my first cook on my WSM 18.5


 
D

Dan.Heerts

New member
Hi everyone

Well today was the day. I decided to smoke up a couple Stuffed Pork Loins. First stuffed both loins..one with Bleu Cheese and bacon, and the second with Cheddar, chives and bacon...butcher twined them shut, and went out to start up the smoker.

so....filled the coal ring 3/4 full of Blue kingsford...and then started a half chimney of the same. Let chimney ash over, and then dumped into the empty center where I had a coffee can...then I threw on 4 pieces of Peach wood...filled the water bowl with warm water, and put my Maverick et732 on the grate..and closed it up. Watched the temps rise and rise..and when it hit 230F..I put the loins on and closed down the bottom vents.

Started this at 2:30pm today..and Loins were done and ready to eat at 6pm, I let them hit 175F and then took them off. They were super moist, and a wonderful smoke ring.

One concern of mine was the continual climb in temp of the WSM...the entire loin smoke..the temps slowly rose until they were at 255F when I took the loins off.

Anyway...we ate, did dishes, and I looked at my wireless temp gauge, and low and behold the old smoker was still holding temps and going strong. That was about 8pm tonight. I think it would have kept on going into the night..but I finally shut the top vent down and the temps started dropping pretty rapidly.

So my first smoke on the small WSM was a very good experience..but I didn't like the temp cimb. and it was doing so with all bottom vents closed and top open. My experience on the UDS or any other smoker for that matter was to always keep the chimney or top vent full open all the time, and control temps with your lower vents

So, did I do something wrong? Any input for my next smoke would be great.

Thanks for reading my lengthy post.
Dan
 
Dan, how did you have your bottom vents ste durring the smoke? The way you described, (adjusting the temp with the bottom vents) is the correct method for temp control.
Tim
 
Dan, no, I don't think you did anything wrong at all. Check out the product info here on tvwb, specifically: http://www.virtualweberbullet....strouble.html#middle

...just in case that's your issue.

My wsm runs a lot cooler than it did at first from all the crud build-up. However, from day one, I could keep temps below 250 no problem, at least with water in the pan, and the current wsm pan and the Brinkman pan holds a LOT of water.

The wsm is no way gonna be "tight as a drum" (UDS). However, they all don't have to leak like a sieve, either. Don't hesitate to tweak the door for better fit. I probably did that before I even fired mine up the first time. It doesn't have porcelain enamel, so you can't hurt it.
 
Tim...once my temps hit 230F...I closed down 2 bottom vents completely, and the third one I left open maybe a 1/4" max. Top vent full open. I did bend the door to fit a bit better..but there is still a small gap along the top edge

I have a brinkman pan in for water, and it was 3/4 full of WARM water upon start up. Like I said, I filled the charcoal ring 3/4 full of Blue Kings...and then lit a chimney that was half full...dumped it into the middle....threw on 4 pieces of peach wood and closed it up.

Temps slowly rose the entire cook from 230 to 260F by the time I took the loins off.

Dan
 
do you think some type of "silicone gasket" around the inside perimeter of the door would be a good idea to really help seal it up good? I am thinking maybe glueing a rubber silicone gasket maybe 1/16" or 1/8" thick around the inside of the door that touches the smoker body and that would seal it up nice and tight....just a thought

Dan
 
It seems when new the WSM run a little hot, but after a few cooks that problem goes away. That's what happened with my 22.5".
 
My experience was the same as Brian's. My first few cooks in my 18.5" were the same as you described. After 5 cooks it settled down and can hold 225, approximately, real well.
 
My advice for your next cook would be to close the bottom vents at 200 - 210, instead of 230. It will continue to rise in temp for a little while and then settle out at 225 - 235. One other factor to consider is direct sunlight. It is not unusual for my wsm to rise in temperature during the cook in the afternoon since the sun moves to the back of the house during the afternoon.
 
Dan, the door doesn't have to be air tight. It's just the first place I'd check to make sure you don't have any gaps anywhere. If not, you should see some improvement pretty soon after some seasoning builds up.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by dan.heerts:
do you think some type of "silicone gasket" around the inside perimeter of the door would be a good idea to really help seal it up good? I am thinking maybe glueing a rubber silicone gasket maybe 1/16" or 1/8" thick around the inside of the door that touches the smoker body and that would seal it up nice and tight....just a thought </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Like this?
DSC_1315-PP.JPG


What on earth would make you think that is a good idea?
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I ran a bead of high temperature silicone around the bottom edge of mine and I can now control temperature using the bottom vents.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by WalterWhite:
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by dan.heerts:
do you think some type of "silicone gasket" around the inside perimeter of the door would be a good idea to really help seal it up good? I am thinking maybe glueing a rubber silicone gasket maybe 1/16" or 1/8" thick around the inside of the door that touches the smoker body and that would seal it up nice and tight....just a thought </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
DSC_1315-PP.JPG


I ran a bead of high temperature silicone around the bottom edge of mine and I can now control temperature using the bottom vents. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
 
Awesome..now that's what I am talking about...I just got a couple tubes of Black high temp sealant..and ran a bead all around the smokers door, and flattened it down to about 1/16" thick...now the door seals up nicely and even locks nice and tight.

I maybe put a bead around the lid and base seals as well, very thin..just to get a good solid seal in those places as well.

Dan
 
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