Second lid vent 14.5


 
Dustin Flavell

Dustin Flavell

TVWBB Pro
I've only got a few cooks under my belt with the baby WSM. Is it worth adding the second lid vent to the 14.5 for HH cooks? Done a few LNS cooks but did wings and couldn't hold 350. For those of you with the little guy any tricks for HH cooks or should I bit the bullet and add the second lid vent?
 
Dustin. You could prop open the lid with a skewer to get a bit more draw.
I have done this, & the temps jumped up no bother.
But as we all like to fettle with our gear, a second vent would be cool.
 
This summer for one of my cooks on the 14.5" I forgot to fill the water pan & the temp went up quickly to around 300° so thats something you might want to try as well.
 
I've been doing a lot of chicken as practice for my turkey, so lots of HH on my 14.5". I easily get and maintain 350+ the following way: lump charcoal (not briquets), no water pan (just a drip pan on lower shelf), all vents open 100%, and a screwdriver under the lid edge on the side facing the wind direction. I usually have to close my lower vents a tiny bit after a while to keep it from going too high. With the lump charcoal I do a full chimney and spread on top of unlit lump in the charcoal ring. I've been using royal oak since the pieces are more uniform than lazarri. This is in California, with ambient temps between 60 and 70 degrees. Hope it helps. Oh, and to get the temps up faster I take off the door after I dump the lit coals and let it get going pretty good before I put the door back on...helps the temps raise with the extra air and also exhausts the abundant white smoke.
 
@Tony, yeah I do like to fettle with my kettles :) second vent would be cool, but reluctant to do until the newness wears off the little bugga.

@Donna, good tip. I forgot to mention I always foil my water pan only both cookers.

@Len, how long can you go with a full load of lump? I gave up on Lazarri a long time ago since I was getting more dust and rocks ( yes rocks!) in the bags. I'll try the royal oak. I'm in Cali too so I get the temps your talking about. I'll try taking the door off. Typically it takes an hour to get rid off the white smoke. Will taking the door off speed thus up? Thanks for the tips. I'll give it a try the way you outlined.
 
Can't tell you the max time with lump, as I've not yet run out. Of course, if the temps started to drop you can always light a chimney load and add in - probably not a good idea to add unlit as the temps would drop drastically. I got my royal oak at home depot btw. Yes, the white smoke goes away faster with the door off (or you can just leave the whole middle off longer). Yesterday I actually had to leave after I had just started a spatchcocked chicken; temp was at 325 when I left. I had the screwdriver propping the lid and all vents open 100%. When i came back 18 minutes later, it was at 410!!! I had to flip the chicken but caught it just in time to prevent skin burning...actually was the best skin I've had. I closed the front vent completely and brought it back down to 350 after a bit. I could never get these temps with briquets and the lump makes so much less ash, too. OTOH, I haven't tried a low n slow with lump yet, that should be interesting trying to control the temps, lol. Be interested to hear how it works for you...

@Len, how long can you go with a full load of lump? I gave up on Lazarri a long time ago since I was getting more dust and rocks ( yes rocks!) in the bags. I'll try the royal oak. I'm in Cali too so I get the temps your talking about. I'll try taking the door off. Typically it takes an hour to get rid off the white smoke. Will taking the door off speed thus up? Thanks for the tips. I'll give it a try the way you outlined.[/QUOTE]
 
I haven't made any modifications to my 14.5. I regularly do high heat chicken (about 350 degrees) by opening all vents and removing the water pan. I get VERY crispy skin and lovely flavor. I use Kingsford Original briquettes almost exclusively. I have a Maverick 732 and reported temps are grate temperature at the top grate.

Keep on smokin;
Dale53:wsm:
 
I added a second lid vent to my 18.5 and i am able to run up to about 400F with the water pan installed if the cooker isn't full. With a full cooker I still crack the lid or sometimes prop the door open. I am working on adding 2 extra intake vents for thanksgiving since I am smoking 2 turkeys at once.
 
Dustin, I've been operating my WSM with two lid vents for 2-3 years now. It does make a noticeable difference for the 18.5. I first did it to my older model and when I got a chance to buy the new model and did it again. It was an added feature when I sold the old one too.
 
You guys have convinced me, gonna install a second vent on my 18, does anyone else sell that kit besides Weber?
 
I bought genuine weber vents through ereplacementparts.com for about $10 before shipping. Came in a 3 pack with vents and hardware.

I made a template out of a cereal box for the vent to get the hole centers laid out and drew it all out on blue painters tape. I used a step drill bit and stopped 1/16" short then filed the rest of the way to fix any misalignment
 
I had trouble getting to 350 and tried putting a small screwdriver to prop the lid up just a touch, viola! 350 for the 90 minutes for my chicken.

I was using KBB and got 350 the chicken came out great
 
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