Keith Pietranczyk
TVWBB Member
It's taken a while for me to get the time to post this, but here goes (This might get long winded - just so you know - and not sure if the pictures will work)!
I received my 22.5 WSM on 6/4/10. As I assembled it I had one minor issue in that one of the bolts for the legs snapped.
I was able to replace it with a bolt I had (same exact bolt). Unfortunately I was not able to get my first smoke in until 4 weeks later
So, 4th of July came around and I was going to cook for 14 people. I decided (with the help of many suggestions here) on a couple of Pork Butts (with my own personally devised rub), couple of BC chix (with another personal rub), and some Homemade Polish Sausage, using Mesquite and Kingsford (competition briquettes).
I used the Minion method to start and I have to say, the setup and getting started was more simple to do than I thought (at the start!). This is a pic of my setup I had going on that day.
Once it started smoking though, I knew there were some issues. I could tell the center section was out of round and the door was not sealing well based on the smoke escaping (afterwards measured and almost 5/8" out of round). The other problems I encountered were that the lid temp gauge, see below, was getting condensation inside and was off (based on a calibrated probe through the lid vent) about 30°. Afterward, while I was cleaning the water pan noticed that the paint had blistered pretty badly.
I was able to keep it at around 235 - 260 (lid temp) the entire way, but we had some HORRIBLE wind that I think was messing with it and I wound up having to refuel a couple of times. I believe the fuel (competition briquettes) SHOULD have lasted longer than 5½ hours. Opinions/Suggestions??? But the wind was horrific and I needed to make vent adjustments every ½ hour. At the same time though, I maintained what I thought was a good temp range.
Everything finished a bit quicker than I anticipated but that was hands down some of best Q I've EVER made (see below - also is the rest of the spread I made for the day). The Pork was VERY tender (& Tasty) and just pulled so easy. The chicken and Sausage were awesome as well. I received many many compliments and the best of all was that my wife (who does NOT like pork) wound up eating multiple helpings!
I called CS later that week and explained what had happened, and without batting an eyelash, I received a new center section, leg kit, door kit. Thermometer and Water Pan are on their way!
I'm so looking forward to the second smoke this weekend!!!
I received my 22.5 WSM on 6/4/10. As I assembled it I had one minor issue in that one of the bolts for the legs snapped.
I was able to replace it with a bolt I had (same exact bolt). Unfortunately I was not able to get my first smoke in until 4 weeks later
I used the Minion method to start and I have to say, the setup and getting started was more simple to do than I thought (at the start!). This is a pic of my setup I had going on that day.
Once it started smoking though, I knew there were some issues. I could tell the center section was out of round and the door was not sealing well based on the smoke escaping (afterwards measured and almost 5/8" out of round). The other problems I encountered were that the lid temp gauge, see below, was getting condensation inside and was off (based on a calibrated probe through the lid vent) about 30°. Afterward, while I was cleaning the water pan noticed that the paint had blistered pretty badly.
I was able to keep it at around 235 - 260 (lid temp) the entire way, but we had some HORRIBLE wind that I think was messing with it and I wound up having to refuel a couple of times. I believe the fuel (competition briquettes) SHOULD have lasted longer than 5½ hours. Opinions/Suggestions??? But the wind was horrific and I needed to make vent adjustments every ½ hour. At the same time though, I maintained what I thought was a good temp range.
Everything finished a bit quicker than I anticipated but that was hands down some of best Q I've EVER made (see below - also is the rest of the spread I made for the day). The Pork was VERY tender (& Tasty) and just pulled so easy. The chicken and Sausage were awesome as well. I received many many compliments and the best of all was that my wife (who does NOT like pork) wound up eating multiple helpings!
I called CS later that week and explained what had happened, and without batting an eyelash, I received a new center section, leg kit, door kit. Thermometer and Water Pan are on their way!
I'm so looking forward to the second smoke this weekend!!!