Missing heat shield


 
A

Adam Cook

New member
I was blessed with a WSM 18.5 from my in-laws for Christmas. I opened the box and found that the heat shield was not included. Is the heat shield a vitally important piece that I need to contact Weber about, or can I get by without it?

Thanks for the help and Merry Christmas!
 
Congrats and welcome!
As for the heat shield, call Weber and they will get you one right away. They are very good about service. I would not run without it. Merry Christmas
 
I would think running your WSM without it wold be fine as long as it's sitting on concrete or some other non-flammable surface.
 
The previous generation of WSMs didn't have a heat shield, so I don't think it will be a problem unless you sit it on a deck. Just call Weber and ask for a new one. I can't imagine they would have an issue sending a replacement.
 
I would feel fine running without it. As already said, putting it on concrete would be best but as also said, the old one didn't have one and I never burned down my deck so I really don't think it's an issue. I think the bigger issue is stability. I'm not sure how the heat shield interfaces with the legs, but if it's integral to the stability of the legs, then you would want to be VERY careful. Having a WSM tip over mid cook would be a mess at best and a fire at worse.

Personally, I'd want to use it but use common sense. If you're not confident on the stability, I would wait for the shield.
 
I measured the temp of my deck under a running 18.5 old school model with no heat shield. Couple degrees above the rest of the deck. This was a low and slow burn though.
 
Welcome to the board Adam!

I have the old, non-shielded WSM, but do have a water heater pan under it on my deck.
Not so much worried about heat, more so about an ember falling out of a vent.

I live near Arnold, MO.
Here are a couple of things in case you didn't know.
The produce place in Imperial often has 20 lb. bags of Ozark Oak lump charcoal, it's in plain bags and about the best lump I've found.
Karsch's Market in Barnhart usually has tri tips, in case you haven't tried them yet.

Enjoy your new smoker!
 
Thanks for the heads up, Bob! Glad to see a fellow Jefferson Countian on here!

Just got off the phone with Weber and they have a heat shield en route! Great customer service!
 
What Weber lacks in quality control they make up for in customer service. I went to put the thing together without the heat shield and found that they forgot to drill holes for one of the legs. Called them up and they're overnighting a new base. Smh
 
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