Difference between smoking on the 18.5 and 22.5

[Ryan Foote]

Hi All,

Just curious, is there any difference smoking on a 22.5 compared to an 18.5? Obviously the space to cook and the ability to cook a larger amount of food on the 22.5, but what about raising, lowering, and maintainging the temp? On my 18.5 it holds great, and can be adjusted pretty easily. Is it just as easy on the 22.5? Also, how much more charcoal is needed for say an 8 hour smoke on the 22.5?

My apologies if these are stupid questions, I'm fairly new to the wsm world, but very much enjoying the whole smoking process and end results!

Plus, I'm drinking alot more beer which is a good thing

Thanks!

 

[Sparky Rowe]

i want to know the the answers too.

 

[V_Rocco]

Don't know the answer to your questions, but you reminded me, that I should be having a beer.

 

[Chris Allingham]

Here are some threads that may help:

Perplexed over correct size WSM
22.5" WSM ? maintaining low heats
Another 18.5" vs. 22" Thread
Anyone ever regret the 22.5?

These are all from the WSM - 18.5" & 22.5" forum. I only scanned through page 11 of 41. You may find more.

Regards,
Chris

 

[Ryan Foote]

Thanks for taking the time to post these links Chris. It sounds like there are two sides to this debate huh? Maybe having both is the way to go

 

[Chris Allingham]

My experience has been that controlling temp in the 22.5 WSM is just as easy as in the 18.5". I got about 12 hours of cooking time on a 21lb bag of Kingsford. You will definitely use more fuel in the bigger cooker.

You can see some test cooks here: New 18-1/2" and 22-1/2" Weber Smokey Mountain Cookers for 2009

Regards,
Chris

 

[Bob Mann]

They both operate similarly to each other. They are both easy to use.
The 22 1/2" uses a bit more charcoal than the 18 1/2".

More beer is always a good thing!

Bob

 

[Doug Wade]

One thing that's kind of interesting is that even if it uses a little more energy to keep it hot (more surface area = more wind effect?) the charcoal area is really big so there's no problem with long cooks. I've done 13-14 hours lots of times and 17 hours once without refueling on my 22.5".