Found - a drop-in disposable liner for the 18.5" WSM water pan


 

David Ward

TVWBB Fan
As we all know, cleaning the WSM water pan of grease and gunk after a long smoke is always a hassle. I had previously searched for a disposable aluminum pan that would fit and not found anything suitable. Like others, I generally used a couple of sheets of heavy duty wide aluminum foil to line mine when I run water, but it always seems the funky water leaks under the foil.

Guys, I may have found a pan that will work for some of the 18.5" WSM units. Especially those who have the older unit and did the Brinkmann charcoal pan mod to double their water capacity. Mine is a 2005 model and the Brinkmann or Piedmont mod was popular before Weber increased the stock water pan size in the 2009 and forward models.

Campliner makes a disposable aluminum liner for dutch ovens. They come in 14", 12", 10" and 8" diameter. They are 3" tall and have straight sides. The Pre-2009 WSM's stock pan is 14" diameter inside at the top of the pan and it is 3 1/16" deep and is bowl shaped. The Brinkmann charcoal pan that I use for more water capacity (roughly twice the pre-2009 WSM pan size) is 12 7/8" at the top inner edge, 8 1/2" diameter at the bottom and 4 1/2" tall and has straight sides. I'm thinking the 10" pan can be pressed in to fit the bottom and it will give some extra height. In theory it would almost be a perfect fit. If not, the 12" would be plenty big and give some extra height or edge fold over at the top.

I don't know if the Brinkmann charcoal pans will fit the current model 18.5" WSM, but they are 15 1/16" outer diameter and a perfect fit for the pre-2009 WSM 18.5" models (all the pre 2009 were 18.5"). I also don't know if any of these Campliner pans will help those with the newer model 18.5" WSM, but there are still plenty of the older ones out there. You might be able to hand press the Campliner pan into the bowl shape of one of the newer 18.5" water pans, but I have not spent a lot of thought on which one would fit best as I only have a 2005 model WSM. Also I'm not sure how well you could hand press fit one of the 14" Campliner pans into a 22.5" WSM water pan, but it might work.

$15.99 on Amazon for 12 of the 10" or 12" models. That's $1.33 per pan with free prime shipping (excluding tax if you have to pay sales tax in your area). Might be worth it IMO.



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As we all know, cleaning the WSM water pan of grease and gunk after a long smoke is always a hassle. I had previously searched for a disposable aluminum pan that would fit and not found anything suitable. Like others, I generally used a couple of sheets of heavy duty wide aluminum foil to line mine when I run water, but it always seems the funky water leaks under the foil.

Guys, I may have found a pan that will work for some of the 18.5" WSM units. Especially those who have the older unit and did the Brinkmann charcoal pan mod to double their water capacity. Mine is a 2005 model and the Brinkmann or Piedmont mod was popular before Weber increased the stock water pan size in the 2009 and forward models.

Campliner makes a disposable aluminum liner for dutch ovens. They come in 14", 12", 10" and 8" diameter. They are 3" tall and have straight sides. The Pre-2009 WSM's stock pan is 14" diameter inside at the top of the pan and it is 3 1/16" deep and is bowl shaped. The Brinkmann charcoal pan that I use for more water capacity (roughly twice the pre-2009 WSM pan size) is 12 7/8" at the top inner edge, 8 1/2" diameter at the bottom and 4 1/2" tall and has straight sides. I'm thinking the 10" pan can be pressed in to fit the bottom and it will give some extra height. In theory it would almost be a perfect fit. If not, the 12" would be plenty big and give some extra height or edge fold over at the top.

I don't know if the Brinkmann charcoal pans will fit the current model 18.5" WSM, but they are 15 1/16" outer diameter and a perfect fit for the pre-2009 WSM 18.5" models (all the pre 2009 were 18.5"). I also don't know if any of these Campliner pans will help those with the newer model 18.5" WSM, but there are still plenty of the older ones out there. You might be able to hand press the Campliner pan into the bowl shape of one of the newer 18.5" water pans, but I have not spent a lot of thought on which one would fit best as I only have a 2005 model WSM. Also I'm not sure how well you could hand press fit one of the 14" Campliner pans into a 22.5" WSM water pan, but it might work.

$15.99 on Amazon for 12 of the 10" or 12" models. That's $1.33 per pan with free prime shipping (excluding tax if you have to pay sales tax in your area). Might be worth it IMO.

https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0054I2XV2/tvwb-20

rs=w:370,m,cg:true

If you don't have a seam in the water the water cant leak under the foil

Most people simply don't use the stock water pan and don't use water.

But that looks interesting for those that do
 
Most of the time I run a flower pot base, but occasionally I will run water in the pan. Most often when I really have the WSM loaded down with meat (like 4 big shoulders in the 18.5"). That's a lot of meat for the 18.5" WSM and IMO that is when the water really helps. I just hated cleaning the pan and a single sheet of the wide HD aluminum foil does not cover the brinkmann/piedmont mod pans, and the doubled seam always seems to leak.
 
Good find, David.

I was unaware that most people don't use their stock water pan. While I run mine dry, it's almost always in place.
 
If you don't have a seam in the water the water cant leak under the foil
Au contraire! I use single sheets of 18" wide Reynolds HD foil to wrap my 1998 stock WSM water pan, and about half the time I find some water pan content that gets past the foil. I believe it's caused by salt, vinegar, or other acid compounds that create pinholes in the foil during the cooking process.

I just hated cleaning the pan and a single sheet of the wide HD aluminum foil does not cover the brinkmann/piedmont mod pans, and the doubled seam always seems to leak.

David, I think these pans are worth some exploration for both pre-2009 and 2009 and newer WSMs. Sadly, Brinkmann went out of business, so those old charcoal pans that we used to recommend as replacement 18.5" WSM water pans are no longer available.
 
David, I think these pans are worth some exploration for both pre-2009 and 2009 and newer WSMs. Sadly, Brinkmann went out of business, so those old charcoal pans that we used to recommend as replacement 18.5" WSM water pans are no longer available.

There are some of the Brinkmann charcoal bowls still out there. A seller has some on ebay (lists more than 10 available). I had my original rust through and when I replaced it, I bought an extra one. I'm not sure how thick the foil is in those disposable pans, and I agree it is probably a chemical reaction that lets the water through the HD foil. I'm thinking with 2 bowls on hand, I could take either one of the 12" or 14" disposable pans, set it on top of one inverted bowl and use the 2nd bowl to press fit it into shape. I have not bought any of these yet, but I will probably try this in the near future. I'll post the results if I do. The 2 bowl press technique might also work for the stock water pan and the post 2009 pans. I only have 2 of the Brinkmann pans on hand to try though.

I may email the campliner maker and see what thickness foil those pans are made from. They advertise them for cooking acidic food in a dutch oven, so they must stand up to the chemicals somewhat (I'm hoping they are thick like a regular disposable 1/2 pan is).
 
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Chris,

I ordered a set of the 12" Campliner pans from Amazon tonight. I will report back on how well they fit once I receive them. I will also try to use the 2 Brinkmann pans to mold them to fit the inside of one of the pans for a "poor man's custom disposable pan".
 
David,

So what is the verdict? I have an older 18.5” with the brinkman pan so interested to see how they fit.

Thanks!

Steve
 
I can answer this question.

I bought a set of three CampChef 12" liners at Bass Pro for testing.

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Here's the liner in the Brinkmann pan. It is virtually a perfect fit. Initially I thought there was a 1" gap between the bottom of the foil pan and the bottom of the Brinkmann pan, but when I pressed down it was more like 1/4". So I pressed down all over inside the bottom of the foil pan and it conformed quite easily to the bottom of the Brinkmann pan. There is some side-to-side movement, maybe 1/4" in any direction. I tried pressing the pan outward to conform to the sides of the Brinkmann pan but was less successful.

I think you could easily just drop this liner into the Brinkmann pan and use it dry or wet without any problems.

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Here it is filled with water.

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If I get my act together, I will try this in the old and new WSM 18.5" water pan and post photos.
 
Here's the 12" liner in the pre-2009 18.5" WSM water pan. Initially, a very bad fit.

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However, if you pull around the edges to make the foil pan flatter and wider...

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And press it into the water pan...

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And fold the top edge over the edge of the water pan...

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You end up with a good fitting pan liner.

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So far, this 12" liner works on two popular 18.5" WSM water pans.

I'll get back to you on the 2009 and newer water pan...

P.S. The edge of these disposable liners is freakin' sharp. Handle with care.
 
Today I'm using a CampChef 12" disposable Dutch oven liner as a disposable water pan liner in the 18.5" WSM. I'm using it inside the Winco 14.25" stainless steel mixing bowl that I recently identified as an alternative to the extremely deep stock 18.5" WSM water pan. The bowl is discussed in this video: https://youtu.be/s_inq7MQka0

In one of these photos, you can see that I've also wrapped the bottom of the bowl with wide foil so that inside and out cleans up in a snap. I may have other uses for this bowl, so I don't want it caked with burned-on grease/smoke.

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