Build up on Lid


 
Originally posted by Branon S.:
If it takes that long to get up to 230 again open those vents back up. That's a lot of wasted cooking time.
Click to expand...

True, I would wait until the temps get higher with such a large load before shutting the vents down next time, but as long as I am cooking at 200+ I am fine with it. I actually wanted the cooks to go as long as possible because they were overnighters and I wasn't serving until dinner the next day. Based upon what we are getting from this thread, I think those low temps at long periods might be causing the fire to smolder too long and creating this mess. Just my 2 cents.
 
hey what is green apple wood like? I guess in comparison to seasoned.. and also how green (take a wild guess, i suppose..?) maybe like 50% cured or less? and I guess you would maybe make sure that the flow was really good, or hold off on putting meat on.. or.. ? could you explain the whole thing, lol. thanks -Dan
 
are you just only using wood? The wsm isn't a wood smoker but a charcoal smoker in which wood is or can be added for smoke and flavor. What kind of wood did you use? I haven't experienced this yet but have only used charcoal and hickory chunks-not chips.
 
oh, no doug, im not using only wood, just well seasoned chunks of anything really. oak, hickory, i've used misquite but not in a long while w/ the smoker, cherry, apple, apricot and I believe thats all for me, for now.
 
My WSM started to get this build-up after about a year of use. There was a lot of lump left after my last cook so I opened the vents all the way with no pan to get the lid good and hot. That didn't seem to be doing it but removing the door for a while sent the grate thermometer up to the 500-550 range. It didn't take much time and the gunk was burnt to carbon, which came off with a stiff brush after cooling.
 
I think I know what causes the build-up to flake off: cleaning. That's right, cleaning. I have never bothered to actually remove any of the build up from inside the lid of my WSM until last week. I took a dry scrub brush and loosened two years of stuff then wiped it out with a damp rag. A couple of days later, in the middle of a 4 butt cook, I had the lid off and was about to replace it when I noticed a considerable amount of flaky stuff on the table where I'd set the lid. That had never happened before I cleaned it! Cleanliness may be next to godliness, but it also leads to flakes.
 
well as far as my 2 briquettes go... 2 hours is far too long to get to cooking temp. usually takes me around 20 minutes to get to temp and stablized. i use hot water out of the tap to fill my water pan for brisket and 20-30 lit coals minion style. once my smoker hits operating temp i toss in the wood for the smoke.

what your experiencing is creosote build up due to the long run up time to get to smoking temp. the pics show classic creosote build up. use more lit coals and put you wood on once you get closer to cooking temp and it should solve the issue.

creating too much wood smoke before the temp is hot enough will cause creosote formation even from very seasoned dry wood.
 
I got it. Nasty build up on the lip of the middle section, softens during cooks, lip of lid picks it up, lid sticks to lip. Thin black strings of the stuff hanging from edge of lip. Happened today during a butt smoke. I always wipe down the lid lip and the middle section lip after a cook too. I guess I wasn't getting enough of it. What's the best method you men have found to get this stuff off?
 
I had my lid stick for the first time this weekend, nothing terrible but maybe just the begining. I was wondering if maybe the humidity has something to do with it? It was probably the most humid day that I have cooked. Just a guess.

Brandon
 
I cooked a bunch of butts this past holiday weekend and I have some lid cleaning to do still! I am getting mad now!
icon_mad.gif
 
Originally posted by Tony Hunter:
I cooked a bunch of butts this past holiday weekend and I have some lid cleaning to do still! I am getting mad now!
icon_mad.gif
Click to expand...

Me too Tony. Had to pry the lid off three times yesterday with a screwdriver. The build up is on the middle section lip where the lid rests. As it softens, the lid sinks down into it and picks it up that way.
For kicks, last night I sent an email to Weber support detailing what is going on with my WSM. We'll see what their reply says if I get one.
Dave
 
Originally posted by Dave/G:
I got it. Nasty build up on the lip of the middle section, softens during cooks, lip of lid picks it up, lid sticks to lip. Thin black strings of the stuff hanging from edge of lip. Happened today during a butt smoke. I always wipe down the lid lip and the middle section lip after a cook too. I guess I wasn't getting enough of it. What's the best method you men have found to get this stuff off?
Click to expand...

I got some pretty heavy build up on my first smoke and I used this stuff called "Simple Green Heavy Duty BBQ & Grill Cleaner". I got it at my local HD. According to the label its non-toxic and biodegradable.

According to the instructions, you're supposed to spray and wait a few mins and the wipe up.

After the first spraying of the stuff. I tried to just wipe it up w/ a sponge, and it wasn't working too well. I sprayed it again, and this time I tried wiping it up w/ the green scrubbie side of the sponge. (Its not a scouring pad, but just kind of a rough sponge). With some moderate elbow grease, I was able to wipe up the nasty build up. Actually, it just kinda smeared it around. After I wiped down the whole lid, I hosed it off, and it was almost completely clean. There were a few spots that I had missed. I wiped those a second time, and hosed off the lid again, and it looked as good as new.

I'm not sure how this cleaner would work on other things, but it worked like a charm on the soot build up.

Hope that helps.

Oh, and by the way, the can was a shiny silver.
 
how often do you clean your WSM?

I only use mine less than 12x/year, maybe 6-8.

my cleanning process generally consists of: after each smoke putting the grates directly over the coals once the smoking is done and then cleaning grates w/ a wire brush (and before each smoke), then washing the drip pan in the sink (pan is foiled on both sides during cook)

Periodically when I notice flaking in the chamber I spray with a bbq cleaner and hose/whipe down, rinse and repeat if necessary.

I also dump the old coals before each smokeand start w/ fresh coals, unless I am smoking 2 days in a row.

Anyone use the bbq cleaner more often then as necessary, like before each smoke?
 
I have used my WSM once (2 racks of baby backs) and had the same brown build up on the the lid and a few inches down the middle section.
I used K briq's w/2 chuncks of Hickory put on at the start (MM - only 8-10 hot). It did take me about 1.5 - 2 hrs to get upto 250* at lid.
I am going to smoke a butt this weekend and will go with the clay saucer in the water pan and more lit at the beginning and see if this makes a difference.
 
Originally posted by Scott M:
I have used my WSM once (2 racks of baby backs) and had the same brown build up on the the lid and a few inches down the middle section.
I used K briq's w/2 chuncks of Hickory put on at the start (MM - only 8-10 hot). It did take me about 1.5 - 2 hrs to get upto 250* at lid.
I am going to smoke a butt this weekend and will go with the clay saucer in the water pan and more lit at the beginning and see if this makes a difference.
Click to expand...

omg, that is too long for your smoker to get ready, I'd kill myself, or my wife would kill me.

I think it should take 20-30 min using the minion method. I use a chimney starter ($15) and put 20 briquettes in during the summer 30+ in the winter. I also use scalding hot tap water for pan. If the temperature is not where it s/b I leave the fuel door open (for 5-10 min... depends) to let some air in there.

When I cook, I have found that to maintain a temp of 200-250 I leave 2 of 3 lower vents completely cosed (I live in CT), w/ 3rd vent opened like 20-25%... this results in temp starting at low 200's and usually up to 240-250 by the end of the cook (5 hrs later generally).

GL
 
John,

Do you put your food on when you light it or do you wait for your WSM to come up to temp?
I put the food right when I lit mine.

Once it came up to 250-265 lid temp, it stayed there for 4 hrs w/all 3 bottom vents at 25%.
I think next time I will start with more lit in the chimney than just 10.
 
Originally posted by Scott M:
John,

Do you put your food on when you light it or do you wait for your WSM to come up to temp?
I put the food right when I lit mine.

Once it came up to 250-265 lid temp, it stayed there for 4 hrs w/all 3 bottom vents at 25%.
I think next time I will start with more lit in the chimney than just 10.
Click to expand...

I generally heat the coals in the chimney for approx 20-30 min, dump and set up wsm, let it heat up at least for 10+ min (often with fuel door off) then put meat on, then the smoke wood. It generally depends on any time constraints I have in the morning.
 
Here's my problem and Weber's responses. Their first didn't address the problem. Take it for what you think it is worth.

Hello Marta,again, thanks for the prompt response. Weber service has always been great.
Just to let you and Weber know, here is what I did this morning that
resulted in a good cleaning.
1. Sprayed Dawn Power Dissolve on the lip of the lid and on the rim of the
cooking section and let it sit on each for 30 minutes.
2. Using a few cheap white towels, I wiped that down, cleaning off a bunch
of the goo.
3. Poured some boiled water over the lid lip and the rim of the cooking
section. Toweled again and rinsed with plain water.
4. Using a grill scraper with a "V" shaped notch at its end, I gently went
over the lid lip and the rim of the cooking section and scraped off much of
the remaining material. Rinsed again.
5. When all was dry, I used one more towel going over all that I had just
cleaned. More stuff came off, but I could see that was the end of it.
Looks good now if I do say so myself. So as long as I know that this sort of
thing is normal and to be expected, I'll be even more diligent about
cleaning up those dirty areas after every cook to prevent lid lock.
Maybe a note about this should be made in the owners manual? Just a thought.

----- Original Message -----
From: <support@weberstephen.com>
To: "David Sent: Tuesday, July 08, 2008 11:04 AM
Subject: Ticket: EB43F71483611 Re: Smokey Mountain Cooker


Hello David,

Thank you for your response.

That is a build up of grease. It’s going to occur with the amount of cooking
you do. It is something that you’re going to want to scrap off with a putty
knife. You can always take a damp rag and a mild soapy water solution to
wipe off and remaining residue. This is part of the cleaning that needs to
be done with the grill. It is something you want to do after almost every
use to prolong the build up from getting worse.

If you have additional questions or comments, please do not hesitate to
contact us. If replying via email, please leave this message intact as it
will help us to respond faster. We are open from 7am to 11pm CST.

Thank you for choosing Weber.

If you need further assistance, please let me know.


Sincerely,

Marta
Weber/Ducane Customer Service
1890 North Roselle Road Ste. 308
Schaumburg, IL. 60195.
Phone 800-446-1071
Fax 847-407-8900
Website: www.Weber.com
Website: www.ducane.com
Canadian Customer Service 1-800-265-2150
Canadian E-mail info@omcbbq.com

-----------------------------

Hello Marta,
Thank you for your quick reply, however your reply doesn't address my
problem. Please review my email. I am talking about a tarry, gooey build up
along the lip of the middle section of my Weber Smokey Mountain Cooker on
which the lid rests. This material softens during cooking, and since the lid
sits on it the lid ends up picking it up along its edge. The material on the
lip of the lid adheres to the same material on the middle section lip making
it impossible to lift up the lid without prying it open with a screwdriver.
When I get the lid off, it has this substance hanging along its edge like so
many thin black strings. After cooking, I have always tried to clean both
the lid edge and the rim of the middle section on which the lid rests. This
hasn't been good enough. I smoked two pork butts Sunday on my WSM after
which I had to try to scrape this material off with a putty knife. I didn't
get very far.
----- Original Message -----
From: <support@weberstephen.com>
To: "David
Sent: Monday, July 07, 2008 5:58 PM
Subject: Ticket: EB43F71483611 Re: Smokey Mountain Cooker


Hello David,

Thank you for your inquiry regarding the peeling you have observed on the
inside of the lid of your Weber grill.

The peeling you have noticed is not paint, because the inside surfaces of
our grill lids are not painted. The metal shrouds on our gas grills (the
middle section of the lid cover) and the lids of our charcoal units are
finished with porcelain-on-steel. This porcelain finish covers both the
outside and inside of the middle section. We do not paint the inside of the
lid simply because this is very toxic.
However, during normal cooking, grease and smoke vapors slowly oxidize into
carbon, which collects on the inside of your lid. This deposit will
eventually peel from the inside of the lid, and looks very similar to paint.
The peeling normally starts in the center of the lid and spreads outward. It
may come off in sheets or flakes, and is shiny on one side and dull on the
other. We have found that given the higher cooking temperatures of grilling,
this occurs frequently and is part of the normal operation of the barbecue.
These carbon deposits are non-toxic.
We recommend that you clean the lid when the grill is cool. To clean the
lid, take your brass grill brush or a crumpled piece of aluminum foil, and
brush away the loose carbon. Wipe the inside of the lid with a warm soapy
water solution using a sponge or cloth. If needed, use a soapy metal wool
pad with a light touch. When the grill is cooling down after cooking, wipe
the grill lid with a paper towel. This will prevent rapid reappearance of
the flaking.
Clean the grill lid, as described above, as needed. This will depend on your
particular cooking frequency and the foods prepared.


If you have additional questions or comments, please do not hesitate to
contact us. If replying via email, please leave this message intact as it
will help us to respond faster. We are open from 7am to 11pm CST.

Thank you for choosing Weber.

If you need further assistance, please let me know.


Sincerely,

Marta
Weber/Ducane Customer Service
1890 North Roselle Road Ste. 308
Schaumburg, IL. 60195.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

 

Back
Top