Customized 26 put to use.

[Brock Gingery]

So I finally finished the additions to my 26" kettle, and decided ribs would be the first cook. Choosing a low and slow on a Tuesday before work in the morning makes sense after all right?

Anyway, ribs went on at 5:00. I forgot to line with foil cause a younger guy came up asking me questions and talking about how his ribs came out raw last time he tried, gave him a few tips and videos to watch, and shook hands wishing him a good day. Will post a few pictures, decided to try som B&B oak and hickory briquettes with two large chunks of cherry in a SnS basket.

 

[Brock Gingery]

 

[Brock Gingery]

Got the dampers set pretty well now. Opened up my fine tuning port slightly, with the upper vent wide open, one tick mark above 275. Right where I wanted it. On open for spritzing temp spiked to 300, but then right back down to where I adjusted it within 11 minutes. Most consistent kettle I've had so far.
Next spritz the ribs swap places.

No smoke leaks anywhere, the only place letting smoke out is the exhaust damper.

 

[Brock Gingery]

Ribs are almost done, after the wrap, the kettle did climb in temperature which is what I expected, but it only climbed about 20 degrees to 300. I don't normally cook ribs this hot in a kettle but wanted to see how it would do for a single night cook instead of a early day of low and slow into the afternoon. Still have about a third of my fuel left, and the ribs are back on for another thirty or so now at 250 to tender up a bit.
I will probably post the follow up tomorrow.

 

[Brock Gingery]

Tablet is giving me fits tonight. In the process of trying to fix it.

 

[Davo]

We never got the 26" kettle down here in Australia to my knowledge, it's always only been the 22.5" in various colours and liveries and those 26 inchers that are down here were possibly privately imported before our tax office got wind of it.
I would've certainly had one if they were available.
I have read from articles a few years back that the legs on the 26" kettles were a bit wonky and not really very stable at all, is that still true? Are they still on the retail floors in the US or other parts of the world?
Due to our weak Dollar (the Aussie Peso) all Weber products have shot up in price recently, especially the 22" WSM which is now $1,160, the Performer Kettle $999.00 and even the Jumbo Joe has shot up from about $160.00 to $249.00. The Ranch now $2,749.00 ouch!!

I gotta stretch out the ones I have to last me for at least another 10 years......but I truly would love another WSM. Maybe a retirement present to myself

Davo

 

[Brock Gingery]

We never got the 26" kettle down here in Australia to my knowledge, it's always only been the 22.5" in various colours and liveries and those 26 inchers that are down here were possibly privately imported before our tax office got wind of it.
I would've certainly had one if they were available.
I have read from articles a few years back that the legs on the 26" kettles were a bit wonky and not really very stable at all, is that still true? Are they still on the retail floors in the US or other parts of the world?
Due to our weak Dollar (the Aussie Peso) all Weber products have shot up in price recently, especially the 22" WSM which is now $1,160, the Performer Kettle $999.00 and even the Jumbo Joe has shot up from about $160.00 to $249.00. The Ranch now $2,749.00 ouch!!

I gotta stretch out the ones I have to last me for at least another 10 years......but I truly would love another WSM. Maybe a retirement present to myself

Davo

Hey Davo, yes the 26" is alive and well here even getting a second color last year (Smoke, looks great.) I purchased my 26 Premium in early 2023 if I remember right, and while the metal for the legs looked thin, they fit very tight inside the leg pockets. Compared to my 22 inch, what in Australia is referred to as a 57 for those not familiar with where Davo lives, it is more solid on it's legs. My 22 premium bought in 2020 to replace an old Original kettle has significantly more wobble.

I am very surprised that our cost in the US is almost identical to yours for the Ranch. Seems like you guys are either getting a cost break there, or expect a price change to be incoming.

 

[Brock Gingery]

So, the issue with my tablet was the photos were taken and I could view them, but if I tried to link to them for posting or sharing they were not accessible. So I had to delete them and retake a few. Lost the finish photos of the ribs, but I still have the final report.

On shut down of all vents the coals extinguished rather quickly, and from last look I had of them to next morning I still had as much left as when I shut it down. I also inspected the gasket since it was right above the Hot coals in the SnS. No damage whatsoever. The gasket for the thermometer worked perfect.

 

[Brock Gingery]

Slight update on the performance. Lit up the remaining used coals tonight. It was 102 degrees on my porch according to my porch thermometer, and I left the bottom vent closed fully, using only the tuning smoke port cracked open, and the upper damper vent 2/3s open. Ran at an easy 250 degrees for over four hours, with the only additional fuel being two apple wood chunks leaned against the coals.

The more I am using this modified setup the more impressed I am getting. The kielbasi I smoked tonight only needed an hour, and since it's hard to sleep when this hot, I let the grill run. Five and a half hours after starting, I still had a small handful of lit coals, one smoldering chunk of apple, and the heat dropped to 160 degrees at 11:20 PM.