Chuck Tatham
TVWBB Member
Picked up a base to use chimney on....half way through the light it shattered in half from heat. Was i wrong that many used them for this?
Clay pot base....what did i do wrong?
- Thread starter Chuck Tatham
- Start date
Dave Russell
TVWBB Honor Circle
You guys and your clay pot bases.
Jerry N.
TVWBB Emerald Member
I never heard of anyone using the clay pot base for lighting the chimney. I'm not surprised it chattered. Have you ever seen what a chimney can do to concrete? A chimney gets really hot. Be careful. I use a concrete patio block to light my chimney. If it was to crack, I wouldn't care.
Oh ya... bad idea for sure!
I have tend to start my chimney on the side burner of my bbq. Once it's started I move onto a flat natural rock I have been using for a while.
Anything like clay/brick/concrete can have moisture trapped inside. The extreme heat can cause these to shatter as the water heats and becomes active.
I have tend to start my chimney on the side burner of my bbq. Once it's started I move onto a flat natural rock I have been using for a while.
Anything like clay/brick/concrete can have moisture trapped inside. The extreme heat can cause these to shatter as the water heats and becomes active.
Chris Bjork
TVWBB Fan
Ive got an old smokey joe that Ive just retired to chimney lighting grill. works great and keeps the weber theme going
Phil Perrin
TVWBB Hall of Fame
Yeah,not good. I use the charcoal grate of my OTS to light the chimney.The saucer base goes INSIDE the WSM as a heat diffuser.
Chuck Tatham
TVWBB Member
it was actually a dumb question. somewhere in my reading i was sure I had seen someone recommend it. Clay....fired....made sense until I just about jumped out of my skin when it popped. Quite loud. it was that point that I realized I was going to need another for inside 
Chris Stanek
TVWBB Fan
Why not just put on your charcoal grate? That seems like the safest place. I have the grill gate off anyway.
when I'm done, I just dunk the chim into the pool, then put it away.
ETA: Nevermind that was stupid. I was thinking a kettle, not a WSM.
when I'm done, I just dunk the chim into the pool, then put it away.
ETA: Nevermind that was stupid. I was thinking a kettle, not a WSM.
Phil Perrin
TVWBB Hall of Fame
Hey,it's cool. Mistakes happen. So long as no one got hurt and the food was good!
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Chuck Tatham:
it was actually a dumb question. somewhere in my reading i was sure I had seen someone recommend it. Clay....fired....made sense until I just about jumped out of my skin when it popped. Quite loud. it was that point that I realized I was going to need another for inside </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Chuck you aren't loosing your mind! Using a terra cotta pot bottom is actually recommended on this website:
http://www.virtualweberbullet.com/chimney.html
(Summary) Photos 1-2 from Greg Caesar of Houston, TX, show the damage caused by a chimney starter on his concrete driveway.
Safe locations to light a chimney include:
On the WSM charcoal grate
On the grate of another grill
On fire-safe bricks placed on your deck or patio (Photo 3)
On a terra cotta flower pot saucer without a drain hole (Photos 4-5)
I have used a terra cotta flower pot 1 or 2 times without issue. I used to use the WSM cooking grate however the chimney often left ash from the newspaper which concerned me to have floating around in the cooker.
Would it be possible that your base had a hole in the bottom?
it was actually a dumb question. somewhere in my reading i was sure I had seen someone recommend it. Clay....fired....made sense until I just about jumped out of my skin when it popped. Quite loud. it was that point that I realized I was going to need another for inside
</div></BLOCKQUOTE>Chuck you aren't loosing your mind! Using a terra cotta pot bottom is actually recommended on this website:
http://www.virtualweberbullet.com/chimney.html
(Summary) Photos 1-2 from Greg Caesar of Houston, TX, show the damage caused by a chimney starter on his concrete driveway.
Safe locations to light a chimney include:
On the WSM charcoal grate
On the grate of another grill
On fire-safe bricks placed on your deck or patio (Photo 3)
On a terra cotta flower pot saucer without a drain hole (Photos 4-5)
I have used a terra cotta flower pot 1 or 2 times without issue. I used to use the WSM cooking grate however the chimney often left ash from the newspaper which concerned me to have floating around in the cooker.
Would it be possible that your base had a hole in the bottom?
George Payne
TVWBB Fan
I wrap my water pan and my clay saucer (14 inch one from Home Depot) in foil to make it a easier cleanup about ever 5 smokes, +/-, depending on what you be smoking. Set the water bowl down inside the smoker where it belongs, then set the clay plate (saucer, whatever you wish to call it) right down on top of the empty water pan. I NEVER put water in the water pan. The pan and clay plate are heat buffers from getting too much direct heat on the meat. Lowe's did not have a 14 inch plate but Home Depot did. I'm going to buy a spare in cawe I ever drop and break this one. I fold a sheet of aluminum foil about four layers and I set my chimney on top of that and just set it on some thick exposed aggregate concrete blocks my patio is made of. Never had a problem with it in 35 years either. I've never had any bad meat come off my smoker using ths technique.......good luck experimenting. You will learn something on every smoke.
George Payne
TVWBB Fan
Wrapping the water pan in foil, and then wrapping the terra cotter (or Mexican Clay Plate) in foil makes for a quick clean up. You DO NOT need water in the water pan, even if Weber thought you did. Just another part to sell you. The "Big Boys" I know that do competitions do not use water in the pan. Just foil it all up for a quick clean up and go to the next one. Good meat will be the results, trust me.
Chuck Tatham
TVWBB Member
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Willie B:
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Chuck Tatham:
it was actually a dumb question. somewhere in my reading i was sure I had seen someone recommend it. Clay....fired....made sense until I just about jumped out of my skin when it popped. Quite loud. it was that point that I realized I was going to need another for inside </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Chuck you aren't loosing your mind! Using a terra cotta pot bottom is actually recommended on this website:
http://www.virtualweberbullet.com/chimney.html
Willie! Thanks for that! I knew I had seen it! No hole but quite a bit bigger than one in the picture. Maybe it was the heat differential from only heating the middle so highly.
(Summary) Photos 1-2 from Greg Caesar of Houston, TX, show the damage caused by a chimney starter on his concrete driveway.
Safe locations to light a chimney include:
On the WSM charcoal grate
On the grate of another grill
On fire-safe bricks placed on your deck or patio (Photo 3)
On a terra cotta flower pot saucer without a drain hole (Photos 4-5)
I have used a terra cotta flower pot 1 or 2 times without issue. I used to use the WSM cooking grate however the chimney often left ash from the newspaper which concerned me to have floating around in the cooker.
Would it be possible that your base had a hole in the bottom? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Chuck Tatham:
it was actually a dumb question. somewhere in my reading i was sure I had seen someone recommend it. Clay....fired....made sense until I just about jumped out of my skin when it popped. Quite loud. it was that point that I realized I was going to need another for inside
</div></BLOCKQUOTE>Chuck you aren't loosing your mind! Using a terra cotta pot bottom is actually recommended on this website:
http://www.virtualweberbullet.com/chimney.html
Willie! Thanks for that! I knew I had seen it! No hole but quite a bit bigger than one in the picture. Maybe it was the heat differential from only heating the middle so highly.
(Summary) Photos 1-2 from Greg Caesar of Houston, TX, show the damage caused by a chimney starter on his concrete driveway.
Safe locations to light a chimney include:
On the WSM charcoal grate
On the grate of another grill
On fire-safe bricks placed on your deck or patio (Photo 3)
On a terra cotta flower pot saucer without a drain hole (Photos 4-5)
I have used a terra cotta flower pot 1 or 2 times without issue. I used to use the WSM cooking grate however the chimney often left ash from the newspaper which concerned me to have floating around in the cooker.
Would it be possible that your base had a hole in the bottom? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
George Payne
TVWBB Fan
Thanks Chuck for the detailed ideas, with pictures to reference. Just a note of interest, I bought a Chimney about 35 years ago and it is still going. I have no idea what brand, but it must be good. Home Depot in Dallas has some chimneys out that look about as good as the Weber for $7.95. Frankly, they look about like mine.
A word of caution about dumping your "COLD" burned out coals after a smoke. I cleaned out my pit and put all the leftover junk in a plastic bag and threw it in my huge plastic dumpster the city picks our trash up in. Luckily, I was out back and looked over and my trash dumpster was on fire with a hold about a foot wide already burned through. So, you might want to hose down your "Cold" junk coals before you discard them unless it has been several days. If I had not been home, it would most likely have set my garage on fire also. It's funny now, but I thought I would share this "Tip" to prevent someone else from making the same mistake.
I'm NOT perfect, but surely in the top 10.
A word of caution about dumping your "COLD" burned out coals after a smoke. I cleaned out my pit and put all the leftover junk in a plastic bag and threw it in my huge plastic dumpster the city picks our trash up in. Luckily, I was out back and looked over and my trash dumpster was on fire with a hold about a foot wide already burned through. So, you might want to hose down your "Cold" junk coals before you discard them unless it has been several days. If I had not been home, it would most likely have set my garage on fire also. It's funny now, but I thought I would share this "Tip" to prevent someone else from making the same mistake.
I'm NOT perfect, but surely in the top 10.