A little disapointed in Weber


 
Once again, I have been forced to spend my time weeding out garbage from another thread.

Mickey, your comments about this design issue and other issues may be valid, but your tone rubs people the wrong way. You need to figure out how to get along with people here. I would suggest that you take a break from posting for a little while.

Jim, you need to back off and stay out of these threads. I've asked you to not engage but you continue to do so. Please stop.

And some of the comments in the replies from several of you were rude and inappropriate and inconsistent with the helpful, friendly environment we've all worked so hard to build here. Please don't f*** it up for everyone.
 
OK, as for the original post...

From the very beginning, the WSM has used repurposed parts. It was cobbled together by designer Erich Schlosser using parts from other grills for the lid and bowl and water pan, grates from other cookers, a door knob from the hardware store, and a few custom parts like the middle section, door, legs, and charcoal chamber.

The water pan in the 22.5" WSM is a shallow pan because it's a repurposed lid from another grill. I'm told that the shallow water pan in the 14.5" WSM is an adapted part from the old Weber Torch. The shallow 1 gal water pan in the pre-2009 WSM was also a repurposed lid. But to get that 2+ gallon capacity that everyone wanted for the 2009 model, they went with a repurposed bowl. And the very first time I saw it in-person and tried to cook with it, I knew it was trouble. It does hang down too low, too close to the charcoal chamber. It's a flaw that I wish Weber would address by stamping a new bowl. It would make servicing the charcoal chamber easier during cooking. And while they're at it, they should put Cajun Bandit out of the aftermarket door business by making a decent fitting stainless steel door. And they should use an industrial-grade thermometer. And go back to wooden lid handles. Goodbye $299, hello $399.

But I digress. If you find the water pan design to be a big problem, the workaround is to buy the Brinkmann charcoal pan. It holds 2 gallons and is shallow. It costs anywhere from a few bucks to $20 depending on where you buy it. No, it's not right to have to spend money to solve a problem that Weber should have solved, but it is what it is at least for the time being.
 
The following snippet is a piece of Mr Allingham's above post. It can be read in its entirety there. Below he discusses the water pan this thread is about.

Chris Allingham said:
OK, as for the original post...

...And the very first time I saw it in-person and tried to cook with it, I knew it was trouble. It does hang down too low, too close to the charcoal chamber. It's a flaw that I wish Weber would address by stamping a new bowl. It would make servicing the charcoal chamber easier during cooking.
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Did that guy just say "flaw" and "Weber" in the same sentence??? Someone should ban that heretic!

Wait, he owns the joint. Never mind.

But seriously, he said exactly what I was trying to say. :) I didn't know all the history but I know a bad idea when I see one.

It's refreshing to see someone like Mr. Allingham who is honest enough to criticize Weber a bit.

The "professional apologists" for Weber who maintain all things Weber are perfect have little to offer. If problems aren't exposed and discussed, their solutions will never be found.

I'm sure Mr Alingham doesn't "hate" Weber like I was accused of doing. Believe me, I don't hate them either. But, like him, I feel comfortable criticizing them when it's deserved.

Overall, I think WSMs are a fine product but they're not perfect. Myself being the exception, there's very little perfect in this world. I realize this.

Finally, I'm going to make a few of you lads very happy.

I'm going to take a little vacation from this place and go elsewhere to ask my neophyte questions.

Mr Allingham is working too hard trying to keep the peace around here. And much of it appears to be my fault. It does take two to tango. So I'm voluntarily removing one of the dancers. Me.

But I'll be back sometime in the future, maybe after kicking someone's butt in a competition.

Count on my return.

Ta ta.
 
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Mickey your point is valid - I went to Academy Sports and bought the Brinkmann 2-gallon water pan. For me it was a 15 minute drive and a 5 dollar/2 minute mod. Done.

If you can convince or prove to Weber that there are a more than just one, two or a handful of people who REALLY want a flatter, shallower, yet-similar-capacity water pan, that's your best bet at getting change to occur. Start an online blog or website as a petition and see how many (hundreds or thousands of) valid signatures you can get - that will certainly help your case. :)
 
I have a bunch of Weber grills but I do NOT think that Weber is always right - I am annoyed that there is a bunch of stuff that they don't market in the US. The Pizza kettle and Ivory or Light Blue painted kettles are examples. Weber is great but not perfect :wsm:
 
It's not fair to characterize anyone on this forum as a professional apologist for Weber. What is true is that this is a Weber fan site. We love Weber products first and foremost. Sometimes love causes you to focus more on the positives and downplay the negatives, to be sure. (Thank God my wife does this with me.) If one reads threads posted here over the last 15 years, you'll see that we do complain (a lot) about flaws in Weber products, and we do complain about why Weber does or doesn't do this or that. But it's understood that we do it because we love the brand and we love the products and we want them to be better.
 
I belong to one other forum, Pentax Forums.
Pretty much the same situation there, some gripe and complain about Pentax should do this, or shouldn't do that.
But it's kind of like the Weber thing here, you couldn't pry the beloved cameras from their hands.

Weber grills, they give us those nice grilled flavors
Give us those steaks of summer
They make you think that all the world's a sunny day
So Mama don't take my Weber grill away......

with apologies to Paul Simon :)

 
Bob you just made those reformulated lyrics up because you cant use Kodachrome anymore. But I kind of like them......
Bob Correll said:
I belong to one other forum, Pentax Forums.
Pretty much the same situation there, some gripe and complain about Pentax should do this, or shouldn't do that.
But it's kind of like the Weber thing here, you couldn't pry the beloved cameras from their hands.

Weber grills, they give us those nice grilled flavors
Give us those steaks of summer
They make you think that all the world's a sunny day
So Mama don't take my Weber grill away......

with apologies to Paul Simon :)
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I have a 22.5 WSM. I have tons of room between the charcoal bowl and the water pan. Maybe you're putting in too much charcoal. Just a thought. Also, I love my WSM. it's a pro/comp level cooker that turns out incredible BBQ. Plus, the most important thing --- I have fun using it and sharing BBQ with family and friends.
 
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Frank Eriksen said:
I have a 22.5 WSM. I have tons of room between the charcoal bowl and the water pan. Maybe you're putting in too much charcoal. Just a thought. Also, I love my WSM. it's a pro/comp level cooker that turns out incredible BBQ. Plus, the most important thing --- I have fun using it and sharing BBQ with family and friends.
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The 22.5" WSM uses a flat water pan that is actually a repurposed kettle lid. The 18.5" WSM uses a deep water pan that is actually a repurposed kettle bowl. The issue being discussed here only applies to the 18.5" WSM starting with the 2009 model year; units prior to that year used a shallow pan like the 22.5", only smaller.
 
I built a Piedmont Pan for my 18.5, seems to be the best of both worlds for me. Better access to the fire, similar water capacity, slightly slower water consumption when running with water, and when i do high heat poultry the drippings don't cause excessive smoke anymore.
 
Chris I am glad you posted that this thread only applies to the 18.5, I was about to run outside clean the snow off my 22.5 and check the waterbowl because I don't remember every having a problem with the coals being too close to the waterbowl.
My 14.5 may be a little close but then if I want to do more than a 6 hour cook I will use the 22.5 and cook extra food. That said I still have desires for an 18.5 but don't need it with a 22.5 14.5 and mini.

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My 18.5 is an 2012 model. I almost always run a dry water pan and foil over the top. I didn't like how the pan was nested right on the coals if I really filled the ring up for a long cook.
Somewhere on one of the forums I saw that the new pans were Smokey Joe bowls and the old ones were Smokey Joe lids. I had an old scratched and dented lid out in the garage that I just hadn't been able to throw away for some reason, and now I knew the reason!
I popped the handle off, wrapped the lid in a couple of layers of Reynolds HD and had myself an old style pan! As long as I am running dry...
 
So I briefly skimmed over this thread, and I have to admit that I too dislike the lack of clearance between the coals and water pan. So I have a question: If I'm ONLY using the top rack of the smoker (as I often am)........is there any reason I couldn't just flip the water pan upside down, thus giving me more clearance?
 
Ted from Bristow said:
If I'm ONLY using the top rack of the smoker (as I often am)........is there any reason I couldn't just flip the water pan upside down, thus giving me more clearance?
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With the pan upside down you'd still get indirect heat, but drippings would run off the pan into the fire like in direct cooking. Some guys like to cook over direct heat in the WSM without a water pan so those drippings hit the coals and flavor the meat...but it makes a mess in the bottom of the charcoal bowl. A pan that catches drippings is emulating the indirect cooking method you get in other pits like offset cookers where the fire is in one chamber and the meat is in another chamber and drippings never hit the fire.
 
Ted from Bristow said:
is there any reason I couldn't just flip the water pan upside down, thus giving me more clearance?
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It should work, but just a thought. An empty foiled pan in the upright position acts as a deflector/baffle ( heat hits the bottom and rolls up the sides)
Turn it upside down and the heat is somewhat trapped, concentrated at the top and could cause a hot spot that close to the upper grate.
Could be beneficial for a HH cook, but I'm just thinking out loud :wsm:

Tim
 
Chris Allingham said:
With the pan upside down you'd still get indirect heat, but drippings would run off the pan into the fire like in direct cooking. Some guys like to cook over direct heat in the WSM without a water pan so those drippings hit the coals and flavor the meat...but it makes a mess in the bottom of the charcoal bowl. A pan that catches drippings is emulating the indirect cooking method you get in other pits like offset cookers where the fire is in one chamber and the meat is in another chamber and drippings never hit the fire.
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That is a good point. I usually put my meats in a disposable, aluminum pan before I put them on the smoker. So the drippings/mess never crossed my mind. But I am probably a minority, as most folks put their meat directly on the rack.
In any case, I'll give it a try and report back.
 
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