22 WSM Door Mods


 
C

Chad-Burnt to a T

TVWBB Super Fan
Cajun Bandit SS Door
They sell 2 versions

First option with round hole without the lift and turn southco latch.

2nd option with square hole w/ lift and turn southco latch. Do which option is cheapest for you. Mine is the first option with round hole. Explained below.

They claim you need the square hole but you don't. Just need a step bit and punch out the oem hole to 5/8". I used a deburring tool to clean it up. No need for the square hole round hole is now operational.

The second reason the southco latch that comes with the square hole door is the smaller latch from southco 62 series. The one I buy is the medium they also have a large. I prefer the medium size.

Southco lift and turn Latch 62-30-15. I found a place to buy them pretty cheap. Will include that seller information soon.

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Door gasket. Now some like the Cajun Bandit door as is I just figured for the money why not install a gasket. You can also use this gasket for lid and bottom section to seal up the center ring. I just wanted it for the door. I ordered it from BBQGASKETS.COM aka Island Outdoor LLC.com

I got the Fire Black w/high temp self Adhesive backing. Part# FB34

3/4" x 1/8" x 15 ft that will do at least 3 doors. That's what's left after doing 2 doors.
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Just upgraded my CB door to the Southco 62-30-15 and I agree its a good size. I was able to use a 5/8" drill bit and it worked great.

Time was a concern so I went through Amazon and paid $32 for the latch, but interested to upgrade my other wsm, so looking forward to who you bought from.
 
I put the CB door on my 22, and to be honest, it's the only mod that I wish I hadn't done. Although the door was fine, looks great, and is of very high quality, it really made no difference to the performance of my WSM. As a matter of fact, the handle on the CB door gets much hotter than the handle on the OEM door, and you'll need gloves to open it up. Hinge, casters, vent handles were all great, but I really wish that I'd saved the money on the CB door and done something else. I left the OEM door on my 18, and it works just fine. Just my 2¢. I'm not knocking yours, if you're happy, I'm happy for you.

Charlie
 
C Lewis said:
I put the CB door on my 22, and to be honest, it's the only mod that I wish I hadn't done. Although the door was fine, looks great, and is of very high quality, it really made no difference to the performance of my WSM. As a matter of fact, the handle on the CB door gets much hotter than the handle on the OEM door, and you'll need gloves to open it up. Hinge, casters, vent handles were all great, but I really wish that I'd saved the money on the CB door and done something else. I left the OEM door on my 18, and it works just fine. Just my 2¢. I'm not knocking yours, if you're happy, I'm happy for you.

Charlie
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I bought the Cajun Bandit door for a WSM 18 and only used it one time. The OEM door was much better.
My WSM 22 just arrived and I’ll use it for one cook before considering the Cajun Bandit door.
 
C Lewis said:
I put the CB door on my 22, and to be honest, it's the only mod that I wish I hadn't done. Although the door was fine, looks great, and is of very high quality, it really made no difference to the performance of my WSM. As a matter of fact, the handle on the CB door gets much hotter than the handle on the OEM door, and you'll need gloves to open it up. Hinge, casters, vent handles were all great, but I really wish that I'd saved the money on the CB door and done something else. I left the OEM door on my 18, and it works just fine. Just my 2¢. I'm not knocking yours, if you're happy, I'm happy for you.

Charlie
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I have had it on mine for ever no issues opening without gloves. I've never touched the door just the handle.
 
I like the cajun bandit door on my 22" WSM - basically identical to Chad's mods, including the gasket. The handle on mine also gets too hot to touch sometimes. I think the stock door may work better on the 18" vs 22" It'll be interesting to see what decision Jeff B comes to on his new 22". The stock door on the 22" takes some finagling to get it to fit, and I was never happy with my stock door which is what drove me to the CB. I have a couple of close friends that run the stock doors on the 22" and they're OK with it.
 
Odd. The Southco knob on my CB gets super hot, I need gloves to open it once the cooker is going. The stock OEM handle doesn't seem to conduct any heat.
 
C Lewis said:
Odd. The Southco knob on my CB gets super hot, I need gloves to open it once the cooker is going. The stock OEM handle doesn't seem to conduct any heat.
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I usually cook at 225 and jet it up to 270at the end if i get impatient. . I think I seen some one dipped their handle in a plastic dip or soft rubber that forms to the handle. I never looked into it myself. I use thin cotton gloves as well at times I use two pair for grates and nitrile on top when pulling meat off and also pulling pork butt. I use a guru with no bottom vents open maybe that's the difference?

One more thing I use a larger handle then what comes with the Cajun Bandit door. He sells them with the small size maybe it retains the heat more.. I use a medium they also have a large which has an even longer handle.
 
So my take is that the CB may hold heat better , and you will have less fluctuation in temps because it's a tighter seal . With that said, I didn't have any disasters with the stock handle. To the points made about the handle getting hot with the CB, I have had that.
 
John K BBQ said:
It'll be interesting to see what decision Jeff B comes to on his new 22". The stock door on the 22" takes some finagling to get it to fit, and I was never happy with my stock door which is what drove me to the CB. I have a couple of close friends that run the stock doors on the 22" and they're OK with it.
Click to expand...
The stock door works okay but I figured I’d give the CB door a chance. I bought one and will give a shot New Years.
 
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