I like the switch and would recommend it!!!!


 
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Larry Wolfe

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I switched from water to sand, and do not regret it! My temp took no time at all getting to dome temp of 250 within minutes and has stayed there give or take a degree or two for 5 hours. This is great, no need to worry about adding water and the temp spikes that go along with opening the cooker to add it. Or finding a place to dump the water afterwards! Just throw away two sheets of HD aluminum foil! If you haven't tried sand, you may want to give it a shot! I was skeptical at first but not any longer!
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Yea. It is kind of like explaining a color to a blind person. Some people do not have a great cook after they switch so they think they are loosing moisture.
 
Thanks Greg!

David,
I am guilty, I am/was? skeptical about loosing moisture by using sand. But I haven't eaten the Chuck Roast yet, but so far so good! I like what I have seen so far!! I LIKE SAND!!!!
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I hate the switch. Old man Breaux would stop the schoolbus along the hiway fence and cut a switch. He knew how to use it, too. Not on me mind you, I was never the cause. Noooo, not me.

Oh, but I digress. I went to sand a long time ago. Won't go back. I do, invariably, have a leak somehow and get a little grease in the sand. But, it isn't enough to bother with. It soaks it up well. Every several cooks I go ahead and dump it for clean sand.

It sure helps stable temps, since the water isn't steaming away.
 
What kind of sand do you guys use, do you wash it? Im sure its posted somewhere but its 20 to 5 and Im way too tired.
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<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Jim Babek:
What kind of sand do you guys use, do you wash it? Im sure its posted somewhere but its 20 to 5 and Im way too tired.
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<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>Playground sand available at your local Home Depot or Lowes, etc. I didn't wash mine when I was using it..
 
I use the sand you buy to weigh down your truck in the winter.

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Jim Babek:
What kind of sand do you guys use, do you wash it? Im sure its posted somewhere but its 20 to 5 and Im way too tired.
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I guess it wouldn't really matter what kinda sand you use as long as it is fairly clean. Your food is not going to be touching it! Just worry about fumes from whatever is in your sand!! This is especially true for Susan, she has alot of cats around! Ewwwwwwww, what's that funny smelling piece of wood?!
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I just switched. I did a test cook with just a chicken. I thought it ran too hot, even with the bottom vents all closed. But with a big brisket and a butt this past weekend, no problem.

What do you do to moderate heat on smaller batches?

Joel
 
Alton Brown (Good Eats) rinses his sand that he uses for various reasons (no WSM) and then runs it through the self-cleaning cycle of his oven to sanitize it. To kill any "sand germs". Might want to think about that.
 
What if you poured a litre of super saturated saline solution over the sand before the first cook, then let the liquid evaporate away over the cours of the first cook ?

That would provide an extremely hostile enviroment for any organisms, plus the water boiling away would steam the sand clean. I would imagine that mold would not tend to grow in that sort of environment.
 
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