Does most of the heat come from the bottom? Or reflect off the top of the dome?


 
Rule of thumb is fat side goes with origin of heat. In a WSM that's the bottom so fat side down. The debate of up vs down has more to do with what a person is cooking on. Offset vs WSM makes the difference because of the difference of heat source. Offset is fat up WSM is down. That was what rule I always viewed as correct logic.
 
I never thought of the fat side up being an insulator. I did think that the fat side up would have rendered better and seep into the meat because of gravity. I heard of people swearing that it mattered. But to me I don’t see the difference there either. So Fat side down on WSM for me. I have done it both ways, and both ways came out great. But found It easier and liked it better fat side down. Do to the bark looked much better because it wasn’t laying on the grates.
 
No, heat does not come from the top on WSM. It frequently is hotter on top on offsets... So they definitely do the fat on top. My WSm never been hotter at the dome then the Grate.... Always less .

Now you can do it either way I don't know that it really matters a lot. I've always done fat on the bottom on the WSM.
 
MartinB said:
No, heat does not come from the top on WSM. It frequently is hotter on top on offsets... So they definitely do the fat on top. My WSm never been hotter at the dome then the Grate.... Always less .

Now you can do it either way I don't know that it really matters a lot. I've always done fat on the bottom on the WSM.
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Yes, heat rises.
 
Brett-EDH said:
that's the reason why the lids are domed. to help aid convection and top down heat reflection.
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I was going to go the whole quote,
”Turbulence, I don’t like that, solar radiation heats the earths crust, warm air rises cold air descends, turbulence.” Jack Ryan.
But, I thought it would be a bit long winded. 😉
 
Brett-EDH said:
that's the reason why the lids are domed. to help aid convection and top down heat reflection.
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I would wager the lids are domed because that's something they can easily stamp out of a single piece of metal. There are no seams or welds to contend with. I.e. it's the cheapest to manufacture.. Black surfaces coated in creosote are not going to reflect heat effectively.

Yes heat rises, it also flows from hot to cold.
 
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