Rudy
New member
With only two of us here, I was looking for the smaller 14½" WSM to accompany my 18½". The larger I will still use for longer/larger smokes, but if I'm doing chicken or turkey parts, which would only smoke for a few hours, no sense in firing up the big smoker.
I finally found one. New in box, $200...marked down to $150. Since the top of the box looked flattened, the seller offered $100 instead. (We opened it up and the only damage was to the top lip on the center section.) I haven't finished my mods to it yet, but it should be ready for a first run-through in a few days. I've moved the adapter (below) for the DigiQ temperature controller over to it. I thought about buying a second adapter set for the smaller smoker, but it's only a few minutes to unscrew it and move it over. (To buy the adapter, with shipping and tax, it was nearly $40. I could buy an entire second controller for $120 from another manufacturer.) I thought about making my own adapter, but the I.D. of this is rather odd, and the blower motor uses o-rings to seal it in place (which require a precise opening), so I'm going to hold off for now.
I was able to straighten the lip of the center section and get it flat. It's not perfect but the lid sits perfectly on it now. The center section was also slightly out of round, but that was easily fixed.
My only concern is what to cover up the bare metal with. The porcelain flaked off where the lip was bent. I already have POR-15 (which can handle up to 500°F) that would blend in well enough, so I will probably use that. Engine enamel might also work well, but $16 to spray paint a few inches is overkill. This is at the top of the center section, so it won't be directly near the heat source.
I'll have to post a photo once I have it set up and ready to go. But $100 for something brand spankin' new...yeah, I'm happy with it, bruises and all.
I saw more expensive used WSMs that looked a lot worse for wear.
I finally found one. New in box, $200...marked down to $150. Since the top of the box looked flattened, the seller offered $100 instead. (We opened it up and the only damage was to the top lip on the center section.) I haven't finished my mods to it yet, but it should be ready for a first run-through in a few days. I've moved the adapter (below) for the DigiQ temperature controller over to it. I thought about buying a second adapter set for the smaller smoker, but it's only a few minutes to unscrew it and move it over. (To buy the adapter, with shipping and tax, it was nearly $40. I could buy an entire second controller for $120 from another manufacturer.) I thought about making my own adapter, but the I.D. of this is rather odd, and the blower motor uses o-rings to seal it in place (which require a precise opening), so I'm going to hold off for now.
I was able to straighten the lip of the center section and get it flat. It's not perfect but the lid sits perfectly on it now. The center section was also slightly out of round, but that was easily fixed.
My only concern is what to cover up the bare metal with. The porcelain flaked off where the lip was bent. I already have POR-15 (which can handle up to 500°F) that would blend in well enough, so I will probably use that. Engine enamel might also work well, but $16 to spray paint a few inches is overkill. This is at the top of the center section, so it won't be directly near the heat source.
I'll have to post a photo once I have it set up and ready to go. But $100 for something brand spankin' new...yeah, I'm happy with it, bruises and all.
I saw more expensive used WSMs that looked a lot worse for wear.