A word of caution!!! Today is not my day..A WSM disaster:(


 
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FredDeGrandisJr

New member
Just finished 24 hrs worth of cooking, with 3 slabs of baby back ribs last night and two pork shoulders (one prepared as Puerto Rican pernil (the smaller of the two shoulders in cryovac from Costco) and the other following the Mr. Brown recipe). After my ribs finished last evening (BRITU), which were awesome, I emptied the charcoal chamber and proceeded to load the WSM up for an overnight Minion smoke for the two boneless shoulders that had been resting in the chill chest for the day after rub application.

I put the shoulders on at 9:00pm and went to bed at 1:00am with the temp hovering at 235F. I woke up this morning and again the temp on the smoker was down to 160F (see my previous "I may have ruined my first shoulder (or something to that effect) post for the same problem, although again, the shoulders were above 140, so I decided to again soldier on.

I pulled the smaller Puerto Rican pernil shoulder at 1:30, and it looks great. I wrapped in foil and it is safe in the cooler for dinner. At 2:30, the other shoulder registered 186F on the probe thermometer (which I usually attach via magnet to the body of the WSM and found to have partially melted this afternoon (the clip at least)). I went out with my wife to take Mr. Brown off of the WSM with some forks and it started to break apart (it was quite tender). I proceeded to adjust the two forks and then all of a sudden, it happened...


The top grate shifted and fell into the cavity of the WSM. Mr. Brown went directly into the drink and I was speechless. Thankfully, I pulled the other shoulder prior to this and none of the simmering water splashed on us.

I stood in silence for a moment and then couldn't help but laugh. It was a $13 mistake and a lesson learned I guess.

To recap:

1) Do not attach a magnetic probe thermometer to the body of the WSM

2) Be careful when shifting food around on the top grate (or be sure to use the bottom grate as a safety net).

Does anyone know of a WSM mod to extend the top grate holder? I really didn't move the shoulder much and was a bit surprised that the grate fell in so easily.

Mr. Brown-less in Ohio,
Fred
 
Fred,is your middle section out of round? The grates shouldn't fall that easy. I had a water bowl fall off the tabs one time,but that was my fault for not putting it squarely on the tabs.
Next question,did the butt fall in the water pan or the ashes. If it fell in the water,it should be salvagable. Just rinse well and pull and serve. If it fellin the ashes,I would get rid of the bark(SOB),and just eat the inner part.
 
I assume you didn't empty/refill the water pan when you prepped for the overnight?

If it fell into it's own drippings-water, could you have just considered it a final 'basting'?
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1 - Yes, this has been the subject of a few posts. You can make a simple stand-off mount out of wood.

2 - What else would you do with the bottom grate?
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You could probably use small C clamps or window clamps like below to secure the top grate to the mount.
http://www.fastenal.com/web/pr.../detail.ex?sku=48845
 
Thanks guys. It fell in the water about an hour ago and is still sitting in there
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I couldn't bring myself to clean up after this.

It has probably cooled down too much and the drippings were a combination of the ribs from last night, along with the two shoulders. If I shouldn't pitch, please let me know.

Thanks for the information on the mods. I will check them out.

Cheers,
Fred
 
Cooled down too much? 186ºF+ meat in near boiling water for an hour? I wouldn't think so.

There may not be anything technically "wrong" but there is certainly a psychological "yuck" factor. Like an episode of Fear Factor.
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Personally, if it'd been fresh water, I would have just snatched it out and rinsed it off.

Oh well, lesson learned.
 
I posted about this problem a while ago. The brackets for the top grate on my 18" WSM were not quite long enough to hold the top grate securely. That was the case with two of the brackets that were opposite one another, but not the other two (the middle section was probably ever so slightly out-of-round). I almost lost some pork butts and ribs as a result -- you touch the top rack the wrong way, and it would tip over.

I solved the problem by inserting a pair of metal washers between the inside walls of the middle section and two of the brackets opposite one another (the two that were too short or, more accurately, were spaced too far apart). That moved the brackets out enough -- probably about 1/16" -- so that the top grate would be stable. I haven't had a problem since I inserted the washers, which only cost me a few pennies.

Here's a link to the thread discussing this mod, as well as some others that people have devised.

http://tvwbb.com/eve/forums/a/...=264100094#264100094
 
The fix is so simple I don't understand why WEBER doesn't make the brackets longer or send the dang washers with the new 18's don't make any sense ! When I bought my 22 I told the guy about the fix for the 18 at the BBQ store they had never thought of it
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Now I think all there 18 WSM's go out the door with the washers .

To bad about the shoulder dude .bout all one can do is buy the washers installem and move on .
 
I have had a similar experience on my new WSM. Fortunately, the grate collapse happened when the meat was cold, the water bowl had cold water, and the lower rack was still in place. I was shifting a big shoulder around to make sure that it was aligned with a foil drip pan on the lower shelf and I twisted the grate enough to make it slip and fall.

I added 8 washers total, 2 on each bracket, and now no more problems.


When someone gets burned and sues Weber/Stephens then they will redesign the bracket to be 1/4 inch longer. Until they get sued, I think that they would rather save the money on the part by having it smaller & less costly to make.


I had a thread this summer called "In like, not in love" with my 2 new webers. THis was one of the reasons. But my biggest complaint these days is the kettle and how easily the leg flanges [the 3 attachment points where the legs meet the kettle's bottom bowl] have bent because I wheeled the darn thing across my lawn a few times.
 
Fred-

Thanks for sharing your story. I will be especially careful. And I will take a look at the washer idea. Sounds like a no brainer.

JG
 
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