Meet Drogon - 22.5'' WSM Mods & First Cook


 
How would you figure the exact dimensions for the 18.5" WSM? Is there any way the feet could slip out of there and cause the smoker to tumble over?

I was entertaining the idea of using a round dolly with five castors for better insurance against toppling over, but I like your modification too.
 
I figured out the dimensions for my 22.5'' by using the assembled charcoal bowl as a guide. I just sat the legs on top of the angle and marked it. Just make sure that you have one free hole beyond the end of the leg so that the caster bolt can thread through. You don't have to be scientifically exact - any minor adjustments are easily made with a file.

To prevent the feet slipping out, I zip tied each leg to the frame using a zip-tie tightening tool. The cooker and the base move as one unit and there's no give. Your idea of a round dolly with five casters would definitely work as well. I thought about something similar, but couldn't seem to find the right thing to work as the base of the dolly. I hope you keep us updated on how your idea evolves.
 
ouchh !! nice job Khaleesi <3 ! I love the blacked dying handle, how did you come up with such an awesome idea ? how do you manage to keep the "weber " in white ? sry for my english. Cheers
 
Darrel Williams said:
Nice work. Too bad you got it done so late in the year, since you know.... winter is coming.
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LOL ;) More like
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I share your mods on my FB, you got more likes that i have on my profil picture. sux to be me :D . Why did you leave the heat shield unpaint ? a VHT anodized red shield could be a great match up. Hope your drogon wont gonna do adolescence crises.

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Haha so far my Drogon is behaving, but you know what they say - dragons are wild animals that can't ever be tamed. I didn't paint the heat shield because
1. I think the silver color is what helps it reflect heat well. Painting it might interfere with its ability to act as an insulator.
2. I got a bit lazy. Maybe one of these days I'll paint it. I totally agree with you that anodized red would look great on it.
 
I didn't remove them - I just used masking tape and a large trash bag to cover the rest of the cooker while I painted. I did this before putting the legs on, so it was pretty easy.
 
YYang - really fantastic looking WSM.

@Rusty James
A round dolly would be more stable (depends on where you put the lid hinge if you plan to put one like YYang mentioned), but it may look a bit odd like the “bumper” from a dodgem car I guess (-;

Anyway, getting the perfect measure/mould for a round dolly is not that hard. Put your own 3 legged dragon on a large sheet of paper/carton on a flat floor and mark the outside of the 3 legs (midpoint of the leg) on the paper. Remove the WSM and draw a triangle using the 3 points. Now draw a line from the (exact) middle of each of the sides of the triangle to the opposite leg point. The 3 new lines will cross in 1 point which is the midpoint of your round dolly. Use a piece of string to draw a circle from the midpoint going through the 3 original leg marks. Best now is to put the WSM back on the circle and see how much wider/reduced the circle needs to be outwards and inwards to support the legs with whatever material you will use for the dolly. Use the piece of string again to also draw the in- and outward circles from the same midpoint. Have fun and pls. post the pics!

Werner.
 
Darrel Williams said:
Nice work. Too bad you got it done so late in the year, since you know.... winter is coming.
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Hmm...it just dawned on me that you live near Weber's production facilities. Do they have a factory outlet up there?

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Thank, Werner, and welcome to the forum. :)
 
Just added the casters to my 22 1/2 WSM and enough of the punched angle to do my 18 1/2 (this is using the 48" length). If you have both or you and a friend have one of each, you can save a little on the angles.
 
YYang said:
Here's my breakdown (not including paint):

punched angles: 3 x $9.48 = $28.44
casters: 3 x $15.73 = $47.19
lock nuts: 3 x $1.18 = $3.54
TOTAL: $79.17 (now that I'm typing this, it seems kind of embarrassing)

To cut down on the cost, you can go with more affordable casters. I specifically wanted all total-lock ones (locks the swivel and the roll) in black finish. These cheaper ones at $3.88 each from Home Depot would work just as well. Also, you would only need to purchase two 48'' punched angles if you're building a frame for the 18.5'' WSM.
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I only bought 2 angel irons and bolted the left overs together. Much cheaper to buy some washers nuts and dolts than buying a third angel iron. My casters were about half of the cost of yours and look similar to yours. Great mod thanks to all that gave input. I feel it's stable even with the hinge on it.
 
Hey YYang if you comeback on the forum plis contact me on PM or on my email. Sry for the flood but it's important and i have no other way to talk to you. Cheers from France
 
I'm doing this roller mod today, just need to pick up the angles and bolts. Just wanted to see if I should get lock bolts or wing nuts or standard bolt.
 
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