amount of coal?


 
S

stan lee

New member
gonna fire up my new WSM for the 4th.
gonna do a couple of racks.

picked up a 18.5" WSM.

any suggestions on how much coal i should use??
using a weber chimney... i'm thinking 1 full chimney amount?
 
This is what I do...
Fill the charcoal ring and get half a chimney full of fully lit charcoal and dump on top. It takes about 30-45 min to get my temp 225-250.
 
Tony R said:
This is what I do...
Fill the charcoal ring and get half a chimney full of fully lit charcoal and dump on top. It takes about 30-45 min to get my temp 225-250.
Click to expand...

thanks tony!!! so fill the charcoal ring all the way?

also, i'm wanting to use the 18.5 as a grill too. i've been reading the "converting to grill" section on the forum and it says to purchase a separate 22.5" charcoal ring. is the 22.5" ring for the 18.5'?
 
Yes fill it up. What ever you don't use can be used on your next smoke. Just remember to removed the ash.
I don't know about your second question.. It's the first time I hear about this. But what I do sometimes is remove the middle section and just place my top grate from the smoker and place it on top of the charcoal ring and grill. Maybe others members can help you better with your second question.
 
I have been doing several 2-1/2 to 3 hour cooks lately and I am finding I don't need anywhere near half full for my 18-1.5" WSM and it's still 225 for a long time after. I made the mistake of putting a full chimney of coals today for my cook and I had to shut it down to drop back to 225. The bottom of the chimney was red but the top coals were not even showing any white. Next time I will be pouring over unlit coals.
 
Ray.S said:
I have been doing several 2-1/2 to 3 hour cooks lately and I am finding I don't need anywhere near half full for my 18-1.5" WSM and it's still 225 for a long time after. I made the mistake of putting a full chimney of coals today for my cook and I had to shut it down to drop back to 225. The bottom of the chimney was red but the top coals were not even showing any white. Next time I will be pouring over unlit coals.
Click to expand...

So about half to 3/4 seems about right for a 3-2-1 rib smoke. Cool. If I don't have to, I wouldn't want left over coals.
 
I've used my 22.5" a couple times. First time I filled her up with a whole bag and a few wood chunks mixed in and lit a 1/2 chimney and put them coals on top. After that cook I just shook the charcoal grate and removed the ashes and replenished again to fill up grate. Worked out great so far. Just close vents after the cook and depending on length and temp. You should have bricks left. I'm very impressed with the 22.5" fuel efficiency.
 
Hi Stan,

We have always use a full ring of unlit, no matter what we are cooking. The method RogerS indicated above works very well! Besides... with left over coals, you are almost pre - prepared for your next cook ;) fyi... left over coals will burn just like any other coals, including new ones.

Bob
(raised in northOC in the 50's before there was a north or south... just OC and the Irvine Co ;) )
 
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