Going to try leaving the ash pan half full on the WSM this time


 
Mike P.

Mike P.

TVWBB All-Star
Has anyone noticed any added heat sink effect by doing this? The ash level will be below vent level but it seems to make sense as the ashes should hold some residual heat from the coals.

I thought about trying this from noticing the difference in the way my fireplace burns until I have a good ash bed built up during the season.

Any and all replies appreciated.
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I only dump mine when I notice its gettin too full.
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Cant say I ever noticed a difference between an empty bowl or semi full bowl, but I usually cook HH with an empty foiled pan, so let us know what you find out.
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Tim
 
Thanks for the replies. I'm 2 hours in on a 9 # Boston Butt. The wind is gusting and OAT is about 70* This is my 5th smoke on the WSM. All previous have been with an empty ash pan.

I usually get a spike in temps on start up. This has not happened and I'm staying closer to the desired 240*. Holding steady temp much better with fewer vent adjustments.

I'll update after the cook is complete.

Thanks
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Update is the 9# BB turned out the best this rookie has done. Wind gusts were 25 - 30 mph with a high OAT of 83*. Had a temp spike after approx. 5 hours into a 7 hour smoke.

I let the WSM burnout all fuel when done. Going to try again. As of now, I'm thinking this will be a better approach for the cold weather to come. I'll be leaving ash in during cold weather and go with a empty ash pan during warm to hot OATs.
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I don't really see any benefit to leaving ashes in the base. They're not dense enough to add a sink and, if you're running dry, why even add the variable. The only thing I might see is the added potential for gusted ash to land on the meat.
 
Originally posted by James Harvey:
I don't really see any benefit to leaving ashes in the base. They're not dense enough to add a sink and, if you're running dry, why even add the variable. The only thing I might see is the added potential for gusted ash to land on the meat.
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Ash is a better heat sink than air, especially from turbulent wind me thinks.

Thanks for the replies Guys!
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You might be on to something here Mike.
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I did a HH butt cook on Sunday with some new RO briqs. For a first time try I was liking how the new fuel held temps with minimum fuss and hardly any hard spikes.Could be a coincidence or not, but the next morning I cleaned out the WSM bowl and noticed I had almost a full bowl of ash. Figure pre cook I had about a half bowl of leftover ash. T-morrows run will be on a clean one, so I'll keep an eye on how it behaves.

Tim
 
Ash may act as an insulator to insulate the metal a little from the cold air. But ash will not act as a heat sink--it won't hold any heat.

I always dump the ash to create a *consistent* burn chamber where the only variable is the coal.

I live in colorado and get a lot of wind and sometimes cold wind and changing temps. Best way to deal with this expecially on long cooks is to make some type of an encloser for the WSM. Lots of ideas on here. With my enclosure I can cook butts overnight in the winter with consistent cook temps as the outside temp and wind conditions change. Make sure it won't blow over though!
 
Tim, with full respect, wouldn't your morning after ash be a product of the previous cook?
Mike, Ash is nowhere near dense enough to act as a sink. Comparing it to empty space (air) can also be compared to calling the internal gunk on my WSM a sink.
Again, I see no positive to leaving contaminates in my cooker but, if it works for you, enjoy
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Tim, wouldn't your morning after ash be a product of the previous cook?

James,in my experience with RO on my 18.5 WSM is I usually get 2-3 cooks with briqs,4-5 with lump before I have to dump the bowl.

Tim
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Tim, I dump the bowl after every cook. I also scrub the grates clean in my kitchen each time suffering the wrath of my wife. That's just my own retentive personality. I can't see any real minus leaving the bowl half full outside of the potential for more ash to circulate on a windy day
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LOL. I guess I really never gave it much thought.
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I had the OTG a few yrs before the WSM and I only dumped that pan when full. Using mostly lump on the WSM was prolly another reason.
I do see that Chris recommends starting with a clean bowl under "Usage Tips", so I'll start paying more attention specially since I use RO briqs now.
Mikes topic might make an interesting poll question like How often do you empty the charcoal bowl?

Tim
 
How do you like the briqs vs. the lump. I use RO lump most of the time since it's easy to find around me but I picked up a few big bags of RO briqs on sale a few months ago. I think I like the briqs better. They seem less ashy than others but I don't have much briqsperience to compare.
 
I like the briqs,used to be able to get an 8.8lb bag of the lump for $4.64 but that was raised this spring to almost $6.00. I can get the briqs for like $5.76 for the 18.lb bag and that's what I've been using lately.

Tim
 
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