A Warning & Request for Alternatives


 
M

Matt D

TVWBB Member
Long story short, I had a catastrophe yesterday. While adding coals through the side door to my 18" WSM, I guess my hand must have bumped the water pan and not only did I suffer a small burn on my hand, but the water pan then dumped into the charcoal sending a huge cloud of steam and wet hot charcoal dust all over me. Fortunately the burns aren't too bad - I got really lucky.

It's been a while since I've been on the board here, but I seem to recall talk of using a terra cotta pot base and sand or something? Have there been any other developments in alternatives to using the water pan? Do I need both the terra cotta base and sand, one or the other? If using the sand, do you cover it in foil or just let the drippings fall into the sand?
 
Hey Matt,I went to a clay saucer last year and am LOVING it. You don't have to worry about keeping the pan full on long cooks or bumping the pan and the resulting catastrophic dust cloud and loss of temps!
As far as foiling,yes! I foil the bottom of the water pan and just put a sheet of foil over the top of the saucer. When the foil gets gunky,just change it! Very easy!
 
Me three!!!
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Been doing this for years now with great success
 
Thanks for the replies! I think I'll either get the terra cotta pot base or maybe the Brinkmann charcoal pan. Even empty, I don't trust the WSM water pan to not fall again. Once bitten twice shy and all...LOL.
 
Matt, which pan do you have? The small one off the older wsms, or the huge one that comes with the newer ones?

Mine is the huge one, but I don't see how I could knock it off the supports. However, I do believe I read somewhere that the ECB charcoal pan, which I use for overnighters so I can heap the charcoal up, is supposed to stay on the supports better than the older OE pan.
 
Dave, I have the OE pan that came with my WSM (18") which is about 3 years old now. It definitely isn't the tightest of fits, that's for sure. So the newer WSM's have a larger water pan, huh? Maybe I should check in here more often....LOL.

So I guess it's up to options:

1. Terracotta pot base, foiled
2. Newer updated OE Water Pan, foiled, empty
3. Brinkmann charcoal pan, foiled, empty

Thanks again everyone!
 
I have the older OEM pan and use with just foil no water or ceramic pot base.

Foil bottom then foil top allowing a little air space but enough to collect any juices.

John
 
we always used the door as a coal chute.

Or you can always fold up your own out of some duct work, which is what i did. just funnel it in right out of the starter.

sorry about your hand, hope you're ok.
 
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