On the fence


 
J

JWright

New member
I have been using a Masterbuilt electric smoker for 2 years and I am ready to make the jump to a charcoal smoker. I am trying to decide between the WSM 18.5 and the PBC. I mainly smoke chicken, turkey, Boston butts and ham. Would like to start doing more ribs. Any thoughts?
 
Myself, I think the WSM is a much more versatile cooker because you have superior fire control, two cooking levels, the option to use water or no water & heat diffuser or no heat diffuser. IF you like to hang food (I love doing that), there is a rack made by Weber designed to do just that. I'm sure there are other good attributes I have missed.
 
You may get different results if you ask this question on a PBC forum.

First you get the wsm. Then a bigger wsm. Then a kettle. Then a mini build. Then maybe you start looking for classic grills to restore. Seen it a hundred times.
 
I really like my WSM. One of the things I like is it come apart very easy for cleaning and setting up for cooking. I am not sure if the PBC do that.
 
I have had the 18.5 WSM and now have the PBC. It would be a toss up because you can cook on the WSM , PBC style. ...I will tell you this you can in my local WM they have the 18.5 WSM on sale for $199.
 
Thanks for the advice. The WSM was my first choice but I was intrigued by the PBC. I felt that the PBC was kind of one dimensional in many areas and I prefer the low and slow method. Looks like I will pick up the WSM this week and break it in on the 4th of July weekend. Still lots of reading and learning for on here.
 
For $10 more, get the wsm! It can do anything the pbc can and more. I too once thought about the pbc, but came to the realization that just removing the water pan would give me the same results. plus the pbc can't be shut down to save coals. Every time you run it it will burn through all of the charcoal. The wsm you can shut down and save the coals for next time.
 
Another alternative is an Ugly Drum Smoker or UDS. I had to buy everything to make mine and I spent less than $100. It could have been a lot cheaper if I was patient and scrounged around a little more. They make excellent cookers and are just as easy to control as a WSM. Add a Weber grill top and you have as much capacity as a 22.5 WSM at a fraction of the price.
 
Depends on where you ask. On another forum I frequent, the PBC has a rabid following, usually the same people who swear by UDS. Here, you will probably get more WSM recommendations. I would go for the WSM just because of superior temperature control and versatility. I've never regretted getting mine.
 
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