S J. Gold Mini WSM Smoker


 
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if the aluminum is good enough to use as a tamale cooker then for sure its ok to use as a smoker. yer temps as a smoker are gonna be low enough to not really matter. plus as the aluminum gets coated with smoke and oil it's got even less of a chance of giving off bad stuff.
yer good to go.
 
Here's my addition to this thread.

I saw this at Home depot for $5.50 on sale.


So I cut off the handle with a dremel.



I replaced the handle (which holds the vents on with the SJG) with longer bolts (I may rethink this part later).


And it fits perfectly with only about an inch of clearance all the way around.



I have since foiled it but this set up seems to protect most of the grate from direct heat.



I've been doing a dry run with this thing for the last 4 hours and it's running great with only 25 briquettes. This isn't going to add any head room, but most of the stuff I'd use it to smoke with (fatties, chicken halves, ribs, small butts) won't need extra height anyways.

At first glance, it seems the air flow issues that make the SJG such a bad grill actually make it a great mini-smoker.
 
First off I want to thank everyone else that has posted pics of their mini WSM. You were a huge help.

Here's the finished product:
MiniWSM2-20-10025.jpg


I started off by marking where I wanted the screws to go for the cooking grates.
MiniWSM2-20-10009.jpg

I then drilled the holes and attached the nuts and bolts.
MiniWSM2-20-10010.jpg


After that I cut out the bottom of the pot. I free handed a line about an inch in from the outer edge. I used a jigsaw with a metal blade to make the cut.
MiniWSM2-20-10012.jpg

MiniWSM2-20-10014.jpg

I used a charcoal grate for the 18.5" kettle as the the heat sync tray. It sits perfectly on the lip that holds the steamer tray.
MiniWSM2-20-10016.jpg

I found this thermo at Lowes for $7.98.
MiniWSM2-20-10027.jpg


This is my heat sync: 1 cake pan from the 99 Cent store and a clay saucer from Walmart. I foiled the bottom of each and them foiled the top. This mimics how I have my big wsm set up.
MiniWSM2-20-10020.jpg

MiniWSM2-20-10021.jpg

MiniWSM2-20-10022.jpg

MiniWSM2-20-10023.jpg


I added a handle to the bottom vent by using a lag screw and 2 nuts as mentioned already in this thread. This picture came out funky but if you stare long enough you get the gist.
MiniWSM2-20-10015.jpg


Here's some food I smoked on the trial run. I did a beef, brat, cheese and bacon fattie and then followed that up with some ABT's. The temps held great at 250 degrees during the entire cook.
Mwsmfood2-21-10010.jpg

Mwsmfood2-21-10012.jpg
 
Cool pictures, Branon. Thanks for sharing them.

So just for clarification.

1) Did you have to drill a hole in your bottom vent to add that "handle"?

2) The clay saucer you got at walmart. That's new one on me. Is that just like in the house wares section? So after the cook you just remove/replace the top layer of foil and you are good as new?
 
Originally posted by Justin W:
Cool pictures, Branon. Thanks for sharing them.

So just for clarification.

1) Did you have to drill a hole in your bottom vent to add that "handle"?

2) The clay saucer you got at walmart. That's new one on me. Is that just like in the house wares section? So after the cook you just remove/replace the top layer of foil and you are good as new?
Click to expand...

1. I bent one of the tabs on the bottom vent, drilled a hole and inserted the 8" bolt w/ a nut screwed on about an inch up and then attached another nut to secure the bolt to the tab. I noticed that one tab has full clearance of the legs and the other one didn't so look at them carefully before you drill. I'll try to take a better picture tomorrow.

2. The clay saucer was in the outdoor/garden department. It was $3. I do change the top foil after every cook and the bottom foil every 5-10 cooks. So far on the 18.5" WSM I have not changed the foil under the clay saucer and I've had that for over 2 years.
 
Thanks Branon,
I'll check on that saucer at Walmart. Just so I'm clear...what is the original intent of the clay saucer? I've never seen one before.

Thanks,
Justin
 
Originally posted by Justin W:
Thanks Branon,
I'll check on that saucer at Walmart. Just so I'm clear...what is the original intent of the clay saucer? I've never seen one before.
Click to expand...

It goes under a terra cotta plant pot.
 
Here's a better picture of the vent mod. I used a 3/8"x8" carriage bolt. Turns out I don't own a drill bit big enough cut a whole that large so it took some prying.

DSC07906.jpg


DSC07909.jpg
 
OK. I went another way with my little mini-smoker. Gonna post what I did (some of this will be duplicates from my previous post but I want to keep all the info together.

Got this on sale for 5.50 at home depot. It's a veggie pan in the grill section.



I removed the handle with a dremel.


Bought 4 sets of bolts, 2 nuts (hee) and 2 washers like this.


Attached them to the pan…By the way, these are adjustable.



15 lit, 15 unlit, and hickory chips.



The pan sits in the bowl with the legs rested on the sides—not the bottom—of the bowl. This is important because it makes more room for charcoal and makes it easier to set in place and remove.



Terracotta saucer (Thanks for the tip, Branon)



Foiled.



Grate in place.


This is how I set the vents. Temperature control was great…which amazed me because it was REALLY windy out today.



Trimmed Spares cut in half.



Foiled


Back out of the foil



Dinner.



All in all, I’m tremendously impressed. This mod only cost me about $14 ($5.50 for veggie pan, $4.50 for terracotta saucer, and $4 bucks in hardware). The 30 coals were exactly the amount of coals needed for the 5 hour cook. The temperature control and consistency was MUCH better than I expected. Also this grill recovers faster when you take the lid off and responds faster the changes in the vents than my bigger kettle…or at least it seemed that way today.

I built this because I thought it would be fun, but (unless I just got lucky today) I could easily see this being my goto smoker for smaller cooks. I’m pretty sure I could fit almost anything I normally cook (other than a full packer) on this thing…just not multiples.

I look forward to using this again. Next time, I’m going to try to hook my guru adapter into the side vent. I’d also like to see how it does with a full load of lump with something like a pork butt.
 
justin, that certainly is one way to do it, especially if it works great for you as the ribs certainly look great. great thinking out of the box.
 
All in all, I’m tremendously impressed.
Click to expand...
So am I! Thanks for the detailed write up and illustrations.

One thing not obvious to me however is whether you use a second cooking grate above the one in the picture.
 
Hi all,

Been lurking this thread with much interest. I've got a couple of questions I'm concerned about.

1) Does the tamale pot simply sit on the SJS base? I'm concerned that it could slide off if not perfectly placed or bumped. Would 3 or 4 small right angle pieces bolted to the bottom of the pot to keep it from sliding sideways work?

2) I'm concerned about the whole unit being very top-heavy with a relatively skinny foot base. Also, about the SJS legs being able to hold all that weight without folding up.

I plan on using this little gem as my test run smoker. It'll be nice to be able to do a quick test run on a new rub or injection without having to fire up the 18 or 22. Unfortunately, I won't be able to get started with construction until I get home in a couple of weeks.

Russ
 
Originally posted by WalterWhite:
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">
All in all, I’m tremendously impressed.
Click to expand...
So am I! Thanks for the detailed write up and illustrations.

One thing not obvious to me however is whether you use a second cooking grate above the one in the picture. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Nope. Just one grate. There nowhere near enough room for an extra. That's certainly the upside of the tamale cooker method.

I realized later it's set up a lot like a BGE with a platesetter.
 
Originally posted by Russ Sylvester:
Hi all,

Been lurking this thread with much interest. I've got a couple of questions I'm concerned about.

1) Does the tamale pot simply sit on the SJS base? I'm concerned that it could slide off if not perfectly placed or bumped. Would 3 or 4 small right angle pieces bolted to the bottom of the pot to keep it from sliding sideways work?

2) I'm concerned about the whole unit being very top-heavy with a relatively skinny foot base. Also, about the SJS legs being able to hold all that weight without folding up.

I plan on using this little gem as my test run smoker. It'll be nice to be able to do a quick test run on a new rub or injection without having to fire up the 18 or 22. Unfortunately, I won't be able to get started with construction until I get home in a couple of weeks.

Russ
Click to expand...

Russ:
1. The steamer barrel fits into a 1 inch indentation which holds the grill rack for the SJS. It will not fall or slide out.
2. The Mini WSM conversion is very stable, not at all top heavy. I usually smoke less than 10 pounds, but suspect it would be OK for up to 20 pounds.

I have just built my second one, using a Homer Simpson SJS, contemplating cutting the barrel down to 9-10 inches, to make a micro mini, to take in my RV. I have found that the best method to hold the planter base is to simply buy another SJ grill, set it on top of the indented ring near the bottom, then set the planter base on top of the grill.

LDW
 
When you get a chance, would one of you who owns the tamale cooker let me know exactly how tall it is. I can't find it mentioned in this thread or on Amazon.

Thanks.
 
Originally posted by Justin W:
When you get a chance, would one of you who owns the tamale cooker let me know exactly how tall it is. I can't find it mentioned in this thread or on Amazon.

Thanks.
Click to expand...

1'1/4" I have the 32 Quart pot from Target.
 
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