Basic Questions


 
D

Drew Get

New member
Hello. My wife and I are new owners of a 22.5 WSM. My only experience is on a propane spirit, and have little charcoal or smoker knowledge. I have a few questions for you experts.

1) after our first cook this weekend we found there was moisture in the thermometer. Is this normal or should I call weber?
2) What should our deciding factors be in choosing between lump or briquettes?
3) we were under the impression that when "smoking" your needed constant smoke during the cook. From what I have seen from this site most people only use 4-6 chunks of wood during their cook. We found this weekend while cooking 2 racks of pork ribs and 1 whole chicken that the wood seemed to stop smoking shortly after the process began id say after 1-1.5 hours. Is this normal or should to have the wood smoking for the duration of the cook?
4) how thoroughly should we clean the smoker after each cook. I have rarely cleaned out the weber spirit grill and have never had any problems. I have cleaned the grease trap in it and thats about it. How does the cleaning and maintenance differ from a propane grill.

That is it for know I will have a lot of other questions too but will wait to see how the response is that the above prior to asking the rest. I have done lots of reading in the forum regarding some of these questions but guess I just need a few things clarified. Thanks in advance
 
2) I use briquettes because they are cheap and get them on sale most of the time. I do use lump also.
3) it's normal. You don't want a thick smoke coming out your smoker.
4) only clean the grates with a brush. Clean under the lid when your see flakes.
 
First, go to the sticky above your post and check out the information there, it will answer a lot of questions both now and in the future.
1) It's just condensation, it should go away after a few more cooks
2) Try both and see which you like better. I like lump, but lots of folks on here us briqs
3) You don't want heavy white smoke. That is normal at start up, but should settle down to a light smoke or even just a heat signature coming from the top vent. Gauge the amount of smoke wood on the end product and how it tastes to you and your wife.
4) Clean like Tony said. Sometimes you'll get juices in the bottom bowl that will need cleaned out or something will run down the side that needs cleaned off. Otherwise, that coating helps seal the smoker and is a good thing.
 
Congrats on the new WSM.

1)I have never experienced moisture in my thermometer so you might have a bad seal on it. I'd contact weber.
2)Lump vs briquettes is just a personal choice. Some people me included like using the briquettes for the longer burn times, others believe in the lump for the same reason. Just trial and error.
3)You don't need smoke for the whole cook. I usually only use 3-6 lumps of smoke wood. If you use the minion method mix the chunks in with your unlit coals and they will lite up during the cook for longer smokes. For ribs and quicker smokes I usually toss the wood on the hot coals when I put the meat on.
4)DON"T clean the inside of the WSM. The only thing I clean are the grates and every now and then the lid when I start seeing the layer of build up flaking off. The longer you use your WSM the better flavors you will experience from the seasoning. It also helps seal up the WSM and makes it much easier to control your temps.

Enjoy the WSM. Just search around on the forum for any of these topics and you will find a plethora of information. Welcome aboard.
 
A number of people have commented about condensation inside these thermometers. If you find it's a continual problem and prevents you from reading the dial, I would contact Weber Customer Service at 800-446-1071.

Briquettes or lump is a personal decision. There is no right answer for everyone. I wrote an article about charcoal which contains a section on factors to consider when choosing charcoal that you many find helpful: http://virtualweberbullet.com/charcoal.html#factors

I also wrote an article about smoke wood that recommends how much wood to use and techniques for apply it:
http://virtualweberbullet.com/woods.html#quantity
http://virtualweberbullet.com/woods.html#applying

In my personal experience, there's not a lot of benefit from burying wood chunks in the charcoal in an attempt to prolong the length of time smoke is generated. I just put chunks on top of charcoal once at the beginning and let it go. I recommend that you start with less wood and taste the results, increasing if you want more smoke flavor. It's easy to apply too much smoke.

I wrote yet another article on cleanup: http://virtualweberbullet.com/cleanup.html The amount of cleaning you do is up to you. At a minimum, I recommend cleaning the cooking grates in some fashion (washing or burning-off over hot coals or in your Spirit); checking the inside of the lid for flaking grease build-up and rinsing/brushing, as needed; cleaning residue from the water pan; and safely disposing of ashes.

There's also an article about the water pan, options for how to use it, and how to make cleanup easier with foil. http://virtualweberbullet.com/waterpanusage.html

Good luck! Don't hesitate to ask more questions in this forum.
 
Congratulations on the WSM Drew.
I too am new to using the WSM (once so far) so I also soaking up the replies.
One thing I have found with all my other endeavors though, Just don't be afraid to give it a try.
Worst case, up to Mario's for a Pepperoni Pie!
 
Kind of about #1:The lid thermo isn't very accurate. I had such a hard time getting my cooks to temp only to find out it was the thermo not the cooker. Get something like the maverick ET-732, and KNOW where your at with your temps. The more you take the guess work out of bbq the better bbq you'll have.
 
Drew, welcome to the forum.

Like most of us out here, you have and will continue to have a thousand questions when learning to use your WSM. To me it seemed like so much info to suck up at one time. This forum is loaded with info and Chris just gave you a head start on searching. But don't worry, it is not really all that complicated and before you know it you will be sharing tips and pics with us.

Good luck :)
 
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