New Member Intro & 18 vs 22 data request


 
J

Jon V

New member
Hello All,
I live in the PNW and got into smoking/curing approx 3 years ago now. I have a very heavily modified electric ECB and another for spare parts but, after trying my first smoke using a lil joe charcoal base conversion and my 22.5 OTG purchase a year ago, I now acknowledge charcoal as the king fuel for burning meat.

I absolutely LOVE the 22.5 OTG and have had more fun with that this last year than all of my smoking experiments put together. And there have been alot. Homebrew temp controller, Gas/Electric combo use, Homebrew cold smoke generator to name a few. My poor SS gas monster grill hasn't been fired up since '11!

So with some holiday money coming my way- and my research complete on all other imitators, the time has come to lock in my wsm purchase. The problem is I am now struggling as many before me have with the decision on the 18 vs 22. I see the 14 has just come out which actually swings as a neutral in my book as I could see picking that up for small cooks if conserving charcoal is the goal vs firing up a 22 all the time. However, the need to start with one unit which swings my decision to the 18 as an all around/ all the time unit.

I have a family of 4, my typical cooks are for 6-8. Rarely 10+ but the 22 would be such a nice to have. Just to know I could if I wanted ya know?

Although I ran every search I could for the last 24hrs straight on this site (thank you all btw) and looked at all the pictures of how much fits on each- I am humbly requesting you guys help me kick this dead horse yet again with helping me find some specific data.

I am looking for this specific info:

1. Ramp up times for the 18 and 22. How long does the wsm take to get to temp ~225F from a cold start? Is it significantly longer firing up a 22 for a cook vs the 18? Does this answer change if using the minion method vs a standard burn?

2. I've seen the complaints of 15lbs of charcoal on the 22 for a 12hr cook. What I can't find is how much charcoal is consumed for a 12hr cook at the same temp on an 18? How much fuel will I really be saving if always running an 18 vs a 22?

3. Whats the largest turkey that will fit in an 18?

4. When rolling ribs - do they uncoil and lay flat when fully cooked? Or do they retain the coiled position?

5. Anyone have the consumption rate on the 14 yet? (see question #2.)


Thank you all for helping me on my path- as I see you all have done so graciously with others before me.
Jon V.
 
Well I have both so I will answer your questions based of what I have seen or experienced.

I started out with the 18" and then upgraded to the 22" You would think 4" makes that much difference but it is huge and I was always wishing I just had a little extra room. So if you can swing one over the other I would for this reason go with the 22.

1. I assume 18 will heat up a little faster than a 22 but not enough in my mind to sway me from not using it.
2. I do use less fuel in my 18 than 22. Again you are heating more area in a 22 so more fuel will get consumed. With a fuel ring full the best I have done is 16 hrs on my 22 running 250-275* I can say that after a normal 8-10 hr cook and I shut my 22 down the next time to fill it back up is around 8-10 lbs of KBB
3. Biggest I have done is a 12# turkey..guessing you could go 14-16
4. yes ribs will lay flat. I use my 22 for ribs in comps in a rib rack. when I take them off they are still flexible and will go flat.


Again I would go with 22 and then add a 18 when you can and you will be able to do anything you want and have room to do it.
 
So- about a pound an hour.... Your post prompted me to run some numbers on 'coal costs. For some reason I had it in my head that 'coal was about $1 a lb. Glad I looked it up. I picked up kbb on a slick deal this summer for $.25/lb.

Even if the 18 consumed 1/2 the fuel the 22 did- I'm not going to sweat an extra $2 a cook. I can't believe it's a real gripe.....

Good man Derrick- thanks for the help.
I'll go with the 22.
-Cheers! - Now to find out how to ensure I get a '14 model.... hmm....
 
I also own both sizes, but I started with the 22 and added the 18 when I found a screamin' deal on one. (2013 model used maybe twice for $100)
I also built the mini-wsm, but waiting for the 14"er to pop up on craigslist to complete the collection. :)

If I had to only have one, without a doubt it would be the 22. The 18 is nice, and I'll never get rid of it, but I love my 22. Granted, I don't fire it up for a single chicken or pork butt because it's a lot of charcoal for a little cook. On the other hand, I could fire it up and leave it for 10 hours without worrying about temps or fuel.

They all have their place on the market and pros/cons for each one. But you'll never read where someone wished they had less space for a cook. lol
 
I was in the same boat.. but I scored on an 18.5" on CL and it worked out great for my family of four.. it handle find for Thanksgiving, making enough for 12!
 
Welcome Neighbor, I purchased my 22 WSM this past Spring and I have never looked back, I'm sure that all of the cooks that I have done could have easily fit on an 18 and I would have been just fine. When purchasing the 22 I made a decision that this was a lifetime purchase, the WSM will last me my lifetime and at no point in my lifetime will I ever be able to say "I wish I had a bigger WSM". I can't answer most of your questions because I only own a 22. To me charcoal is cheap and I just close the vents down when I'm done with my cook and use what is left for the next cook. I apologize for not being much help with any of your questions, but just remind yourself, this is a lifetime purchase and families do grow exponentially.

I look forward to more post from you showing us how you work that new WSM as well as your OTG.
 
Jon V said:
1. Ramp up times for the 18 and 22. How long does the wsm take to get to temp ~225F from a cold start? Is it significantly longer firing up a 22 for a cook vs the 18? Does this answer change if using the minion method vs a standard burn?
Click to expand...
Not sure on the comparison, but ramp-up times are affected by how much thermal mass is in the smoker and how much lit fuel you put in. I run my water pan dry (less thermal mass) and put about 10 lit coals on top of a load of unlit in my 22", and it's up to 225F in about 15-20 mins with the vents wide open with an outside temp around 40F. More lit coals will get you there faster but you have a greater chance of overshooting. Fewer lit coals will be more forgiving but take longer to come up to temp. I generally run up to 225 and set the damper for 250, then put the meat on. I hit 250 at about the 30 minute mark.

Jon V said:
2. I've seen the complaints of 15lbs of charcoal on the 22 for a 12hr cook. What I can't find is how much charcoal is consumed for a 12hr cook at the same temp on an 18? How much fuel will I really be saving if always running an 18 vs a 22?
Click to expand...
Fuel consumption depends on a lot of things. You'll save fuel if you run you water pan dry. You'll save fuel if you smoke when it's warm out.

In my 22" in the summer time in TX, I can hold 230-250 for nearly 20 hours with an 11lb bag of Kingsford Competition. That's with daytime temps around 100F and night time around 85F. In the winter, that same 11lb bag won't make it 12 hours. I don't open my pit until it's time to do something with the meat--the more you open it, the more fuel you'll burn.

Jon V said:
3. Whats the largest turkey that will fit in an 18?
Click to expand...
Can't help you there, I only do bone-in turkey breasts. You could probably fit 2, maybe 4 on an 18", you can fit 6 on a 22".

Jon V said:
4. When rolling ribs - do they uncoil and lay flat when fully cooked? Or do they retain the coiled position?
Click to expand...
Never rolled ribs either, a 22" will hold 3 racks of baby backs or 3 trimmed racks of St. Louis spares per rack laying flat. More if you use a rib rack.

Just get a 22". It doesn't waste *that* much fuel relative to an 18", especially if you're just doing small cooks. And you'll have the capacity when you want it.
 
You guys are great. I really didn't expect that it would only take ~30 mins to come up to temp. I guess you'd have to figure too that lighting the 10 charcoals would also be figured in - so maybe 45 mins tops?

Heck- it takes me that long to pull out all of my electric temp controller gear now for a cook...

You all have me convinced. 22' for the room* (how cool would it be for presentation cooking a whole salmon flat?!?!?!) :cool: ....and yeah- I know cutting the filet up would produce better smoke dispersion results- but, wow factor here folks! You know- just once for show...

*this of course unless I find a SCREAMING deal on an 18 as my brothers above have mentioned.
-Now- Off to the modification forum to figure out some homebrew stoker options.
 
Just FYI I have been going almost 17 hrs now on 20 lbs of KBB running almost the whole night at 230 in 25* temps. I bumped it up to 250* at the 14 hr mark and just looked and temp is dropping so I am about out of fuel. I will post pics and graphs today if you want to look. Show you some other app toys if you like that stuff.
 
Hopefully my experience can help. I bought an 18 in 2011, and sold it to my buddy last weekend. He was in the market after his ECB pooped out on him. I always wished I had more room so BBs could fit better. Anyway, I pulled the trigger, and special ordered a 2014 (with grommet) from a local BBQ store. I'm not really worried about the extra fuel consumption. If it becomes a problem, I'll make a smaller charcoal ring. To me, it's better to have the space, and not need it, than to need it, and not have it. The 18 is a great cooker, but I wanted more room. I also have the mini I built last summer, and use it for smaller cooks.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.

 

Back
Top