New to me WSM 18.5, Couple questions........


 
ChuckD

ChuckD

TVWBB Fan
So i picked up a 18.5 WSM and was looking over all the different mods that make life a bit easier..Some definitely make sense. So there a 3 that i now have and have a couple questions on all 3 of them. I got:

1. Unknown BBQ Lid Hinge Kit
2. Arborfab Charcoal Grate Assembly W/Minion Basket
3. Alternative Water Pan

A. For the Unknown BB Lid hinge.. Can you put it on the side? or does everyone put in on the back and open the lid from front to back ,whcih seems weird do to where the handle is on top to open the lid. Makes more sense to put the hinge on the side to me and open to the right or left.

B. For the Arborfab charcoal Grate, do you guys leave the original grate underneath, or remove it completly.

C. And finally . i got a new water bowl/pan . that Chris had recommended in one of his videos.. The shallow SS Mixing bowl from Amazon.. Heres the Problem, The one i got doiesnt fit.. Its suppose to 14.75" dia and the one they sent me is 16" dia.. Its is the MXB-1300Q , 13 quart bowl, Its stamped right on the bottom.. Im guesssing they changed the dimensions of the bowl. I just want to see if anyone else has had the problem..i Found 1 on ebay that suppose to be the correct dimensions , which i hope it is or ill have 2 huge bowls that i have no use for...

Any help would be Great....
Thanks , Chuck D

​

 
To try to offer one mans opinion
A-I think as long as you put the hinge inline with a leg (a simple set up positioning practice) it won’t make a lot of difference. See below.
B- no idea, mine’s wired stock components (I’m Cheap!)
C- I’ve never used a water bowl. A waste of time for me.
Sorry, not a lot of help but, just what I do.
I don’t have any issue with setting the lid on three sticks to keep it from chipping or making a mess. I have installed an “Unknown” hinge on my 18” kettle in the “Overperformer” and, it works like a charm!
There is always a use for big mixing bowls, just wait😉!
I’ve become a firm believer in the less is more aspect of almost all the cooking I do. Less to buy, learn, clean, store, worry about. It’s just more important for me to make food to make guests happy than to have bells and whistles with regard to accessories. Which is weird because I have a TON of accessories, some used rarely but, when I need one, I have it at the ready!
 
Ty Timothy.. I have read where some use the water bowl and some dont.. I just want to see how it works with the water first, Then i may try other methods. I read some use clay pots or something like that.. But you are right about the mixing bowl.. Probably get used for something. lol
 
Timothy F. Lewis said:
To try to offer one mans opinion
A-I think as long as you put the hinge inline with a leg (a simple set up positioning practice) it won’t make a lot of difference. See below.
B- no idea, mine’s wired stock components (I’m Cheap!)
C- I’ve never used a water bowl. A waste of time for me.
Sorry, not a lot of help but, just what I do.
I don’t have any issue with setting the lid on three sticks to keep it from chipping or making a mess. I have installed an “Unknown” hinge on my 18” kettle in the “Overperformer” and, it works like a charm!
There is always a use for big mixing bowls, just wait😉!
I’ve become a firm believer in the less is more aspect of almost all the cooking I do. Less to buy, learn, clean, store, worry about. It’s just more important for me to make food to make guests happy than to have bells and whistles with regard to accessories. Which is weird because I have a TON of accessories, some used rarely but, when I need one, I have it at the ready!
Click to expand...
ChuckD said:
Ty Timothy.. I have read where some use the water bowl and some dont.. I just want to see how it works with the water first, Then i may try other methods. I read some use clay pots or something like that.. But you are right about the mixing bowl.. Probably get used for something. lol
Click to expand...
ChuckD said:
So i picked up a 18.5 WSM and was looking over all the different mods that make life a bit easier..Some definitely make sense. So there a 3 that i now have and have a couple questions on all 3 of them. I got:

1. Unknown BBQ Lid Hinge Kit
2. Arborfab Charcoal Grate Assembly W/Minion Basket
3. Alternative Water Pan

A. For the Unknown BB Lid hinge.. Can you put it on the side? or does everyone put in on the back and open the lid from front to back ,whcih seems weird do to where the handle is on top to open the lid. Makes more sense to put the hinge on the side to me and open to the right or left.

B. For the Arborfab charcoal Grate, do you guys leave the original grate underneath, or remove it completly.

C. And finally . i got a new water bowl/pan . that Chris had recommended in one of his videos.. The shallow SS Mixing bowl from Amazon.. Heres the Problem, The one i got doiesnt fit.. Its suppose to 14.75" dia and the one they sent me is 16" dia.. Its is the MXB-1300Q , 13 quart bowl, Its stamped right on the bottom.. Im guesssing they changed the dimensions of the bowl. I just want to see if anyone else has had the problem..i Found 1 on ebay that suppose to be the correct dimensions , which i hope it is or ill have 2 huge bowls that i have no use for...

Any help would be Great....
Thanks , Chuck D

The hinge would work good as long as you line it up with a leg keeping it from tilting over I did away with my charcoal basket I replaced it with a lave rock basket which holds 18 pounds of Charcoal for those long cooks I made my own heat deflector and it sits on top of that basket that looks like a propeller which helps circulate air and get an even heat all the way works good with the blower I have for it did away with the water pan don’t use it No fancy accessories just things that I need to get a good cook​

Click to expand...
 
Jeff Boudman said:
I’d be doing a search for a Brinkmann 15 inch charcoal pan to use as a water pan. It’s wider and less deep than the Weber.
I’d buy 2 because It’s nice to have a backup.
Click to expand...
So. It's the charcoal pan from Brinkmann that I'm looking for?. I thought it was the water bowl...
 
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ChuckD said:
So. It's the charcoal pan from Brinkmann that I'm looking for?. I thought it was the water bowl...
Click to expand...
Ok, so what you are looking for is the Brinkmann charcoal pan that you are going to use as the water bowl/pan in you WSM 18. See the Brinkmann style smoker has an empty bottom that the charcoal pan goes in the very bottom, then a charcoal grate goes on top of that. Check out this article from our amazing leader Chris Allingham over on the homepage.

www.virtualweberbullet.com

Alternative Water Pans & Diffusers For Weber Smokers - The Virtual Weber Bullet

Alternative water pans and diffusers are discussed for the Weber Smokey Mountain Cooker that solve problems related to stock Weber water pans.
www.virtualweberbullet.com www.virtualweberbullet.com

I place these two not perfect pictures to try to show you how a Brinkmann style cooker is set up. *Note* this is actually not a Brinkmann but a Walmart brand with the same set up. These are photos from when my daughter cleaned it up and had it sold with minutes of posting in on facebook after I picked up my two Webers. The first photo shows the charcoal pan in with air gaps on both sides. The second picture show the open barrel with the charcoal pan out of the cooker.


20200525_184330.jpg

20200525_184432.jpg
 
Here is a diagram of the Brinkmann, see the Brinkmann water pan is too small for the WSM 18, it is that charcoal grate that fits correctly.

1625229373911.png
 
I'd check out the hinge made by Hunsaker and sold at Amazingsmokers.com. It doesn't extend out as far so the stock cover still fits. Its opens up further for better access. You can quickly reposition the lid to change the location of the exhaust vent if you want.

I haven't changed the charcoal ring and grate. If the ash can't get past the grate then the fire will extinguish itself. I've seen videos where the ash couldn't get through this type of grate. I prefer stock grates positioned at 90° to each other.

As for an alternate water pan, I recommend a Piermont pan set up. It allows indirect cooking, doesn't use as much fuel as heating water does, collects drippings and is easy to clean. It never spills and extinguishs your fuel either.
 
My 0.02p

A. For the Unknown BB Lid hinge.. Can you put it on the side? or does everyone put in on the back and open the lid from front to back ,whcih seems weird do to where the handle is on top to open the lid. Makes more sense to put the hinge on the side to me and open to the right or left.

I would put it in line with one of the legs for stability.

B. For the Arborfab charcoal Grate, do you guys leave the original grate underneath, or remove it completly.

There is no need to have the original charcoal grate installed with the Arborfab charcoal grate w/Minion bskt.

C. And finally . i got a new water bowl/pan . that Chris had recommended in one of his videos.. The shallow SS Mixing bowl from Amazon.. Heres the Problem, The one i got doiesnt fit.. Its suppose to 14.75" dia and the one they sent me is 16" dia.. Its is the MXB-1300Q , 13 quart bowl, Its stamped right on the bottom.. Im guesssing they changed the dimensions of the bowl. I just want to see if anyone else has had the problem..i Found 1 on ebay that suppose to be the correct dimensions , which i hope it is or ill have 2 huge bowls that i have no use for...

Personally I found the whole waterpan thing tedious. Foiling the pan, dealing with its greasy, watery contents afterwards. Ditched it pronto. Replaced it with stock 3mm solid stainless steel heat-sink disc, the same diameter as the waterpan. Clean up is a breeze, and you have much more room through the access door between the charcoal basket and disc. Plus, if you really want to use water, you can always place a round foil pan on top of the disc.
 
The shallow SS Mixing bowl from Amazon.. Heres the Problem, The one i got doiesnt fit.. Its suppose to 14.75" dia and the one they sent me is 16" dia.. Its is the MXB-1300Q , 13 quart bowl, Its stamped right on the bottom.. Im guesssing they changed the dimensions of the bowl. I just want to see if anyone else has had the problem..i Found 1 on ebay that suppose to be the correct dimensions , which i hope it is or ill have 2 huge bowls that i have no use for...

Several of us on here have had Amazon send us the wrong, too big bowl. Chris' original link on Amazon for this item often results in getting the wrong bowl. Many other online vendors get the models and dimensions mixed up too. It is close to random whether you get the right or wrong one.

Below are two obviously different model bowls. BOTH are labeled Winco MXB 1300Q 13 QT. The one you want is 14.5 top diameter and 3.5 high. The wrong one is 16 and 4.5. The correct one looks flatter/shallower than the wrong one.

P.S. I highly recommend the FireDial diffuser plate over all other available options. Cheap, well made, fits right, works great, saves space (being flat) inside the cooker, fuel efficient, cleans up in ten seconds, no sand or foil needed. If I want to use some water, foil pan on bottom rack.
 

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Jim C in Denver said:
The shallow SS Mixing bowl from Amazon.. Heres the Problem, The one i got doiesnt fit.. Its suppose to 14.75" dia and the one they sent me is 16" dia.. Its is the MXB-1300Q , 13 quart bowl, Its stamped right on the bottom.. Im guesssing they changed the dimensions of the bowl. I just want to see if anyone else has had the problem..i Found 1 on ebay that suppose to be the correct dimensions , which i hope it is or ill have 2 huge bowls that i have no use for...

Several of us on here have had Amazon send us the wrong, too big bowl. Chris' original link on Amazon for this item often results in getting the wrong bowl. Many other online vendors get the models and dimensions mixed up too. It is close to random whether you get the right or wrong one.

Below are two obviously different model bowls. BOTH are labeled Winco MXB 1300Q 13 QT. The one you want is 14.5 top diameter and 3.5 high. The wrong one is 16 and 4.5. The correct one looks flatter/shallower than the wrong one.

P.S. I highly recommend the FireDial diffuser plate over all other available options. Cheap, well made, fits right, works great, saves space (being flat) inside the cooker, fuel efficient, cleans up in ten seconds, no sand or foil needed. If I want to use some water, foil pan on bottom rack.
Click to expand...
OK. ty Jim.. I figured it was some kinda mix up with the size.. Im gonna get the Firedial also.. Its cheap enough to try it out
 
Chuck -- FireDial works great imo. Just recognize that the cooker will (all other things being equal) run a bit hotter than when using water. So take that into account in terms of vent settings and how much lit you start with. No big deal, though, to run at 225-250F. And that's helpful when you want to run at 275F.
 
I made my own version of the arborfab minion using expanded steel. The diamond cutouts are larger than the holes offered on the arborfab minion. I cut a 6" strip 48" long and rounded it to the best of my ability. I then cut a bottom circle out of the expanded metal to the same dimensions arborfab lists on it's website. It's not as pretty and you need gloves but it works well.
 
Jim C in Denver said:
Chuck -- FireDial works great imo. Just recognize that the cooker will (all other things being equal) run a bit hotter than when using water. So take that into account in terms of vent settings and how much lit you start with. No big deal, though, to run at 225-250F. And that's helpful when you want to run at 275F.
Click to expand...
I kinda figured from what i read that it would run hotter, so i started with the bottom vents about 1/4 open with top fully open.. That was pretty much the setting most of the day.. it sat at 225-230 no problem at all.. I did open and close the vents slightly every now and then to see what temps i could achieve (lower or Higher) and it worked like a champ. Im very happy with my setup.
 
MatthewR said:
I made my own version of the arborfab minion using expanded steel. The diamond cutouts are larger than the holes offered on the arborfab minion. I cut a 6" strip 48" long and rounded it to the best of my ability. I then cut a bottom circle out of the expanded metal to the same dimensions arborfab lists on it's website. It's not as pretty and you need gloves but it works well.
Click to expand...
Thats great if you can make one yourself and save a few bucks, Nice job.. The minion seemed to work well for me. Also the charcoal grate worked awesome. I went back out last night to clean out the ash and it did a great job of just letting the fine ash fall through. No big chunks got wasted at all.. It was just all fine dust at the bottom
 
There was a Brinkmann smoker called the Gourmet, which was a little bigger than the so-called ECB (El Cheapo Brinkmann). The water pan for the Gourmet was essentially identical to the ECB charcoal pan, so if you happen to find a Gourmet somewhere you can use its water pan in the WSM. Also, the cooking grate from the Gourmet is the right size to use as a second charcoal grate (at 90 degrees to the WSM charcoal grate).
 
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