Made a windbreak for my WSM


 
P

Paul Pearson

TVWBB Super Fan
After doing quite a bit of reading on here I made myself a windbreak / shelter using some units others built as a guide. I ended up using 2x2 vinyl lengths for the frame and fiberglass reinforced plastic sheeting for the walls and roof. The roof section sits on dowel pins and can be put on 4 different ways. The base is made of 2 bifold panels joined with removable pin hinges. I also added a handle and latch to keep the door shut. I spent almost as much as the smoker cost so I hope it is worth it.

I guess I cant attach pictures direct here so I will have to upload them and link them in tomorrow.
 
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I smoked a practice thanksgiving turkey in it before the roof was finished up but I haven't had a chance to smoke anything else yet. I am hoping to run something through next week while I am off work, i will snap a couple pics then. Worst part about making the roof was smelling the smoked turkey residue on the side panels the whole time while we were fitting everything up!

my only regret is not making the door panel a hair shorter than the sides. It drags the ground when I open it up but sitting it up on a few bricks might fix that
 
Looks really nice... The only thing that I would add is maybe a couple small round soffit vents on the backside low to the ground like about 3 or 4 inches up to create a little bit of an upward draft to allow a little air in for the fire... The small tin 3" vents... Just an idea... Looks great though...
 
I never lost my appreciation for the creative (and EFFECTIVE) efforts of the brethren on this forum.

Good job, Paul! That's another fine addition to the forum.

Keep smokin'
Dale53:wsm:
 
Looking good! I think if you raise it on a couple of bricks,that'll fix any inflow problem,plus the door dragging issue.
 
During the turkey smoke I placed some pieces of cardboard across the top to simulate the roof and even with it sitting flat on a concrete pad there seemed to be a lot of air movement thought the windbreak. On the two corners where the non-removable pin hinges are there is at least a 1/2" wide gap in the corner where air can come in. While smoking the turkey I took the roof off and the smoker temp dropped 5 to 10 degrees so I would think the airflow is ok?

Here are a couple more pictures.
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I wasn't seriously thinking about building one until I smoked some beef short ribs at my parents house and had to keep messing with the vents to hold 250 and ended up placing lawn chairs on their sides around the smoker to try to block the wind some. To make things worse the direction kept shifting as well. Hopefully the windbreak is heavy enough it wont blow around.
 
Well I finally got around to using the windbreak yesterday. I bought two 5lb boneless butts at the supermarket and seasoned them up using the Renown Mr. Brown recipe on the site. I left out the cayenne and was too busy to mop them, but I think next time I will cut the black pepper down a bit since it had a bit too much bite (not heat) for me.

Anyway, here are some pictures:
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