S J. Gold Mini WSM Smoker


 
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Originally posted by Mac McClure:

I didn't want remove the rim so I made up 4 Tabs to hold the lid in place. These with some Gasket material from a BGE hold the lid in place with a good seal.
Click to expand...
Now that's interesting. I have a new style WSM 18 water pan that looks like the Smokey Joe bottom but without the rim indentations and without the vent(s). Also some BGE gasket around here somewhere. Have to give this some thought...
 
Originally posted by Brad Baker:
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Mac McClure:

I didn't want remove the rim so I made up 4 Tabs to hold the lid in place. These with some Gasket material from a BGE hold the lid in place with a good seal.
Click to expand...
Now that's interesting. I have a new style WSM 18 water pan that looks like the Smokey Joe bottom but without the rim indentations and without the vent(s). Also some BGE gasket around here somewhere. Have to give this some thought... </div></BLOCKQUOTE>I almost did it, but just didn't want to sacrifice the pan for it. I just don't need the extra space, but it looks nice.
 
George: There are two reasons to use the SJS bottom as the top lid. The first is for more space, as you can gain 4" additional space, since it is curved, rather than flat. If building a Mini with two cooking grates, allows more cooking space on both racks. It also allows one to mount the top rack at the very top of the barrel, easier to remove items like large chickens. The only other reason I can think of is cosmetic, makes the Mini look like a WSM. My go to models are a single grate model with a 5.5"barrel, made of roof flashing, and a two grate model, made of a tamale steamer with the rim cut off, to allow the modified SJS bottom to slip over the barrel, allowing a tight fit. Whether or not it is worth the effort is debatable, but I am retired, with too much time on my hands.
LDW
 
ok, i see what you are trying to do. i just havn't needed to "push" my mini, one grate is enough for me but now that i see this and being retired---------.
 
Here is my robo-Mini controlled by an Auber. I had to severely limit the airflow but once I did it works great. It might not be necessary, but I'm a gadget nut. I lit one end of the charcoal U with a Weber cube. I definitely need to use something as a heat diverter...the area of fatty over the lit coals got a bit too toasty.

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First cook follow up: I can't believe how efficient this little guy is. My two hour fattie cook used up all of about 10 coals at around 250F. Just amazing.
 
I think the setup is great. Why not push this design farther, keep going Michael. I think the evolution of the mini is amazing. It takes guys like you to keep pushing the envelope. Don't stop, let your ingenuity be someone else's inspiration.

Awesome,
Brian
 
I had an email inquiry about the white ring on my fan and draft from the lower vent, so I thought I'd post the response here in case anyone else is curious...



It's just part of the mounting system.  You can see the details here.   http://www.thesmokering.com/fo...09d47f45fe862238af12

With my setup, the only air intake is the Auber fan and it has a damper that closes when the fan is off.  If there's a bit of leak from the bottom vents, I don't see it being an issue since it should be minimal.  I also plan on lining the bottom of the bowl with foil next time because I did get some charcoal bits and grease out of the bottom vent. 

I picked up an inch deep 12" pizza pan to catch the grease that I plan on putting on the steamer shelf at the bottom to catch grease.  Do you think that should be higher to keep grease farther from the coals?
 
Built mine last week. Drilled holes in the bottom instead of cutting it out. Did three "test" cooks with no food. One with terra cotta flower pot bottom sitting, one with only the steamer tray, (both with lump charcoal), and one with kingsford brickettes. All three kept temp between 175 and 225 for more than 10 hours! Had a problem with the first test running temp up past 300 at first but I choked the lower vent down and lifted the lid for a moment and it worked great after that. Then our first cook was a bacon wrapped pork shoulder. Magnificent! Bacon grease dripped onto the steamer diffuser and vaporized back (you could hear it sizzle from outside). Awesome! A million thanks to whoever came up with this idea. Best smoker I have ever used or owned, and I have used many. BTW mine is a silver and had no problems with ash on the lump charcoal. Just wiggle the vents back and forth a couple of times every couple of hours.
 
OK first cook on the mini. Pork shoulder wrapped in bacon. Apple wood for smoke. Cooked just over 4 hours between 175 and 200, till internal temperature was 155. Magnificent! Think of the best smoked ham you ever ate, now kick it up a couple of notches and you are there! Sliced it thin to make sandwiches, but ate so much of it while slicing (just couldn't stop) we (wife and I) never got to making sandwiches. It's going to be a glorious summer!
Ken

"If God didn't want us eating animals then why did he make them taste so good?"
 
Newbie here, just started working on building mine! I have a question about heat defuser/water pan. Those that have used a terra cota saucer, do you put water in this also or just use to defuse heat?
 
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