insulating my WSM in cold weather?


 
M

Manny Wildwood

New member
Hi all. For those that live in cold weather climates, or have the experience:

1) do you have issues maintaining proper tempature in your smokers in weather lower than 50 degrees? Anyone use an insulation type blaket/wrap?

I looked at Home Depot to makeshift something, but all the solutions looked like crap, were somewhat impractical, and wasn't sure it was effective at all?
 
Never had an issue with the cold. And i live in a COLD climate. If you ever have a problem and could pin point it to the low outside temps. Get a heat shield. I have smoked in zub zero C (-10c) and no problems.

And Welcome BTW! No need to try to fix anything that aint broken.
 
the big enemy is wind, I try to shield the wind whenever possible. I'll set up a make shift wind screen or set it up on the non-windy side of the house if it's warranted.

imho cold does nothing, maybe you'll burn a little more fuel, no difference I can tell.

I've also used my smoker in very cold conditions and it's performed like a champ with no insulation.
 
Cold's not a problem. Wind can be but my deck is pretty much out of the wind so I've never had a problem. I can hold temps in both the WSM's and One Touch's.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Wolgast:
Never had an issue with the cold. And i live in a COLD climate. If you ever have a problem and could pin point it to the low outside temps. Get a heat shield. I have smoked in zub zero C (-10c) and no problems.

And Welcome BTW! No need to try to fix anything that aint broken. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
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but i've since moved to a warmer climate... when i did live in Calgary, Alberta i would have my WSM running in -20c/-4f with no problem at all. Like others said wind is your biggest enemy.
 
I also think that is more of a problem with the WIND than the COLD.

My WSM sits to the East of a fairly closed-up picket fence, which serves as a decent wind break in all but the most extreme conditions (and then, I'm not smoking - not THAT hard-core)

I also find that a carved-out snow bank also makes a good wind-break.
 
Mostly what I read on the board is folks that use an insulating jacket also use some type of an ATC. If you check the pics in the link that Jeff posted you can see a few. Figure without one and you wrap to tight and block the lower vents you'll snuff out your coals.
This is my fourth winter on the WSM and any type of a windbreak is all that's needed IMO.
Get a jacket/coat and keep yourself insulated.
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Tim
 
I've used my WSM in temperatures as low as -22 F. It chugged along with an internal temp of 225 degrees without any problems at all. There is a quite nice picture on this forum of my wsm, steaming in the blue arctic winter.
When it is that cold, wind is no problem where I live. As other have said, wind is your enemy, not the outside temperature.
 
Welcome to the board.

The funniest thing in your post is that you draw a line at 50 degrees. I think there's a person here who posted a pic in about 40 degrees BELOW zero. I think that picture is it the section that Jeff provided a link to.

I think people who use some form of insulation are really just blocking the wind. Those insulating blankets are a pretty cheap and portable way to set up a wind break. If you have no other way to block the wind, go for it. Personally, I have a wind break given the way my house is constructed vs the prevailing winds so I wouldn't waste my money on a blanket. Further, I'm pretty cheap so before the addition to my house, I just didn't BBQ on windy days.

To each his/her own. That's one of the good things about this hobby - you can pretty much do what you want and still eat pretty well.
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Again - Welcome!!
 
Thanks for all the responses guys! Thanks for welcoming me to the forum as well. I have been lurking around as a guest, reading up and using tips and recipes here and there.

I 've been smoking only for about 1.5 years, but much to my lack of experience, not smoking in the winter time, thinking I would not generate the needed temps. Really glad to hear that I was WRONG!

Point well taken on the wind break, I have a couple of different spots I can set it up where this won't be any issue.

Thanks again all!
 
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