Craig Alumbaugh
TVWBB Guru
Thanks Charlie, I have been eyeballing those and have the same thinking as you on the long cooks
pan water or not?
- Thread starter Ron Fisher
- Start date
Thanks Charlie, I have been eyeballing those and have the same thinking as you on the long cooks
Craig Alumbaugh
TVWBB Guru
Charlie I noticed they have the IQ110 and the IQ120, which on do you have as I was thinking the IQ110 as I have 2 Mavericks and not to worried about the digital part.
Shawn W
TVWBB Emerald Member
How was it in the end?
Sorry the cook didn't go as planned, how was the end result? That's the important part. Way more important than this temp or that temp. The meat didn't care about the temp, it's already dead! Not to muddy the waters but some folks do high heat butts and brisket. We like temp consistency for predictability of finish time and sometimes as a method to yield a certain result, but if a butt's done early, great! Into a cooler topped with blankets/towels it will hold for hours on end and just keep getting softer.
Having said that I understand having a goal of some temp, say 225ºF to see what it's like for yourself and being disappointed because the cook didn't go as planned. Maybe next time.
That your WSM might have air leaks if it's that new could certainly be a culprit. I wonder if the burn was stabilized. Did you try to stabilize the temp and if so, like Todd asked, how long did you try to stabilize the temp for? Did you set the vents as you did when you were using water?
When I ran waterless my lower vents were 1/4 - 1/5 open by my eye and top was wide open. I'd often spend a couple hours monitoring before I was comfortable it was stable. Wind can play tricks on you too .. a mild breeze when you went to bed but not when you checked it.
Ron Fisher
TVWBB Member
How was it in the end?
Sorry the cook didn't go as planned, how was the end result? That's the important part. Way more important than this temp or that temp. The meat didn't care about the temp, it's already dead! Not to muddy the waters but some folks do high heat butts and brisket. We like temp consistency for predictability of finish time and sometimes as a method to yield a certain result, but if a butt's done early, great! Into a cooler topped with blankets/towels it will hold for hours on end and just keep getting softer.
Having said that I understand having a goal of some temp, say 225ºF to see what it's like for yourself and being disappointed because the cook didn't go as planned. Maybe next time.
That your WSM might have air leaks if it's that new could certainly be a culprit. I wonder if the burn was stabilized. Did you try to stabilize the temp and if so, like Todd asked, how long did you try to stabilize the temp for? Did you set the vents as you did when you were using water?
When I ran waterless my lower vents were 1/4 - 1/5 open by my eye and top was wide open. I'd often spend a couple hours monitoring before I was comfortable it was stable. Wind can play tricks on you too .. a mild breeze when you went to bed but not when you checked it.
Shawn,
It turned out great which is the magic of pork vs beef usually. Pork with its marbeling is almost impossible to turn into leather unike a brisket. Yeah I think after all the feedback from you guys I had the vents open too far and didn't take the time to let it stabilize. Next time it will be one vent at 1/3 and the others shut especially if there is any wind. I installed a nomex gasket kit prior to the cook and that really cut down on smoke loss that I had in my first cook. Practice makes perfect or I buy that ATC!
I can handle the water, but now you have gone too far!
At the end of the day all that matters is the food.
Water can be good for long cooks. Especially if you're too busy to check the fire every 30 minutes. (Fire management is the fun part for me) I thought the bark on my ribs the other day was lacking do to too much moisture. They mostly cooked on a rib rack. The flavor was good tho
Craig Alumbaugh
TVWBB Guru
As I am typing this I am in the process of doing some baked beans for my wifes work tomorrow and I have no water in the pan. I used a chimney of unlit and then half a chimney of lit and some apple wood and I just barely have my bottom vents open and the top wide open and its been holding 250° for 2 hours now. I am almost convinced on the the no water if I can keep my temp that low or even maybe a little lower.
Larry D.
TVWBB Emerald Member
I use the "Piedmont Pan" - in my case, a Brinkmann charcoal pan that I already had, on the bottom, with my old-style (shallow) WSM water pan on top. There is a gap of about an inch between the two pans at the top. I foil the inside of the WSM Pan to catch the grease. The space between the pans keeps the top one cool enough that the grease doesn't burn.
Roger R.
TVWBB Fan
Page 66 of franklin's new book he suggests using a water pan because it adds humidity which slows down the drying process of the meat and helps hasten the cooking process. Just saying.
I never use water. I did when I first started out, but I quickly found that water makes a mess, and can cause rust in your smoker. I never found it to "add moisture to the meat". I have found that 'almost' filling your water bath with clean sand, then wrapping a terra cotta tray with foil and placing the foil lined clay tray on top of the sand filled water bath, makes for an even heat every time and no futzing around with water...
Last edited:
Steven Paul
TVWBB Fan
I don't think you can really say "next time I'll set the vents 1/3" (or whatever) as I suspect you'll find that all cooks are different.
Personally if I was just starting out I'd follow pretty close to the manufacturer's recommendations, and then with some experience under my belt I'd start developing my own style, doing my own experiments, seeing what to leave in and what to leave out.. Good luck and enjoy your cooking!
Personally if I was just starting out I'd follow pretty close to the manufacturer's recommendations, and then with some experience under my belt I'd start developing my own style, doing my own experiments, seeing what to leave in and what to leave out.. Good luck and enjoy your cooking!
Page 66 of franklin's new book he suggests using a water pan because it adds humidity which slows down the drying process of the meat and helps hasten the cooking process. Just saying.
lol, was just gonna point out the same thing.
I don't know too much about the guy, but got his book for christmas.
Apparently, according the to "best things to happen in 2015"... He is.
And he is pretty adamant in multiple sections of his book about the need for a water pan.
The major difference with the WSM is the proximity and placement WRT the fire... in that its DIRECTLY above your coals. So rather it being in the cooking chamber, exposed to low heat and slowly evaporating... Its put into almost a vigorous boil by almost sitting on your coal bed, which is slightly different.
Still, I used it on my last cook.
One point I have not heard discussed much is its benefit in heat control. Well, OK, people talk all the time about how it will minimize your heat and cause more fuel consumption... But I have never seen it mentioned that with the setup of a WSM, getting the temp to rest in the low 200s basically requires choking the fire. Both Aaron and Amazingribs.com speak of the "sweet spot" for a fire and food good, delicious smoke production being ~650 to 750. Amazing ribs points to 700 as the point where the gasses released from primary combustion will ignite and secondary combustion (an actual flame, not just coal/embers) will occur if enough oxygen is present to support it. That is to say that a fire near the sweat spot will be near bursting into flames, not just burning as embers. The boiling of water may just consume enough heat to allow a healthier fire without raising cooking temps beyond acceptable limits. I plan to mess with using a full pan on my next few cooks at least. I noticed finer smoke on my last one for sure.
Tom Winslow
New member
Water pans are sometimes necessary and sometimes not. It depends on the situation. On the 22.5" WSM foil the pan and catch the drippings. It runs more stable and I can get my thin blue smoke. No issues and less fuel consumption.
My 14.5" WSMs it is essential to maintaining a stable temp IMO. Fuel consumption isn't as big of a deal as it doesn't use much fuel at all. I use lump charcoal for smoking in it to prevent ash build up. I typically add very little fuel to my smoker. It's all about controlling the air flow.
IMO on the WSM it is dependent on the size of the smoker and also dependent on the way the smoker behaves.
I think you have to experiment with water and no water to determine whether you need it or not.
Moisture being added to the meat though now that's not noticeable. It may be to some but for me I never noticed a difference.
My 14.5" WSMs it is essential to maintaining a stable temp IMO. Fuel consumption isn't as big of a deal as it doesn't use much fuel at all. I use lump charcoal for smoking in it to prevent ash build up. I typically add very little fuel to my smoker. It's all about controlling the air flow.
IMO on the WSM it is dependent on the size of the smoker and also dependent on the way the smoker behaves.
I think you have to experiment with water and no water to determine whether you need it or not.
Moisture being added to the meat though now that's not noticeable. It may be to some but for me I never noticed a difference.
Sandee McKinivan
TVWBB Member
A foiled clay saucer is all that I have used in my water pan for over one hundred smokes. The biggest difference from water for me is the larger, quicker temperature impact from my vent adjustments. How airtight your smoker is has a lot to do with how strongly vent adjustments affect the temperature.
I go with waterless for easier cleanup, less fuel usage and longer burn times.
I go with waterless for easier cleanup, less fuel usage and longer burn times.
Kevin L (NKY)
TVWBB Diamond Member
I did this also works great.