New owner/Old WSM


 
J

Joel Hogston

TVWBB Member
I picked up a 2nd hand 18.5 WSM the other week . Date vent code E, it's in great condition and was told by previous owner it had only been used twice.
Anyway I've cooked two butts in it and a couple of racks of ribs but am still having trouble keeping temps between 225 & 250f and it won't snuff out after the cook with all the vents closed. I'm reluctant to do any mods to it like handles and thermometer as I'd like to keep it original. I've installed a Nomex gasket around the door
Just wondering if I should put more gaskets on it and where?
And how long does it take to season it so temps are easier to control?
Cheers
Joel
 
Joel Hogston said:
How else can I tell if its out of round and what can I do about it?
Click to expand...
Rotate the mid-section first than the lid, than notice if something looks out of round. If it's not true you should be able to see it.
Mines never been true, I just rotate the mid-section first, till I feel a seal than do the same with the lid.

Tim
 
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How are you burning the coals? Minion method? All at once? Do all of the parts fit good?

Joel Hogston said:
I picked up a 2nd hand 18.5 WSM the other week . Date vent code E, it's in great condition and was told by previous owner it had only been used twice.
Anyway I've cooked two butts in it and a couple of racks of ribs but am still having trouble keeping temps between 225 & 250f and it won't snuff out after the cook with all the vents closed. I'm reluctant to do any mods to it like handles and thermometer as I'd like to keep it original. I've installed a Nomex gasket around the door
Just wondering if I should put more gaskets on it and where?
And how long does it take to season it so temps are easier to control?
Cheers
Joel
Click to expand...
 
The base is tight but not sure of sweet spot on the lid.
I've been using the minion method for low and slow cooks but WSM is still warm 10hrs after closing all the vents
 
Check the bottom vents. Sometimes the damper gets bent and isn't tight enough. Air goes between damper and smoker.
 
Ok checked the bottom vents and there all sitting nice and tight around bowl
What vent settings are normally used to keep between 225-250f?
I'm still finding I have to adjust the vents every half hour to correct the temps
 
This happens with my WSM too but I did not notice it till after I lit the coals. I pushed the bent tap with my shoe and the vent flattened out and worked fine. The door also needed some reshaping. All the other parts were good to go.

J Hoke said:
Check the bottom vents. Sometimes the damper gets bent and isn't tight enough. Air goes between damper and smoker.
Click to expand...
 
Hi Joel, you aren't really altering much by glueing Nomex to the lower mid section. The nomax will take care of any of the out of round issues and give you a pretty tight seal. Just take a tape measure and do the diameter of the bowl from different positions and you will see how much out of round it is. I had to do that on my first one. While I was at it I did the upper mid section too but I'm not sure sure it's necessary. Anyway you will notice a big difference if you seal up the mid section to the bowl. Mine was a 1/2 an inch out of round.

The other thing you can do if you have or can borrow pipe clamps is to cover the edge of the bowl with a towel, lay the clamp across the top of the bowl and start to pull in the out of round area but you can only do it a little at a time. You don't want to chip or crack the porcelain. Problem is the metal wants to spring back. I worked at mine by doing this several times and made it better than it was but not perfect so I did the gasket.
 
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Joel Hogston said:
Ok checked the bottom vents and there all sitting nice and tight around bowl
What vent settings are normally used to keep between 225-250f?
I'm still finding I have to adjust the vents every half hour to correct the temps
Click to expand...

There's no firm setting for the vents due to many variables. Issues such as air moving in and out due to seals, amount of meat in smoker (cold meat acts as a heat sink), amount of lit coals, outside air temp, wind, etc. all will affect the vent settings. I use a reliable thermo and adjust to the temp I read off of it but I don't get anal about it. That being said, if your cooking temps are off by as much as 25* that still should pose any real issues with the finished product. You should still be able to reasonably hold steady temps if your WSM is a bit out of round or the door doesn't seal real well. You just have to compensate for those issues. Those issues would mean you are introducing more air into the WSM which will cause temps to climb. Fine. Since you have more air coming in from those sources then cut back your bottom vents (top vent should normally be 100% open). Make a vent adjustment and wait about 15 mins to see if temps stabilize. Also, you'll find it much easier to set desired cooking temps as the temps climb. So, if your target temp is 250 then around 225 start closing off your vents. If you've over-shot your target temp it is more difficult to bring the temps down. Using lump vs. briquette charcoal also poses issues for some users. Lump is not uniform in size or shape and thus burns in a less predictable manner. I'd recommend using briquettes initially to get a good feel for vent adjustments.

Paul
 
Are you measuring temp at grate or top vent? There is at least a 25 or 30 degree difference on mine. For me to maintain 225-250 at grate, my bottom vents were barely open with top vent fully open. I say were because I now use an Auber with mine all the time so all bottom vents closed except the one with fan. Do you have to correct for low or high temp?
 
You said that your fire is not snuffing out. To me, that's the benchmark for making sure my wsm is tight. You can worry about hitting your target temp later. The first thing you need to do is get the unit tight enough that it will snuff out the fire. Once you have your unit reasonably tight, it will be a lot easier to control temp. Look for any place where smoke is leaking out. Another thing you can do is put a flash light in the unit and close everything and see where the light comes out. Some tightening will occur from cooking, but if the fire isn't going out when everything is closed, cooking on it more isn't likely to change that.
 
Thanks everyone for your replies
I'm using the Maverick ET-732 to monitor temps
I might have to buy some more Nomex gasket but I'm just worried the gasket will be to wide , making it difficult to slot the mid section back in to the bowl. Temps have been to high I've only been able to keep the temp steady between 275-300f
I've noticed smoke coming out of the door even though there is a gasket around it
There is a fair amount of play between the latch and knob on the door
Any more input would be great
Cheers
Joel
 
Work on the door. I didn't say anything about the door because you said you had a gasket but that is usually what needs to be fixed. If you have a gasket, there shouldn't be any smoke coming from around the door. You could get a new door from Weber or there is a stainless steel after market door sold by Canjun Bandit it think. There's been good reviews about that door on this site. Good luck.
 
Well. Someone on this forum told me - don't sweat the small stuff. How does the food turn out? If it's good. Be happy. Plus, I always let my coals burn out. I open all vents. Don't see much advantage of reusing slightly burned coals. JMHO.
 
I have a 1983 WSM. It fits so tight at the base, I have to press down and make sure it is seated all the way. It was running hot and I had not noticed that it was sitting up a little. It was getting air at the bottom/middle connection.
 
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