Have you cooked on the 22" WSM?


 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Darren Lubotsky:
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">
If I were you, and space wasn't an issue, I would keep both. I plan to use my 18" more often, as it's enough for me and my family. For larger cookouts and competitions, the 22"s will get put into play. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Yeah, in hindsight this is probably the best thing to do. But we've already told my brother in law that he'll get the old WSM, so there's no going back.

I like the idea of using the smaller charcoal ring - I presume I can buy one of these separately. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

What a lucky brother-in-law! You have a good question if the Weber folks will be selling the smaller charcoal ring. How about the other parts, i.e., water pan, lid with temperature gauge, etc.??

Richard

WSM 2820, OTG 22 1/2" with Smokenator
 
Done some more cooks on the 22 .This with a Stoker using the 10 cfm fan. I must report that the 10 cfm works well with the 22. Started with a temp of 200 which it reached and maintained easily. My temp I wanted was 325 (doing some chicken)it got to 325 quicker then my 18 did with the 5 cfm fan by a noticable margin. Enough that I will be trying the 10 on the 18. Which is the size I use with the Guru.The leaking door will have to be addressed.Maybe some sort of stainless steel and a gasket like is used on a BGE.
 
Did a turkey yesterday on the 22 using a 5cfm stoker fan. Started at 300 degrees then ramp down to 250 then 200. Everything worked OK but it was in the 70's here. So it makes it easier on the fan keeping up.
 
Jim, thanks for the updates.

I did a cook yesterday on my 22" also with the stoker 5 cfm fan. My ambient temp was a little different (15 degrees) as were my results. I did a minion start with 15 coals, added to a full ring of lump. Fired stoker to 275 and added 2 slabs of STL spares and trimmings. Cooker got up to 275 in 40 minutes or so, which was faster than I anticipated. It maintained that temp for an hour or so, but then began to struggle keeping up. The fan ran almost the entire time to keep it at 275. About 2 hours in, the temps slowly dropped and it ran at 235 or so.

At the 3 hour mark, it became clear that I will need another fan to operate at 275 in these chilly temps. I wasn't feeling well, so I brought the ribs in, foiled and put in an oven for an hour. Unfoiled an hour later, 30 minutes more in the oven and they were done. Ribs were very good, despite the fact that I froze most of them due to not feeling well.

Long story short, I don't think the 5 CFM fan will hold high temps for a long period of time, especially in less than ideal weather.
 
I read in another thread here that the 22 inch cooker has the coal grate resting on the air vents. Are you guys finding that? What is your charcoal grate resting on? On a video on Youtube Chris says it rests on screws, but some owners of the 22 incher say not so, it rests on the air vents. That doesn't sound like appropriate equipment to support the weight.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">What is your charcoal grate resting on? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

It most certainly rests on the screws. As for the vents, if you turn the vents 100% one way (not sure open or closed) the little tab will hit the grate, not allowing it to open or close the remaining 5% of the way. I don't think it's a big deal, but then again I just taped my vents shut as I use mine with a Stoker.

Pat
 
Assembled mine yesterday. The charcoal grate hits the bottom vent tabs - so I took a needlenose to them and snapped them off. The upper tabs still work to limit the vent movement, so no big deal.

This is my first smoker, so I can't compare it to anything. But it is very sturdy - except for the flimsy door. It was 20 degrees and windy out today. I filled the grate with most of an 18lb bag of Kingford, layered in a long beechnut wood chunk. Minioned 40 briquettes, laid them on top with another wood chunk.

This thing has been holding 225-250 degrees for 8 hours now. I'm amazed at how steady it is. I had ribs on the upper rack, which we ate for dinner (one rack basic rub, the other Tandoori), and have a pork shoulder still going on the bottom. The ribs were fantastic. Huge smoke ring, thick bark, still moist inside.

The shoulder looks great. I'm planning to take it off in another 2 hours or so. Going to treat everyone at work on Monday.
 
I still have yet to fire my 22" (have been working 10 days strait). I intend to this weekend, but I have a question. My charcoal bowl looks to be 1/4" out of round. It doesn't seem to be as bad as the pre-production model Chris received, but there is a slight gap. Will this make a difference? It's not bad and I can alomst jiggle the middle cooking section and make it go away.

Should I cook and see if there is leaking smoke, or should I get on the phone with Weber?
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">The shoulder looks great. I'm planning to take it off in another 2 hours or so. Going to treat everyone at work on Monday. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Did the smoker hold it's temp for those last two hours? How was the shoulder?
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Justin Toomer:
I still have yet to fire my 22" (have been working 10 days strait). I intend to this weekend, but I have a question. My charcoal bowl looks to be 1/4" out of round. It doesn't seem to be as bad as the pre-production model Chris received, but there is a slight gap. Will this make a difference? It's not bad and I can alomst jiggle the middle cooking section and make it go away.

Should I cook and see if there is leaking smoke, or should I get on the phone with Weber? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Justin, mine is the same way. I haven't take the time to figure out if the bowl or middle section is off, or both. However, I have not seen any smoke leaking out of that area. I was surprised, as I figured quite a bit would be, based on my experience on the smaller wsm.

I have a theory that the smoke doesn't exit there because of the increased distance between the charcoal and water pan. Whereas with the smaller wsm, the smoke hits the water pan and goes horizontal right where the two pieces join, the smoke in the 22 makes that turn much higher than the bowl/middle section joint.

Long story short, give it a shot and see how it works.
 
Cool - take some pics and share the results. I think this cooker can make some massive smoke rings. I'm doing 2 butts Saturday for the game Sunday, but I'll be doing them on my 18".
 
Justin:

The smoker held the temp -- barely wavered at all for the full cook. As it turns out, I still have a little to learn. The center of the shoulder was still firm; not "pullable." It could have used a few more hours, but it was 10pm, I didn't have my remote thermometer rigged (bbq-guru eyelets on the way), and the surface looked done.

That said, it was still terrific. Very deep smoke ring, very thick bark, huge flavor. I'm totally impressed.

Clean up is a bit of a pain, though -- the water pan is very awkward filled with dirty water and gook. Waited till morning, scraped off the solid grease, poured the water down the drain. And tipping the bottom segment into a plastic garbage bag to dispose of the ashes is a two man job.
 
I cooked 18 lbs of pork shoulder on the 22" last weekend. I used about 27 lbs of Heat Beads (minion, of course), and it burned for 32 hours... so it most certainly CAN handle long term cooks on low temps. The shoulder was finished in 25 hours - temp fell below 212°F during the night, because I was sleeping
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Probably the best Pulled Pork I have ever had...
 
Hey everyone,

Just wondering how much fuel (Kingsford in my case) you'd expect to go through for a 6 hour smoke at 225. I'm new to the who charcoal thing, so I don't have many data points. I'm finding I'm not using a whole bag (I guess I'm being cheap), and that the fire seems to lose steam toward the end of cooking. I guess I could just use a whole bag, but just wanted to make sure I'm not doing anything wrong.

I should add that I'm using the Minion method.

Thanks!
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by tommy275:
Hey everyone,

Just wondering how much fuel (Kingsford in my case) you'd expect to go through for a 6 hour smoke at 225. I'm new to the who charcoal thing, so I don't have many data points. I'm finding I'm not using a whole bag (I guess I'm being cheap), and that the fire seems to lose steam toward the end of cooking. I guess I could just use a whole bag, but just wanted to make sure I'm not doing anything wrong.

I should add that I'm using the Minion method.

Thanks! </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Just fill it up, when finished cooking, close all vents. Unused briquettes can be used later.. That's what I do
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