Smoking in the Fall/Winter/Spring


 
J

Joe P

TVWBB Member
Hi,

I live in Southeastern Pennsylvania. Temps in the late fall/early spring are in the 40's. Winter time, around 33 degrees and down a bit colder.

I have an umbrella rig for light to medium rain. I would like to try to use my WSM year round. What suggestions do you have for running the WSM in colder conditions (fall, winter, early spring)? How much longer does it take to get to temp? How much more fuel do you need to add? Any secret tricks to run the WSM in colder temps?

Thanks for your input!
 
Any wind at all during the cold season just knocks all the heat out of the WSM. I have the Guru and use the jacket for it. Best thing i can tell you is to build a fairly tight fitting wind break for it. A 55 gallon drum and a few cuts will make a nice wind break for you.
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I love running the WSM in the winter. I find temps to be more stable than in the summertime. You'll use a little more fuel than in the summer, but temps still come up pretty quickly. When using the Minion Method you'll need a few more lit coals to start with. Snow presents absolutely no problem at all. If you can dig a clearing to the smoker, then you can cook!
 
To be honest, I don't see any difference in cooking in the cold. Wind is a pain no matter how warm it is, but in the cold, I don't even bother. I do have a water heater blanket on standby just in case I get a cook started and the weather turns south, but I've never used it. WSM is a year round hobby, but in the winter, I pay a little better attention to the weather forecast.
 
The biggest difference in the cold is fuel consumption, and starting with more lit coals. The heater wraps/Guru blanket will solve that issue. If you are a "peeker", it will really make your cooktime longer in the winter.
I made a top piece from a heater wrap the I put on the WSM when it is rainning to help. Doesn't look to nice, but it works!
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I agree with the other folks here. I've cooked in a snow storm without much problem at all. It's kind of cool to see the smoker chugging along surrounded by a foot of snow and all that steam coming out of the top. its great. and that great bbq smell when it is sub zero outside... mmmm.
 
Don't worry about the cold temperature. Wind is your enemy.

Build a good windbreak. The temperature will take care of itslef. If it's damp you'll have a little more difficulty getting up to temperature (more lit coals please) and you won't be able to reach a higher temperature.

Otherwise, absolutely no difficulty cooking in very cold temperature. Again. It's wind that is your enemy. Block it and you're good to go.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Bryan S:
Any wind at all during the cold season just knocks all the heat out of the WSM. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

That hit the nail on the head. During the summer, no amount of wind seems to affect my WSM and during the cold months it cooks a little cooler, but as long as there's no wind it's not a problem. But when it's cold out AND there's wind, my WSM seems to lose all of its heat.

I'm making two pork butts right now. It's 47 degrees out and windy and I am STRUGGLING to keep the temp in the 210 degree range. All of the vents are wide open, I have two chimneys of lit charcoal in her, and no water in the pan - and I still have to open the door every hour or so and stir the coals or she'll drop below 200.
 
You can use the WSM in any kind of temperature. The trick is that you have to build an enclosure for the unit - Mainly to keep the wind out. I live in Alberta and I've used my WSM in the -20 F range in the middle of a blizzard no problem.

I built a little shed for my WSM out of a sheet of 4'x8' plywood and some 2x2's. Probably not the safest set-up that I could use, but there is plenty of clearance so it's not too bad. I think the real benefit with the shed is that, as it keeps the wind and snow out, it also keeps the heat in. It may be freezing outside, but the temperature inside the shed is actually probably in the high 40's to high 50's once the unit is up and running. I probably could line the inside of the shed with some styrofoam insulation to help too - but so far I haven't needed to.

I do need to increase the amount of charcoal I use for a cook, but it's not too crazy. Bottom line - it is VERY possible to cook in the winter.
 
I live in central MD with pretty much the same types of temps and I live on top of a hill that seems to have a breeze all year round...the best thing I did for WSM cooks was to create a wind/weather break that I devised with some inspiration from this site...

It was cheap, incredibly stable, breaks down and sets up on less than 3 minutes, it's not heavy, and stores easily...it's flexible meaning I can use just three sides or pop on the roof quick or enclose the cooker...it's safe...best of all it saves on fuel, (I barely open the bottom vents), and my temps have been rock solid...especially between my lid and top grate which are now nearly identical...I have a recent thread on it in the WSM Mods section with some pics...it doesn't look pretty but it certainly does the job...

The only future mods I'm going to make on it is to make a better roof (but I like the overhang that protects my Maverick) and since we got new windows I need to raise my Maverick so the signal will reach our kitchen as reliably as it once did...

Can't recommend a windbreak enough...below is a link to my pics...there are also some other pics located in there but click on the weatherscreen pics for an upclose look...

http://photobucket.com/albums/c122/brad1164/?action=vie...ow=paused&interval=3
 
Brad, what did you make it out of? It looks like it is made from insulation or is it insulated wood? What were your dimensions?
 
That's pretty sharp! Not the prettiest device, but it looks pretty simple and inexpensive. What was it made out of, foam backer board?
 
I used foil backed blueboard...you can find it at any do-it-yourself store like Home Depot...the inspiration for this material came from a gentleman who taped it together thereby not making it very "flexible" or easily stored...look under "Tips & Mods" and then "Cooking in the Wind, Rain, & Cold"...

I placed a lengthy description of this shelter under the WSM Modifications forum...it's listed as "Windscreen Update for Fellow Newbies"...about five discussion threads down the list...

As you said...not pretty...but the darn thing is as user friendly as can be...and I will not be sad if something happens to it given the cost...I can easily replace portions of the windscreen...
 
Brad, I finally made your windscreen yesterday and used it to cook some chicken in 30 mph winds in the late afternoon. It worked like a charm!

Lowe's only had 1-inch Shelter Sheath high effiency sheathing insulation, so I had to use that.

http://www.shelter-ent.com/sheathsp.htm

It's lightweight and easy to set up and store. I made mine 4-sided for rigidity and so I could swing open the front panel like a door for easy access to my WSM. Great design!

I didn't use any aluminum tape on the edges. Are you having any problems with the plastic or aluminum coatings peeling at the edges?

Many thanks,
Rita
 
I'm here to second what most folks said above. The WSM does fine in the cold. Trust me on this one. I use it all winter in Alaska. Wind is the enemy but fortunately it is seldom windy here in Anchorage.

Griff
 
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