Another Possible Consideration for "Which size to get?"


 
N

NickB

TVWBB Member
Greetings Learned Forum:

I am a new member and this is my first post. First, I have to say how fortunate I feel to have stumbled upon this Forum. I have been reading your pearls of wisdom with great interest. Thank you all very much for giving back to those of us further down the food experience chain.

How is this for ironic: I am struggle more on the issue of whether to get the 18.5 or the 22.5 than I ever struggle regarding what smoker to get. Of all the smokers I read about and researched, deciding on the WSM was the easy part. Choosing between the two sizes is a bugger. I have read all the threads and posts, and as far as I am concerned, it's a dead heat (Arr arr arr).

So tell me if this factor swings you one way or the other. My girlfriend and I (we are a family of 2) live in central New Hampshire. Baby it's cold outside! We routinely get into the single digits and below during long stretches of the winter. Would my local climate nudge me one way or the other regarding the smaller or larger WSM?

I am just looking for a factor to be a tie breaker. My concern about the larger unit has much more to do with potentially unnecessary increased fuel cost/consumption, than the extra $100 I must initially pay.

Your thoughts are greatly appreciated. Thank you again.

NickB
 
I would start with an 18. get the method down. You can cook A LOT of food on an 18. a couple shoulders or a couple chickens, lots of ribs and misc things. consider if you are entertaining for a group, you will have side dishes and appetizers.. you'll have plenty of food.

yes.. there is a bit of difference in the fuel consumption and the initial cost. Given there are only two of you, go tih the 18. you can always sell it and get the other later if need be.
 
Nick, welcome aboard!!
Boy, this one is discussed a lot! I myself went with the 18.5" WSM. (Partly because I didn't know about the 22") I have cooked 3 racks of ribs, a Boston Butt, and some desert (baked ciniamon apples) on the 18.5 and still had room. If you plan on cooking foe more than 10/12 people, go with the giant.If you plan on cooking for less than that, the 18.5 will suit your needs.
Its kind of like owning a big SUV. If you have a large familty to drive around, than 17mpg is nesessity. if it is just the 2 of you, then 17 mpg is kind of a waste.(IMO)
either way, you will have yourself an AWESOME SMOKER!!
Good luck, Tim
 
Dear Mike and Tim:

Thank you very much for your prompt replies. You have verified what I was thinking all along. 90% of the time, it will just be the two of us. And I have an old beater 22.5 Weber kettle and a nice Weber gasser to fill out the ranks. I am sure the 18.5 will suit our needs and then some. I guess it's time to push "add to cart." Here goes...

I just ordered some wood and charcoal to be delivered to my local hardware store. I got a 40 lb bag of Royal Oak, and 10 lbs each of chunks of Mesquite, Hickory, Cherry and Apple. I have a Maverick ET-732 on it's way. I already had the chimney starter.

Am I set? Is the digital, computerized blower a necessity? Just kidding. What about an instant read? Or is the Maverick enough? Again, I appreciate your showing a noob the ropes.

NickB
 
Nick , for safety the next purchase I'd suggest is a pair of heat resistant welders or Grilling gloves., also a pair of high heat silicone grilling gloves makes picking up a hot butt easier
icon_eek.gif
 
Nick, Check here for some great beginner info. It sounds to me like your going to fit right in. Welcome to the site.
 
jsut snake the themometer probe thru the lid and into the meat. use the lid thermo for temp of the smoker.

maybe a giant fork or ice tongs to yank food out of the smoker..

after your first few smokes, distribute samples.. then we'll tell chris if you are allowed to stay here. :p
 
Thanks, guys.
And Mike...if I were still living in Barrington, I would be by in a heartbeat with samples to prove my worth. But I'm way the **** up here in New England now. So you will just have to take my word for it.
icon_biggrin.gif
 
Ok Nick, I am gonna throw some stuff in the game here. I happen to own a 22 because I didn't want to have to sell and buy the bigger one when I grew into it. I am going to suggest the 18 for you as well, BUT when you see the need to grow, buy one of the middle sections from cajun bandit or there is another one out there that I can't remember right now. Add that to your 22 grill and you could have two smokers and a grill!!! Plus it will be a great test to see how far your girlfriend will let you take this addiction!
icon_wink.gif
 
I like your thinking, Shane. Especially the part about testing the GF. I can already see the tee shirt:

My wife said if I do another overnight smoke, she is leaving me. I sure am going to miss her.
 
Nick,

Not sure if you have made the purchase yet, but if not and you are doing it online see this tvwbb / amazon link. Purchases made through amazon this way help out this site.

Also if not, I recommend the 18 as well. The 22 is huge and uses a good bit of fuel. Like everyone else said, if you are routinely cooking for large parties then the 22 is great. If not, the 18 is much better.

When I got married (Last July) I just had the 18 WSM. Then I got the new performer. Then found the SS performer on Craigslist. And then just got my 22" WSM. Wife has been supportive since she loves my food and she has said I can have as many grills as I want, as long as her car fits in the garage.... knowing I couldn't fit anymore after the 22 WSM
icon_smile.gif
 
You certainly have gotten a handle on things, Nick. Enjoy your 18.5. It really has more than enough capacity. I cook primarily for my wife and myself (and sometimes guests), but did a cook for 19 and STILL had space to spare. With the extra grills, there's really nothing you can't manage (OK, maybe 100 is tight
icon_biggrin.gif
).

Personally, I have an ET-732 as well as another probe thermometer and still use an instant read for verification. Is it necessary, probably not. Is it comforting, YES!

Rich
 
Holy Smoke! Ordered my WSM yesterday, and it is being delivered TODAY! And that was the free ground shipping! Just think if I had paid the $40 for "two day"? I wouldn't be getting it until tomorrow!

Unfortunately, Josh, I made my purchase before you chimed in, and it was not from Amazon. From now on, I will order off of this site whenever possible, as it is a great forum and I certainly want to do my part to help support it.

So what do I do now? I'm at the office. My WSM is probably on my front porch as I speak, 30 miles away. Like I'm going to get any more work done today. Yeah. Right.

Tick...tick...tick....

NickB
 
It may be too late to chime in for you guys, but for anyone else lurking on the fence- here is my experience.

I bought the 22 this fall. I am glad I did. But this thing is huge. Everytime I want to smoke something, I want to use it to it's potential. That is where the hassle comes in. Instead of cooking 1 butt for me and the family. I cook at a minimum 4 butts- then call friends and let them have one for the cost of the meat. This adds up to some extra work (and expense)- but my friends enjoy and I get some intrinsic satisfaction.
The problem is two-fold:
1) I tend to buy butts by the case (cheaper per butt) but put off smoking as often as I like because of all the extra work of preparing that many butts.

2)I tend to be a perfectionist on the cooks, because I am cooking not only for me- but also for friends.

Here is my recent solution- I built a mini-wsm out of a Smokey Joe Gold. Now I can cook for my family (guilt free) when I want on the mini- or I can cook for me and friends on the 22.

If I were to do this over, I would probably buy an 18 and have it and a mini.

If I were to only cook for me and my family of 4 or even for a few more- I would not buy an 18, but would just make a mini Smokey Joe Gold smoker.
 
Shane, you've got to build one of these mini WSMs. I promise, once you've had the fun of building one, putting your own personal touches on it, and use it for the first time, you'll be hooked like the rest of us are!
Tim
 
Well, after the first smoke, and seeing first hand how much room the 18.5 has, I can honestly say I am very happy I followed your suggestions and got the smaller WSM. Thank you all for your sage advice.

NickB
 
You're certainly welcome, Nick. (I bet I speak for us all
icon_smile.gif
.)

So, now that you have the 18.5, I know that sooner or later you are going to encounter Rodney's problem (though to a lesser extent). That is the feeling that, if I'm going to smoke, I'm going to take advantage of all that space. I find myself thinking about this for DAYS ahead of any planned WSM cook (as opposed to a simple grill where I might do a single sausage if I just FEEL like it). Let's see, one butt or two (or more). One rack of ribs is enough for dinner but SO much extra space -- how about some ABTs, a batch of almonds, maybe a beef roast down below...

I think you'll get the idea.
icon_biggrin.gif


Rich
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

 

Back
Top