First cook on 14" WSM


 
W

Wayne Dimirsky

TVWBB Super Fan
Well, today I finally got a chance to break in my new 14" WSM that I got a few weeks ago. I'm cooking two slabs of BB ribs cut in half in a weber rib rack on the top grate. The water pan is foiled with no water. I used 3 chunks of apple wood. I started with 9 lit briquettes in the middle of a full ring using the minion method but I don't think it was enough as I have had a terrible time getting the temps up. I've had to open the door up about five times to help bring temps up. All vents are wide open and this smoker is not exactly air tight.

I started the cook at about 3:20pm and now almost an hour later I'm only at 250 degrees. Temps have been from 360 when I had the door open back down to 235 when I closed it back up. I was planning on cooking at around 275 so that the ribs would be done around the time my fiancée gets home from work at about 8:30pm and I also like how they turn out at this temperature. At this rate, it's not going to happen. I never had this type of issue with my 18" WSM.

Any suggestions so I don't have to keep going outside to open the door?

Wayne
 
Now the temps are going over 300. I discovered that my water pan was not sitting quite right on the tabs and was pushed toward the side I had my Maverik 732 probe mounted. So I'm not sure if I was getting accurate temps in the beginning. I closed two of the bottom vents all of the way and the top one about half way and now the temp is sitting at 289. Looking at the ribs, the bark looks like it has been cooking at a higher temp then what my 732 was showing as well as what the dome temp gauge showed.

This is definitely not what I was expecting. Now I hope I'm not going to burn through all of the charcoal before the ribs are done.

Wayne
 
I'm thinking maybe you did'nt start with enough lite charcoal. I use water in the pan and have to close the bottom vents to keep the temps down.
 
Hard to say exactly what is going on, but I used my new 14 last weekend. I started it, themp went to 300, put the ribs on and temp fell to 240, I adjusted for awhile and then it leveled at 275 to 280 and I was using water in the pan. I had thermometer mounted through the grommet. The top vent was full open and the bottom about 1/8" each.

If you are having trouble with temps, first thing I would try is to get the smoker as tight as possible. Every smokey mountain I have purchased had to be bent back into round, even the middle section and especially the door. Check roundness by measuring diagonially on lid, middle section, and bottom. Door almost always needs so bending.

If you can't get it, let me know, I'm pretty close and I'll be glad to help.
 
Last edited:
Wayne Dimirsky said:
Now the temps are going over 300. I discovered that my water pan was not sitting quite right on the tabs and was pushed toward the side I had my Maverik 732 probe mounted. So I'm not sure if I was getting accurate temps in the beginning. I closed two of the bottom vents all of the way and the top one about half way and now the temp is sitting at 289. Looking at the ribs, the bark looks like it has been cooking at a higher temp then what my 732 was showing as well as what the dome temp gauge showed.

This is definitely not what I was expecting. Now I hope I'm not going to burn through all of the charcoal before the ribs are done.

Wayne
Click to expand...

You probably are correct. Good catch !
The dome will read less than actual grate temperature due to the meat absorbing some of that heat. Sounds like the same thing with your 732 due to its location.
During the first couple of cooks with my new WSM, the pit probe (atc) was also on the grate and away from the meat. During Harry's class I noticed he has the pit
probe slid through a grommet with the measuring part of the probe just barely inside the WSM and not on the grate. I changed mine to follow his and have been happy ever since.
 
Thanks everyone for the replies and to J. Hoke for offering to come help. The smoker finally settled down and has stayed between 270-288 for the past three hours. I just checked the ribs and while they look done, the tooth pick still didn't slide in like butter. I'm right at four hours of cooking so I will check again in about 15 minutes or so. I always put my probe for the 732 on the grate so that wasn't anything different and I didn't go by the dome thermometer since it wasn't showing the same thing as the 732.

Wayne
 
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