Severe leak


 
V

Vincent C

TVWBB Member
This is my first post on here in almost five years (when I bought my Q) (my old account doesn't even work anymore). But I've been lurking all that time.

I finally got a WSM (22) and I am finding it is far from airtight. Smoke comes out from around the door and the lid.

Now I read before posting, and saw that it takes a few cookings to get it completely sealed, but I also noticed the other day that after closing all the vents, several hours later the coals were still going.

Is it possible the middle section is out of the round, and how long should I wait before contacting weber?
 
Smoke coming from around the door and lid is not an issue. The cookers are not designed to be airtight - nor do they need to be. Bend the door so that it fits the best way it can but minor gaps are utterly immaterial (and sealing the door is unnecessary).

That said, coals should go out some time after closing all vents. An out-of-round condition - where the center section is just out enough so it does not fit into the lower section well - is an issue. It can be hard to see - and sometimes all that is necessary is a twist of the center section so that it seats well - but look closely. If it is out-of-round, or if you suspect as much after a few cooks, contact Weber.
 
It seems to me if you were that far out of round the lid wouldn't fit.

Make sure the door fits snug, there will always be some gap, it's not air tight.

If you're still having issues after 3 or 4 smokes let us know. Until then, I wouldn't worry too much.
 
Thanks Guys.

This butt was my second smoking on the new 22. It came out pretty awesome (what went from a planned dinner of 6 grew to 10 with an 11th arriving by bicycle) And the temp held a perfect 225 from 1am to 7:30 am.

It was a little tough bringing the temp down during the day though (very sunny), and the coal seemed to burn a little faster than I expected.

I found, however, that even though I closed all of the vents and left it for about 3.5 hours when I opened it up to clean it out, several coals were still going.

Is this normal for the first few smokes?
 
I found, however, that even though I closed all of the vents and left it for about 3.5 hours when I opened it up to clean it out, several coals were still going.

Is this normal for the first few smokes?
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Yes. You're not going to get it completely air tight. It was getting just enough air to keep the coals "alive" with out burning them up.
 
Originally posted by Vincent C:
This is my first post on here in almost five years (when I bought my Q) (my old account doesn't even work anymore). But I've been lurking all that time.

I finally got a WSM (22) and I am finding it is far from airtight. Smoke comes out from around the door and the lid.

Now I read before posting, and saw that it takes a few cookings to get it completely sealed, but I also noticed the other day that after closing all the vents, several hours later the coals were still going.

Is it possible the middle section is out of the round, and how long should I wait before contacting weber?
Click to expand...
I have the same problem with my used 18.5 that I recently bought. It holds temps great but takes hours to cool down. I'm sure after 2-3 more cooks and some bending and tweaking (a necessary skill for all ECB owners) everything will be fine. If I was having this problem with a new WSM, I would probably try to fix it the same way before calling Weber.
 
For all you guys with the high temp problem, I would measure the cc bowl, mid section (top and bottom) and the dome at 12, 6, 3 and 9.

If your more than 1/4" out of round you should call Weber. Grease/ gunk build up won't help you.

My 2 cents.

Guess I got lucky, I use RO Lump with the foiled clay setup, if I minion with 1/2 chimney I can maintain temps from 200 to 400 consistantly at grate and dome levels.

Once I close all 4 vents my temp drops below 150 within 30-45 min and cool by 1-1.5hrs.

My WSM has been like this pretty much since day one!

Good luck
wsmsmile8gm.gif
 
My new WSM 18.5 continued to stay hot for 36 hrs! I used a full ring of Kingsford and roughly 40 lit chimney briquettes for a 6 pound butt. The smoker stayed in the 248 range for a while then shot up to 275 when the sun came out for roughly another 6 hours. I even shut all the dampers before the meat was finished. The next evening the coals were still hot enough to burn your hand.
 
I'm planning on giving mine another attempt this weekend before I call weber. (Celebrating Weber Smoke Day VI)

However, while mine stays hot for about 6 hours with the vents closed, I don't think it would make it for 36 hours! You may want to give weber a call now.
 
I think it was a combination of the smoker being in the direct sun, the outside temp was in the upper 70's and too much fuel. The smoker seems to be just fine though. No smoke leaks were evident throughout the cook other than through the lid damper, which was fully open.
 
I'm getting concerned with mine because I am seeing smoke leaking around the lid and not just coming out of the damper.
 
both the 18 and 22 will burn awhile because of the air space.if you have lid for 22 kettle you can remove the center section and put the lid on the bottom and the fire will go out. My 22 will run all night with the vents closed and my stoker connected.
 
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