New 18.5" Smokey Mountain Coming This Week!


 

ChristopherC

TVWBB Super Fan
Hey everyone,

Chris here...(aka corpfan1).

After much deliberation and research, I have a brand new Weber Smokey Mountain (18.5" version) arriving later this week.

I have been doing a ton of research and reading, following amongst others:

  • Chris Allingham (here at the Virtual Weber Bullet)
  • Harry Soo (Mr. SlapYoDaddy)
  • T-Roy Cooks
  • AmazingRibs.com
  • Phil N Florence
  • Justin (Baby Back Maniac)

A little about myself:

1) 1st time attempting to smoke (besides using a foil wrapped pouch or side box on my gas grill)
2) Live near Toronto, Canada in the Great White North (lol)
3) Own a Weber Summit 670, a Weber Go-Anywhere, and a Weber Q 2200
4) Owned a Weber Kettle as a kid/teenager years and years ago
5) Want to get a Weber Summit Charcoal next summer if feasible
6) Love barbecuing and grilling and want to get more into it now that I am settled down and mostly done traveling the world...ha


So I have now watched countless videos (about 300+ hours), and read countless amounts of info and posts on this forum and think I am ready to start using the WSM.

I plan on getting accessories and mods as I go, but want to practice and do a number of test runs before I make it a Smokey Mountain PLUS PLUS. I will likely start with ribs, pork butts and chicken...and then advance to the majors to try a brisket and some other more challenging cuts.

My first mod is to get a 17" charcoal grate and place it where the lower grate goes with a couple of firebricks on each side on top of it and then putting the OEM charcoal grate and the ring on top of that to get a 5.5" distance from the charcoal to the top rack in order to do some charcoal grilling - thoughts?

Any tips for setup and putting it together so I can watch for them in advance?

I plan to be pretty active here on the forum once I get the smoker going!

I want to THANK everyone in advance for advice and tips and the stuff I have already learned and read here on this site.

Cheers guys!
Chris / corpfan1
 
Welcome aboard.. I am about a month into an 18 WSM.. Loving it so far. Started in a similar fashion as you. If I could make a suggestion... get a handful of cooks with the WSM in stock configuration before you start making changes. There is a learning curve for sure... though it doesn't seem to be too steep. Weber isn't new to this game and they know a few things about grilling and smoking and design. The WSM is pretty solid right out of the box.

Check out The Virtual Weber Bullet site... Chris has a ton of great information

Regarding the grilling.. I have been doing this as well. Lots of ways to do it. Seems folks here lean strongly towards getting a dedicated kettle, but for now I am good with my gasser and a make-shift setup for the WSM. Check this page for some ideas. I added small tabs to the grill straps, about 5.25" down, and use a 17" charcoal great from a WSM 22 (#7441) on the tabs, as the charcoal grate. Also replaced the grill grate with a hinged grate (#7433). The second one wasn't really necessary.. The stock grill grate works fine.

If I could share one tip to save you some potential frustration. Start your cooks slow.. I am using the common Minion Method (google that one.. tons of info if you haven't found it already) for low and slow cooks, which seems to work great. But initially I started with way too many lit coals. (Ten to twelve coals seems to be good number) Temps shot through the roof. It's far easier to start with fewer lit coals, adjusting the bottom dampers earlier rather than later, and sneak up on your target temperature than it is to blow by it and struggle to get temps down. This was my greatest (only) frustration.

Have fun!!!
 
I took the same leap you have just a few weeks ago. I watched videos and went back and fourth on what type to get, and ultimately chose the WSM 18.5. Have done four cooks to date and am having a blast with it. I live in Oklahoma where it is windy everyday, tried smoking without the gaskets and had temperature spikes even with the dampers all closed. Wind was getting in the door so I added the gaskets and the next two cooks were easier to maintain a temp with a few adjustments. Also added casters, handles, and an extra charcoal grate and used stainless zip ties to attach to the other grate and charcoal ring. I will be doing my first chicken this weekend and will be the hottest cook/ smoke I’ve done. Welcome and enjoy.
 
Congrats on your purchase - you're gonna luv the WSM! (y)

I'd do a test run first empty/no meat, check to see if the door or the barrel section has got leaks. My door needed some tweaking, and my barrel section was out of round. So also check that the top grate can't accidentally shift around and tilt over (which could spill your meat down into the pan/coals - that happened to me!).

Other than that, it's all about spending time together to know your rig.
 
Thanks for the things to lookout for.

Ya door was pretty warped...lots of gaps. But I managed to overpower the tough aluminum and bend it back to close to perfect! Ha...

Looks like all is good with the round of the cylinder and the top grate (except if you move the grate over the lip beside it).

Looking good...see pics next post.

Congrats on your purchase - you're gonna luv the WSM! (y)

I'd do a test run first empty/no meat, check to see if the door or the barrel section has got leaks. My door needed some tweaking, and my barrel section was out of round. So also check that the top grate can't accidentally shift around and tilt over (which could spill your meat down into the pan/coals - that happened to me!).

Other than that, it's all about spending time together to know your rig.
 
Setting things up today...

Gonna do a burn in of super hot lump charcoal with all vents open and then eventually some pork belly burnt ends a few hours later.

My Weber Summit 670 has a new little buddy!

weber-smokey-mountain-18-charcoal-ring.jpg

weber-smokey-mountain-18-charcoal-chimney.jpg

weber-smokey-mountain-18-charcoal-chimney-hot-coals.jpg

weber-smokey-mountain-18-door-side.jpg

weber-smokey-mountain-18-thermometer-side.jpg

weber-smokey-mountain-18-new.jpg
 
So, it there any point at all to the drip/charcoal pan at the bottom? It just annoys me so far... Doubt it ever will catch any ashes right? Can it be used as a frisbee? Has anyone tried?
 
So, it there any point at all to the drip/charcoal pan at the bottom? It just annoys me so far... Doubt it ever will catch any ashes right? Can it be used as a frisbee? Has anyone tried?
That part is a heat shield. Should help keep heat in the charcoal bowl, although it can probably be used as a frisbee or a satellite dish.
 

 

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