Clay saucer in newer WSM 18 (721001)


 
Clay Saucer AND a Water Bowl Full of Sand

Scott in SoCal said:
Dave: That's what I'm doing...even as I write this. In contrast to my last cook (dry pan, without the saucer), I think I have better temperature control with the saucer. During my last cook, the temperatures were really "twitchy," and the smallest vent adjustment would result in significant temp changes. Today, I've had a much easier time keeping the temps where I want them.

Thanks so much for your comments!
Click to expand...

Scott,
Thought I'd jump in here. I used my water bowl, that came with my 18.5, once or twice before I found out
about using sand & a terracotta tray as a heat sink. I haven't used water for years. It's easy to do, just
fill your water bowl full of sand and put it back into your WSM. Then cover a terracotta planter tray with
tin foil (to catch the drippings) & placed the foiled tray on the top of the sand filled water bowl. I have never
looked back! To me it's the perfect heat sink. The sand holds the temp steady, it never needs refilling, my
hands don't get burned trying to refill the water, I never lose heat or create more heat by opening the door
to check the water, etc, etc, etc.

When the grease gets to be a bit much, I un-foil the tray over a garbage bag, and re-foil the terracotta tray.

My 2¢.
 
Roger R. said:
Scott,
Thought I'd jump in here. I used my water bowl, that came with my 18.5, once or twice before I found out
about using sand & a terracotta tray as a heat sink. I haven't used water for years. It's easy to do, just
fill your water bowl full of sand and put it back into your WSM. Then cover a terracotta planter tray with
tin foil (to catch the drippings) & placed the foiled tray on the top of the sand filled water bowl. I have never
looked back! To me it's the perfect heat sink. The sand holds the temp steady, it never needs refilling, my
hands don't get burned trying to refill the water, I never lose heat or create more heat by opening the door
to check the water, etc, etc, etc.

When the grease gets to be a bit much, I un-foil the tray over a garbage bag, and re-foil the terracotta tray.

My 2¢.
Click to expand...

I've been using the bowl dry (covered with foil) with a clay saucer (also foiled) sitting inside the bowl. So far, I've been happy with the results. I may try the sand route just to see if I notice any appreciable difference. It'll be fun to experiment!

Let me ask you this -- If I put sand in the bowl, and then double-foil it so I can peel off the top layer of foil for easy clean-up, is there any reason to use the clay saucer? It seems to me that the sand and saucer may be overkill.

Thanks for your input, Roger.
 
I used 2-11" clay saucers in my 18.5" WSM for the first cook I did with it recently. It worked great, and I'm not even thinking about water anymore.
 
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