Steve-Calgary
New member
So here is the scenario:
I've been lurking for years and contemplating buying a WSM. Locally there were two listings, a 22" and an 18" model for $330 and $325 CAD respectively. I bought the 22.5" model (built-in 2013) and discovered afterward that the cooker is in 8.5/10 condition. It had faulty thermometer but surprisingly weber warranty said they'd send me a new one at no charge b/c I have a gazillion other weber products. The cover for the 22.5" model is ratty and cracked and basically in need of replacement soon. Much to my amazement the cooker barely had any corrosion to speak of in the firebowl despite it being stored outside in our harsh Canadian winters. My cooker came with a preinstalled door gasket and was also given a small bag of wood for smoking. It needs new leg bolts b/c the lower bolts are all loose and rusted to hell but that is an easy fix.
The other model is an 18.5" model built post 2014 (it has the temperature sensing passthrough hole) with a silicone grommet. It has a tool holder hanger, a River Country RC T2 gauge (new and not yet installed), a new unused secondary charcoal grate (to make the grate holes smaller) and the door + lid have a gasket kit from BBQ Gaskets.com installed. Seller claims he used it just 3 times and is selling b/c he's moving. It looks brand new in the photos and I'm tempted to buy this one too so I can test drive both models and keep the one I use more. Brand new the 18.5 is $461 CAD after taxes + the gasket kit, thermometer, tool hanger, and extra charcoal grate are worth roughly another $100 or so when purchased new adding to the total cost the owner would've spent on his setup to around $560 CAD new.
I'm very wet behind the ears when it comes to smoking... I've tried to do my own version of smoking using my weber 22.5" kettle grill and have done many turkeys and roasts in it while the meat was in a roasting pan all with reasonably good success. We do occasionally cook for large groups but those happen maybe 2-3x a year at most where I cook a large 20+ lb turkey. Never done brisket or cooked pork picnic ever but would like to.
I'm rethinking my decision on the 22" model b/c of the huge amounts of fuel it consumes and the potential difficulty controlling the temperatures vs. the smaller units. I am thinking of maybe snapping up that like new 18.5" model with all the fixings and bringing it home to make the decision then and either keep both units or sell the one that I don't use as much. Good condition WSMs don't come up often for sale and the 22" is a rare one that I've only ever seen pop up for sale every few years and often they're beaten up and not worth buying used. My recent buy was a bit of a shocker and I didn't have time to debate on whether it was worth it or not. Just get and worry later.
Anyone here run into the same dilemma? I'm not really sure which unit is best and while some could argue that I could just use the 22" for now and then decide later if I get enough use out of it that I'd ask now and trade up my unit now before it gets all dirtied up. If I resell my 22" now I'm sure I won't lose a dime on it since its in BETTER shape after I cleaned it. It nearly looks like I just unboxed it. There are TONS of threads that are similar to mine but the issue here is do I buy this 18.5" today since it is a lightly used unit at what I THINK is an okay price. Anyone here own both sized units that are fairly "light users"? Should I be content with my original decision to buy the 22.5" WSM and forget about even looking at the newer but smaller smoker? I figured for the days I don't want to go all out smoking meats in the WSM that I can continue to use my 22.5" kettle grill to achieve similar results for smaller cooks.
Some feedback would be appreciated.
Many thanks!
I've been lurking for years and contemplating buying a WSM. Locally there were two listings, a 22" and an 18" model for $330 and $325 CAD respectively. I bought the 22.5" model (built-in 2013) and discovered afterward that the cooker is in 8.5/10 condition. It had faulty thermometer but surprisingly weber warranty said they'd send me a new one at no charge b/c I have a gazillion other weber products. The cover for the 22.5" model is ratty and cracked and basically in need of replacement soon. Much to my amazement the cooker barely had any corrosion to speak of in the firebowl despite it being stored outside in our harsh Canadian winters. My cooker came with a preinstalled door gasket and was also given a small bag of wood for smoking. It needs new leg bolts b/c the lower bolts are all loose and rusted to hell but that is an easy fix.
The other model is an 18.5" model built post 2014 (it has the temperature sensing passthrough hole) with a silicone grommet. It has a tool holder hanger, a River Country RC T2 gauge (new and not yet installed), a new unused secondary charcoal grate (to make the grate holes smaller) and the door + lid have a gasket kit from BBQ Gaskets.com installed. Seller claims he used it just 3 times and is selling b/c he's moving. It looks brand new in the photos and I'm tempted to buy this one too so I can test drive both models and keep the one I use more. Brand new the 18.5 is $461 CAD after taxes + the gasket kit, thermometer, tool hanger, and extra charcoal grate are worth roughly another $100 or so when purchased new adding to the total cost the owner would've spent on his setup to around $560 CAD new.
I'm very wet behind the ears when it comes to smoking... I've tried to do my own version of smoking using my weber 22.5" kettle grill and have done many turkeys and roasts in it while the meat was in a roasting pan all with reasonably good success. We do occasionally cook for large groups but those happen maybe 2-3x a year at most where I cook a large 20+ lb turkey. Never done brisket or cooked pork picnic ever but would like to.
I'm rethinking my decision on the 22" model b/c of the huge amounts of fuel it consumes and the potential difficulty controlling the temperatures vs. the smaller units. I am thinking of maybe snapping up that like new 18.5" model with all the fixings and bringing it home to make the decision then and either keep both units or sell the one that I don't use as much. Good condition WSMs don't come up often for sale and the 22" is a rare one that I've only ever seen pop up for sale every few years and often they're beaten up and not worth buying used. My recent buy was a bit of a shocker and I didn't have time to debate on whether it was worth it or not. Just get and worry later.
Anyone here run into the same dilemma? I'm not really sure which unit is best and while some could argue that I could just use the 22" for now and then decide later if I get enough use out of it that I'd ask now and trade up my unit now before it gets all dirtied up. If I resell my 22" now I'm sure I won't lose a dime on it since its in BETTER shape after I cleaned it. It nearly looks like I just unboxed it. There are TONS of threads that are similar to mine but the issue here is do I buy this 18.5" today since it is a lightly used unit at what I THINK is an okay price. Anyone here own both sized units that are fairly "light users"? Should I be content with my original decision to buy the 22.5" WSM and forget about even looking at the newer but smaller smoker? I figured for the days I don't want to go all out smoking meats in the WSM that I can continue to use my 22.5" kettle grill to achieve similar results for smaller cooks.
Some feedback would be appreciated.
Many thanks!