Did Weber change the 18.5 water pan size?


 
J

Jay Crihfield

TVWBB Member
So I just got my new 18.5 WSM, and I haven't been able to figure out how to foil the water pan using a single width sheet of extra wide alum. foil. The pan that came with my smoker appears to be much deeper than the example shown in the video here, so even with the extra wide foil, it's not wide enough to either fit around the bottom, or the inside of the bowl using one sheet.

I didn't want to try using two sheets for the extra width because I've heard bad things happen if water gets into the seams of the foil.

Any ideas?
 
I don't foil the rest of the cooker so why foil the pan? I just spray the inside with Pam before adding water to make cleanup easier after a cook. On the other hand, if not using water, just drape the foil deep enough to hold the drippings and crimp tightly around the edge of the pan.
 
Dave Russell said:
I don't foil the rest of the cooker so why foil the pan? I just spray the inside with Pam before adding water to make cleanup easier after a cook. On the other hand, if not using water, just drape the foil deep enough to hold the drippings and crimp tightly around the edge of the pan.
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I like this idea....I'm not too worried about the bottom of the pan since it's really no different than the rest of the inside of the cooker.....but I guess easy cleanup is what I was going for. My first couple of test runs I put a extra drip pan on the lower grate since I was only using the top.
 
timothy said:
"Did Weber change the 18.5 water pan size?"

Yes they did. The ones built before 09 used the lid from a SJ, the newer ones use the charcoal bowl from a SJ.
http://virtualweberbullet.com/waterpan.html

Tim
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Too funny! It took four posts to answer the thread subject question. It was a long night, and I already need to hit Starbucks.

The only real downside with the Brinkman charcoal pan is that it's not nearly as thick, so go ahead and get two.
 
Jay Crihfield said:
Thanks Tim....that article makes a good point about a larger pile of coals hitting the bottom of the pan.....might have to think about switching out for the 2gal brinkman version.
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Just make sure you get the Brinkman charcoal pan and not the water pan, since it's not quite large enough in diameter.
 
Dave Russell said:
Just make sure you get the Brinkman charcoal pan and not the water pan, since it's not quite large enough in diameter.
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You won't regret buying the Brinkman. They are much thinner metal but I don't usually use mine unless it has water in it. It is a much nicer pan to use with the wide brim, it's easy to manage.
 
I don't use water in my WSMs. I got a Brinkman charcoal pan for my 18 1/2" WSM, it gives much better access to the charcoal ring than the stock Weber water pan.

18" wide aluminum foil covers it.
 
I foil the water pan that comes with the newer WSM with 3 sheets of foil on top. I do two side by side and then take a third and put it in the middle over top of them. I also take 2 sheets and foil the bottom. This method makes it where junk doesn't get into the pan while empty.
 
I agree with everything said regarding the Brinkmann. Switched mine out and haven't looked back. Tons more space for lump and wood. Easy to place on the ground, whereas the old pan was round and would roll over. Buy it!
 
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