new 14.5 WSM picked up and set up today!!!


 
Jeff Padell

Jeff Padell

TVWBB Pro
I just got back from the BBQ Barn in Arlington MA, picked up my new 14.5! They got 8 in and have 7 left www.bbqbarn.com

It took about 30 minutes to set up while watching TV. They didn't have one set up yet so I did a family picture here at home. I am firing it up right now.

I tried the middle section from my Mini but it won't fit on the lower bowl as it is slightly smaller than the bowl and when I put it on the WSM middle section it is smaller that the diameter of the middle section but will rid on the brackets for the grate, but then you can't use the grate. Personally if I need that much capacity I will fire up my 22.5 or fire the 14.5 and the mini separately.

It looks really nice and well made.











 
Since I hadn't planned to smoke anything today but my middle son wanted me to burn out anything in it, I just threw a cast iron fry pan with 2 hot dogs sitting in some olive oil and vegetable oil it, right now it is at 250, just seasoning.
Tomorrow I am doing 2 rack of ribs and a 3 pound pork butt, not on the 14.5 but on the 22.5. I will do a 2 pound butt on the 14.5 to see how it does. The ribs are for the Halloween Party the wife is having, they will be "zombie ribs"

not sure if I will add handles to the middle section yet or not, the cover won't fit with handles (my opinion) but a plastic trash bag would.

There was some other observation I wanted to make but can't remember what it was ( CRS disease - Can't Remember Squat )
 
Going to do two small pork butts on it tomorrow. Looking at it I could probably do the two racks of spares on it, if I cut them in half, the spares on the top grate and the butts on the bottom. I may well do that anyway as I have a rib rack. My concern is it is a party but they are not depending on the ribs and butt, it is just the icing on the cake. I do know I can do the 2 racks complete on the 22.5 but it will use alot of coal, vs the 14.5

What I did to season it and the temps I got are: I put 2/3 of a chimney of unlit in the bottom and then lit 4/5's of a chimney and poured it on top. Put it back together and it maintained 250 degrees for the last 4 hours, actually it hit 325+ for a couple hours, I had left the bottom vents open. so my feeling is that if I load the charcoal ring up and then take 1/2-2/3 out and lite them up in the chimney and pour them on top I should be able to maintain 250+ for 5 hours easy.
I figure about 5 hours for the butt on the bottom rack and then 2-2 (2 unwrapped 2 wrapped on the spares) i.e. 4 hours on the top rack for the spares.

There you go, ANYONE can do ribs and butt on a 22 but doing it on the 14 will be fun :wsm:
 
Very nice Jeff! Will the 3 cement blocks be the right cooking height, or would raising higher make it easier?
 
Doing the cook, the butt was all in pieces when I opened it, the biggest was just under 2 lbs and had a knife slice in it, horrible piece of meat. I cut the ribs in half for the rack.

Having trouble keeping the temp above 225, it is 40 outside and windy, that may be part of it
 
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