Problem keeping temps up in WSM

[Dave Russell]

Originally posted by Neal W. (Mashpee, MA):
Dave, I can't comment on what you are getting for temps in your WSM. I can only comment on what temps I've experienced with mine. I measure my temps with the lid Thermometer, and I use another in the top vent hole. The Weber OEM thermometer indicates about 25 degrees cooler then the thermometer in the vent. I checked the one in the vent in boiling water.

I've never attempted a HH cook with the Weber WSM. That isn't what I purchased it for. I cook low and slow with it, and my vents are never open more then 1/8 after the smoker has reached the target temp which is 225 to 235 degrees. As I've already stated my WSM will hold that temp all day. The fact that my smoker is new may allow more air to enter the cooker. That also may influence my temps. After only 10 cooks I don't have a lot of build up.

I use the Minion method with Kingsford blue exclusively. I use fruit woods such as either apple, peach, or cherry for smoke.

I was curious to see if I was the only one who reached such high temps with a WSM. I found that I'm not.

Neal, of course you're not the only one who can get 345* in your wsm with the vents only 50% open. LOTS of folks have leaky cookers.

Now if you're talking about running tests with no meat in it, maybe in direct sunlight and no wind...yeah, any cooker will run hotter when empty, but I just assumed you meant actually cooking something at 345* with the vents only 50% open....Like I said earlier, "Am I missing something?"

Kidding aside though, if it works for ya, that's all that matters, huh? FYI though, a guy that sometimes posts here and often on another forum has SIX 18.5" wsms. Anyway, he claims not to notice much or any difference in the way they cook after his annual deep cleaning of all of them and in a post a while back seemed to dismiss the idea of crud build-up changing how cookers run significantly. I wouldn't know as I don't ever clean mine that much.

Regardless of his claim though, my point is that my wsm is a LOT more like the OP of this thread ("Problem keeping temps up in WSM") than the occasional post I've seen mentioning a wsm that runs as hot as your's. Think of it like this. It's not like the OP's wsm or my own can be defective or anything. Know what I mean? AIR is the issue, and if a wsm consistantly runs cool, it's because it's tight and not leaking in the usual places. If you notice, it seems that a great deal of internet posts regarding hot running cookers are talking about the BIG 22.5" WSM, and the consensus is that the door fit isn't near what Weber gets with the classic 18.5" cooker.

 

[Neal W. (Mashpee MA)]

Hi Tibor,

After reading through your post, and some of the others on the forum I think that I'm on the brink of a life time of experimentation, and learning. I'm new to the WSM, but not to BBQ. The Weber WSM is so consistent that I feel that I've learned more about the art of low and slow over the last few cooks that I've learned in all of the years past. Reality tells me that I've just scratched the surface.

Using the Minion method allows me to control the temps from the bottom end, and as long as my water pan is full I don't have a problem keeping it into the target heat range isn't a problem.

I called a friend of mine who's had an 18.5" WSM for years. I told him about this discussion. He told me that as the years and smokes go by my Weber will run a lot cooler. The gunk will seal it up. "So don't clean it." But, he said that he's never had trouble maintaining target temp. I hope that my experiences parallel his. So far this is the best smoker that I've ever used. It is almost like it is on auto pilot.

You guys all seem to swear by the Mav 73 digital thermometer. I don't have one, but I've just ordered one from Amazon. I can't wait to give it a try. It'll be great to know what my meat, and smoker temps are at the same time.

Good smokes, and thanks for all of the info.

 

[Neal W. (Mashpee MA)]

Hi Dave, since my last post I called a friend that has had a 18.5' WSM for years. He says the same thing about the gunk. He told me never to clean it. I agree. His WSM never fails to reach target temps, but he does run his vents a lot wider then mine. As long as I can maintain my target temps I'll be happy. I'll just continue to open my vents wider as the years go by.

18.5" WSM, and a 22.5" OTG

 

[Dave Russell]

Originally posted by Neal W. (Mashpee, MA):
Hi Dave, since my last post I called a friend that has had a 18.5' WSM for years. He says the same thing about the gunk. He told me never to clean it. I agree. His WSM never fails to reach target temps, but he does run his vents a lot wider then mine. As long as I can maintain my target temps I'll be happy. I'll just continue to open my vents wider as the years go by.

18.5" WSM, and a 22.5" OTG

Neal, I wasn't saying that I completely concurred with Harbormaster about his observations about cleaning the cookers and how they run. I just know from reading his posts that I won't dismiss his observations. I'm sure he's done a lot more wsm cooking than I have!

Now personally, yes, my cooker runs significantly cooler than when I first got it, but I've never been able to do any HH cooks (or 300+) without cracking the door some. The thing is though, to be honest, it was last Christmas' gift from the Missus, so I started off with cold weather cooks and had it seasoned up pretty good by warmer weather.

Regardless, if you haven't studied this part of Chris' site, I'd at least check it out:
http://www.virtualweberbullet.com/partstrouble.html
Sorry to the OP and everybody else about the thread highjack here, but maybe someone other than Neal can be helped by Chris A.'s tips regarding trouble-shooting and leaky cookers.

 

[Tibor Roczo]

Originally posted by Neal W. (Mashpee, MA):
Hi Tibor,

After reading through your post, and some of the others on the forum I think that I'm on the brink of a life time of experimentation, and learning. I'm new to the WSM, but not to BBQ. The Weber WSM is so consistent that I feel that I've learned more about the art of low and slow over the last few cooks that I've learned in all of the years past. Reality tells me that I've just scratched the surface.

Using the Minion method allows me to control the temps from the bottom end, and as long as my water pan is full I don't have a problem keeping it into the target heat range isn't a problem.

I called a friend of mine who's had an 18.5" WSM for years. I told him about this discussion. He told me that as the years and smokes go by my Weber will run a lot cooler. The gunk will seal it up. "So don't clean it." But, he said that he's never had trouble maintaining target temp. I hope that my experiences parallel his. So far this is the best smoker that I've ever used. It is almost like it is on auto pilot.

You guys all seem to swear by the Mav 73 digital thermometer. I don't have one, but I've just ordered one from Amazon. I can't wait to give it a try. It'll be great to know what my meat, and smoker temps are at the same time.

Good smokes, and thanks for all of the info.

Neal, the Mav 73 is the earlier version of the Mav 732. I have my Mav 73 for a few year now, and I dropped the unit many times to the hard floor, and it keeps on clicking. I'm very satisfied with the unit, and more importantly, I installed the eyelets on the WSM, so the only probes which can go through it are the Mav 73 probes. The newer version can't go through it, that's my understanding. So if you decide to install the eyelets, BBQ Guru has them for under $10 bucs.

I also used, and still cooking with an offset smoker. That was my first smoker, and it was 10X as hard controlling the temps as my WSM is. My wife told me to dump it, I just didn't have the heart to do it. I put on the BBQ Guru DigiQ DX2 ATC on it, and it seems to work great...now I have 2 cookers to play with.

 

[Neal W. (Mashpee MA)]

Originally posted by Tibor Roczo:
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Neal W. (Mashpee, MA):
Hi Tibor,

After reading through your post, and some of the others on the forum I think that I'm on the brink of a life time of experimentation, and learning. I'm new to the WSM, but not to BBQ. The Weber WSM is so consistent that I feel that I've learned more about the art of low and slow over the last few cooks that I've learned in all of the years past. Reality tells me that I've just scratched the surface.

Using the Minion method allows me to control the temps from the bottom end, and as long as my water pan is full I don't have a problem keeping it into the target heat range isn't a problem.

I called a friend of mine who's had an 18.5" WSM for years. I told him about this discussion. He told me that as the years and smokes go by my Weber will run a lot cooler. The gunk will seal it up. "So don't clean it." But, he said that he's never had trouble maintaining target temp. I hope that my experiences parallel his. So far this is the best smoker that I've ever used. It is almost like it is on auto pilot.

You guys all seem to swear by the Mav 73 digital thermometer. I don't have one, but I've just ordered one from Amazon. I can't wait to give it a try. It'll be great to know what my meat, and smoker temps are at the same time.

Good smokes, and thanks for all of the info.

Neal, the Mav 73 is the earlier version of the Mav 732. I have my Mav 73 for a few year now, and I dropped the unit many times to the hard floor, and it keeps on clicking. I'm very satisfied with the unit, and more importantly, I installed the eyelets on the WSM, so the only probes which can go through it are the Mav 73 probes. The newer version can't go through it, that's my understanding. So if you decide to install the eyelets, BBQ Guru has them for under $10 bucs.

I also used, and still cooking with an offset smoker. That was my first smoker, and it was 10X as hard controlling the temps as my WSM is. My wife told me to dump it, I just didn't have the heart to do it. I put on the BBQ Guru DigiQ DX2 ATC on it, and it seems to work great...now I have 2 cookers to play with. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

I didn't even check if there was an updated model. But, if I'm as happy with it as you are I'm a happy camper. I gave my offset to my son in law when I got my WSM. He loves it, and has converted to charcoal. I know what you mean about working harder on the offset. That is what prompted me to buy the WSM. I haven't been disappointed. Pete, (my son in law) is now eying my WSM. Maybe there is another convert out there. BBQ is addictive isn't it? That is why you can't have too many cookers to play with.

 

[Neal W. (Mashpee MA)]

Originally posted by Dave Russell:
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Neal W. (Mashpee, MA):
Hi Dave, since my last post I called a friend that has had a 18.5' WSM for years. He says the same thing about the gunk. He told me never to clean it. I agree. His WSM never fails to reach target temps, but he does run his vents a lot wider then mine. As long as I can maintain my target temps I'll be happy. I'll just continue to open my vents wider as the years go by.

18.5" WSM, and a 22.5" OTG

Neal, I wasn't saying that I completely concurred with Harbormaster about his observations about cleaning the cookers and how they run. I just know from reading his posts that I won't dismiss his observations. I'm sure he's done a lot more wsm cooking than I have!

Now personally, yes, my cooker runs significantly cooler than when I first got it, but I've never been able to do any HH cooks (or 300+) without cracking the door some. The thing is though, to be honest, it was last Christmas' gift from the Missus, so I started off with cold weather cooks and had it seasoned up pretty good by warmer weather.

Regardless, if you haven't studied this part of Chris' site, I'd at least check it out:
http://www.virtualweberbullet.com/partstrouble.html
Sorry to the OP and everybody else about the thread highjack here, but maybe someone other than Neal can be helped by Chris A.'s tips regarding trouble-shooting and leaky cookers. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Dave, I understand what you're saying. BBQ, isn't a science it's an art form. Everyone who is involved has their own system that works for them. For example Myron Mixon, is a moving force on the professional BBQ circuit. He has won over 180 Grand Championships, 30 State Championships, this list goes on and on. Yet Myron starts his charcoal with starter fluid, and uses that to start wood sticks. I wont do that, but it obviously works for Myron. Myron also cooks everything in aluminum pans. I've never tried that until this past week end when I smoked a rack of ribs. I can understand now how come Myron has won so many championships. Grill clean up was a snap too.

Now let me clear something up. All of the parts of my WSM fit together very well. I would expect no less from any Weber product. My WSM isn't used for HH cooks. I use my 22.5" OTG for HH cooks. How do I know how high my WSM go in temp? I experimented with it when I got it. My WSM is used for low and slow it will hold temps of 225-250 all day. It does that with my vents open to a lesser extent then yours. I think that the good news for me is that as my cooker seasons in and starts to run cooler I have a lot of latitude to play with in vent control. I don't have a problem with this cooker. It does everything that I want it to do exactly the way that I want it to do it.

May all of your smokes be successful.

 

[Dave Russell]