Currently own a 18.5....add a 22.5?


 
J

John_H

TVWBB Member
I've had an 18.5 for several years and have wished for a good part of that time I had the larger 22.5". The main reason is for doing ribs. I'd like to do more ribs without them touching the sides. I know you either cut racks in half or you can skewer the ribs to fit more on the 18.5 but I'm not really interested in preparing them that way. Additionally, there are times when I'd like to do more than 4 butts. For those that have both, what are your thoughts in having both of them? I don't want to have buyer's remorse a 2nd time!!!! Additionally, I just got an amazon card at a work Christmas party that would pay for 1/2 of it so that is kind of prodding me along :)
 
John, many of us have more than one Weber. It's nice to have the right size for the cook you are doing. I say get it and don't look back.
 
I have a 22-inch and love it. I never smoked on an 18 but I do have an 18-inch Kettle grill. The extra room is great. So far I've barely used the lower grate but knowing I have that space is a good thing. I like the fact that when I butterfly a chicken I can still add potatoes or smoke jalapeños on it and not think about where I'm going to put everything. I don't worry about the extra coal use either. I buy a ton of it in the spring and load up my garage. I'm slowly cutting into the 30 bags I stacked up. Go for it! You won't regret it.

I have two kettle grills and just picked up a 14 inch smoker that's still in the box. If you enjoy the hobby as much as most of us do, you will only have buyers remorse until you fire it up and enjoy your first cook.
 
John, I had an 18.5" for 10 years and loved it! It cooked smoked chicken for 2, and ribs for 18 people, and did so flawlessly. I loved it and it fit my needs perfectly. That said, I like you like to do ribs. Lots of ribs. I just got tired of a rack of ribs having to be triwsted or turned or manipulated to get it to fit on the smoker. I sold my 18.5" on CL earlier this summer, and bought a (like new) 2015 22" off of Letgo for $100! My advice to you, get the 22"! You will not regret it 1 bit!
Good luck,
Tim
 
Thanks for all the replies. I honestly had not seen the 22.5 in person until last summer and I was really surprised how much more space 4 inches in diameter gives you on the grill. I think I'm ready to pull the trigger.
 
Love my 22.5....I saw both of them in person before purchasing(18 and 22)....since most people said go with the larger before I purchased, I did just that, and have never regretted it. Especially when I did 4 boston butts(over 40 lbs precooked weight) for my wife's birthday recently.

Take the plunge...you won't regret it!
 
I own all 3 WSMs, nothing like having the appropriate cooker for your cooks. For us, the 14.5 gets the most use for the 2 of us, but when we have guests, we usually upsize to one of the larger WSMs.
 
Ditto what Tom said I too have all three and the 14 gets used the most. The 22 was my first purchase however and I actually regretted not getting an 18. Now that I have all three the 22 gets used very little, but with that said it is the only cooker for doing ribs flat for me. If you get the 22 keep your 18 as I have found the coal ring most useful in the 22 for shorter cooks.
 
I bought a new WSM 18" "Classic" in the year 2008 and even though I have had many successful cooks I seem to learn something new on each outing.

To me "upping" to a WSM 22" will require a new learning curve along with burning a ton more charcoal fuel.

My WSM "Classic" meets all my current smoking needs.
 
John_H said:
I've had an 18.5 for several years and have wished for a good part of that time I had the larger 22.5". The main reason is for doing ribs. I'd like to do more ribs without them touching the sides. I know you either cut racks in half or you can skewer the ribs to fit more on the 18.5 but I'm not really interested in preparing them that way. Additionally, there are times when I'd like to do more than 4 butts. For those that have both, what are your thoughts in having both of them? I don't want to have buyer's remorse a 2nd time!!!! Additionally, I just got an amazon card at a work Christmas party that would pay for 1/2 of it so that is kind of prodding me along :)
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I know how you feel! My signature below says it all:)
 
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