How much charcoal in my 18 1/2 WSM ?


 
E

Ernie P

New member
Hi,
I just bought a new 18 1/2 WSM and so far smoked a chicken and a pork roast. Both turned out great. My problem is that I have no idea how much charcoal to use, filling up the tray is way too much. Is there a rule of thumb that says so much charcoal per hour ? After 2 smokes, I got the temp control down. But I'm wasting charcoal. Please help. :confused:
 
You're only wasting charcoal if you're throwing it all away after a cook. You can re-use any leftover coals, just knock the ash off and you're good to go.

As for how much to use, for chicken I'll usually just use a full chimney of lit. For anything else you're just going to have to gauge how much you think you need based on cooking temperature and size of the meat, but there is no downside to adding too much. WSMs are very fuel efficient and I'm always surprised at how much I have left after a cook.

One thing that will improve as you use your WSM is that as fat and smoke residue builds up on the inside it will seal up air gaps and so when you close your vents after a cook it will extinguish much faster and save you even more fuel.
 
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Ernie P;
I fill my charcoal ring full (I use the Tin Can Minion Method for long cooks of ribs, pulled pork, brisket, etc.). When finished, I close all of the vents and it smothers the fire. I reuse all of the charcoal in my grill. I have wired my charcoal ring to the charcoal grate. After the smoker has cooled off (generally the next day, I pick up the charcoal grate/ring and gently shake it. Everything that falls through is deposited in my ash can. Everything else is saved for the grill. I put a layer of new briquettes in the chimney on the bottom and fill to the top with used charcoal. "Waste not, want not"!:cool:

When doing a short time, high temperature cook (chicken) I just put a full lit chimney as James suggests.

That way you never run out of fuel and you don't lose anything.

Keep on smokin',
Dale53:wsm:
 
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Fill'er up! That gives you the best temperature control on long cooks. For short cooks, like chicken or ABTs, I use 1 chimney or so of unlit, plus 1 chimney (or so, depending on how hot I want it) of lit.
 
Robert McGee said:
Ernie P;
I fill my charcoal ring full (I use the Tin Can Minion Method for long cooks of ribs, pulled pork, brisket, etc.). When finished, I close all of the vents and it smothers the fire. I reuse all of the charcoal in my grill. I have wired my charcoal ring to the charcoal grate. After the smoker has cooled off (generally the next day, I pick up the charcoal grate/ring and gently shake it. Everything that falls through is deposited in my ash can. Everything else is saved for the grill. I put a layer of new briquettes in the chimney on the bottom and fill to the top with used charcoal. "Waste not, want not"!:cool:

When doing a short time, high temperature cook (chicken) I just put a full lit chimney as James suggests.

That way you never run out of fuel and you don't lose anything.

Keep on smokin',
Dale53:wsm:
Click to expand...

Ditto what Robert said.... Now let's see some pics of the cooks.
 
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