I get very little smoke. I did not even adjust the door.

hope this helped
 
Keith R said:
I just got the 22.5 about 3-4 months ago. I do not have the 18.5 so hard to compare the 2. I would say I think if I had the 18.5 it would more than meet my needs 95% of the time. Only reason I got the 22.5 is at the time Amazon had a $50.00 coupon for all grills over $300 and this was included, so it was just a $50.00 difference between the two.

Now I will tell you quite honestly when I got mine from Amazon and went to open the box I think the next day the cooking grates that lay across the top were pushed down into the center section at an angle. After watching the unboxing video on this site I thought that was not quite right.

Sure enough, when I went to assemble, the lid (which was in the bottom) would not fit on the center section. Not even close. was not a bear hug adjustment issue, but was pretty far off.

So I have used Amazon for years and never had an issue, but in this case YES I actually did. Was it Amazon? Weber? UPS? who knows but somewhere along the line something happened to the box or one was placed on top with enough force to bring the center way out of line from the grates.

i DID call Weber and explain and to their credit Weber immediately sent me out a NEW center section as well as grates. I know it might of been amazon's fault, but to return to Amazon I would of had to mail the entire unit back when I thought only the center section needed replaced, and they would of just sent back to Weber (I think) so I thought this was the best solution anyway.

NEW center section works great.

As far as the temp probe thing - it is great. I have found the probes go through much better through the longer slot then the smaller holes. there is no leaking and issues

finally maybe I got lucky with the new center section, but the door and center section aligned very well and I get very little smoke. I did not even adjust the door.

hope this helped
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yeah ive debated back and forth whether or not I really needed the 22, the only issue ive ever had with the 18 is having to separate the point from the flat on a large brisket so it would fit right and honestly didn't find any issues with the way it turned out...Plus ive never had to cook for more than 10 people and the 18 did the job for that many so Im still on the fence, though I may just go with another 18...
 
I've got the 22 and I love it but I also haven't had the 18. I've got the one with the grommet. It can be a pain to put in the hole but I use it for my probes with no problem. I cook some big briskets and I like being able to lay full racks of ribs on the racks without having to cut them down, etc. So for me, the 22 was a no brainer. However, it is way overkill as I'm typically cooking for 2 people on it. If I'm cooking for the occasional party though I have the space.
 
The 22 is great for a lot of folks, but too big for me. Now if I had your 18 only 800 miles away in storage, it would make a great excuse
to hit the road and retrieve it. Totally not cost effective, but I would rather go for the ride.
 
Im going to go ahead and order the 22", initially I thought about going back to a stick burner but too much money for a decent one. Ive seen the 22 in person and it's not overly big and still somewhat portable. I don't use anything in the water pan so that's fuel savings in itself so Im not worried about that. My main goal is doing more briskets, and ribs without alterations and probably freeze more Q for mid week dinners.
 
DavidMichael said:
Im going to go ahead and order the 22", initially I thought about going back to a stick burner but too much money for a decent one. Ive seen the 22 in person and it's not overly big and still somewhat portable. I don't use anything in the water pan so that's fuel savings in itself so Im not worried about that. My main goal is doing more briskets, and ribs without alterations and probably freeze more Q for mid week dinners.
Click to expand...

the 22.5 is not that tremendously enormous IMO. I think you will love it
 
Dustin Dorsey said:
I've got the 22 and I love it but I also haven't had the 18. I've got the one with the grommet. It can be a pain to put in the hole but I use it for my probes with no problem. I cook some big briskets and I like being able to lay full racks of ribs on the racks without having to cut them down, etc. So for me, the 22 was a no brainer. However, it is way overkill as I'm typically cooking for 2 people on it. If I'm cooking for the occasional party though I have the space.
Click to expand...

Dustin
I started with the 22 and found the same thing to cook for 2-5 people it is way too much, unless you are making extra to freeze. I got the 14.5 as a younger brother to my 22 and have never regretted it. Yes I had built a min-WSM out of SJG and the kids that that camping. I like the quality of the 14.5 the mini doesn't hold a candle to it. I can do 2 10 pound butts on it or 4 racks of ribs in racks or 8 chicken quarters, more than enough for 4-5 people.
 
I've had both sizes on multiple occasions (3 - 22.5 WSMs, and at least 5 18.5s not including the one I have now). You've chosen the 22.5 and really can never go wrong buying to the adage of "extra capacity when you need it". But for me, I cooked on each of the first two 22.5s once in the months I owned them - the last one; sold without ever cooking on it. I purchased the first one out of curiosity; the other two were just because they were outstanding deals knowing I could use and flip.

For me they were such a waste of space and charcoal (and I have a couple of kamados that more than serve my cooking needs - even for extended family). I only own one 18.5 WSM - a newer one - and purchased it October 2014 for a really good price. Have yet to use it but plan on keeping it indefinitely.
 
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