Hey everyone, new guy here. Thanks to all the topics and posts, I've been able to break in my new WSM 18 with two successful cooks so far (BBR, chicken). I will be trying a turkey breast this weekend in preparation for Thanksgiving.
Before I start asking all my questions in the New Owner forum, I thought I would provide a quick list of the mods I did to my new smoker and what I bought. It took me quite a bit of time to come up with this list, so I figured a summary could help out some other owners. Unless I specify, I picked up all of my stuff at Home Depot.
There are of course many other worthwile mods to do, but these seem to be the most used and easiest to implement.
Mod #1 - Handles
Equipment
Genie Garage Door Handles Model: DLH-BC (from Lowe's)
Total Cost - $4.20
Time to complete - maybe 5 minutes
Review - Absolute must do. I felt somewhat rushed/nervous during my first cook, making sure I got everything in place. Having the body put together (including water pan and grate) and able to just drop in on top of the bottom bowl was worth it. Also makes it very easy when it comes time to clean out the ashes. If you only do one mod, this has to be it.
Mod #2 - 3-in-1 Charcoal Grate
Equipment
Weber grill grate Model: 7440
(2) 8" long 3/8" eyebolts with nuts
(4) 3/8" Fender washers
(2) 3/8" nuts
Grip-Rite Rebar ties (100/bag)
Total Cost - $15
Time to complete - about an hour
Review - Very worthwhile, but why did it take an hour to put together? Mainly due to my OCD and lack of fine motor skills, lining up the charcoal grates at 90 degrees and tying them off so they would stay in place took me far longer than the average person. Note that I have a total of 4 nuts for the mod - one on the bottom of the grate and one on top. I use it after every cook to separate the ash from my leftover briquettes. Would definitely recommend as important, just behind the handles.
Mod #3 - Bottom Cooking Grate handles
Equipment
(2) 4" long 3/8" eyebolts with nuts
(4) 3/8" Fender washers
(2) 3/8" nuts
Total Cost - $4
Time to complete - 5-10 minutes
Review - This is the only mod I did that has not been used. Since I mainly cook for a small family, I have yet to even put the bottom cooking grate in the WSM. It's an easy mod to do, so if you ever plan on using the bottom cooking grate, I would say go ahead and do it. It's cheap and quick to put together.
Anyway, I hope this list helps out. Just trying to pay forward all of the great ideas already on this forum!
Dan
Before I start asking all my questions in the New Owner forum, I thought I would provide a quick list of the mods I did to my new smoker and what I bought. It took me quite a bit of time to come up with this list, so I figured a summary could help out some other owners. Unless I specify, I picked up all of my stuff at Home Depot.
There are of course many other worthwile mods to do, but these seem to be the most used and easiest to implement.
Mod #1 - Handles
Equipment
Genie Garage Door Handles Model: DLH-BC (from Lowe's)
Total Cost - $4.20
Time to complete - maybe 5 minutes
Review - Absolute must do. I felt somewhat rushed/nervous during my first cook, making sure I got everything in place. Having the body put together (including water pan and grate) and able to just drop in on top of the bottom bowl was worth it. Also makes it very easy when it comes time to clean out the ashes. If you only do one mod, this has to be it.
Mod #2 - 3-in-1 Charcoal Grate
Equipment
Weber grill grate Model: 7440
(2) 8" long 3/8" eyebolts with nuts
(4) 3/8" Fender washers
(2) 3/8" nuts
Grip-Rite Rebar ties (100/bag)
Total Cost - $15
Time to complete - about an hour
Review - Very worthwhile, but why did it take an hour to put together? Mainly due to my OCD and lack of fine motor skills, lining up the charcoal grates at 90 degrees and tying them off so they would stay in place took me far longer than the average person. Note that I have a total of 4 nuts for the mod - one on the bottom of the grate and one on top. I use it after every cook to separate the ash from my leftover briquettes. Would definitely recommend as important, just behind the handles.
Mod #3 - Bottom Cooking Grate handles
Equipment
(2) 4" long 3/8" eyebolts with nuts
(4) 3/8" Fender washers
(2) 3/8" nuts
Total Cost - $4
Time to complete - 5-10 minutes
Review - This is the only mod I did that has not been used. Since I mainly cook for a small family, I have yet to even put the bottom cooking grate in the WSM. It's an easy mod to do, so if you ever plan on using the bottom cooking grate, I would say go ahead and do it. It's cheap and quick to put together.
Anyway, I hope this list helps out. Just trying to pay forward all of the great ideas already on this forum!
Dan
