Switching from kettle to smoker


 
M

Mike Leiter

TVWBB Pro
I have had a Weber 22 inch kettle for about a yr now and its been great. I was able to pick a " Smokenator" insert up for dirt cheap an have had really good luck with it. Made whole pork shoulders, picnics,ribs, chickens, turkeys, ribeye roasts and have yet to do a brisket. I really would like something more geared to smoking use only and that will give me more heat time than this set up does. Also don't want to have to refill charcoal area as often as I do now which is often with the small space it leaves to do it.
I have been looking at the WSM 18.5 and the 22.5 and see good arguments for both. I do hit up HD and Lowes on the dual bags of Kingsford sales and have stockpiled quite a bit of charcoal this yr. BUT I really don't want to burn through it just because I can...
Anyone that has BOTH the 18 and 22 version have a good comparison of how much the difference is in fuel use? I really like the size of the 22.5 as its basically the grill space I have now x2 when needed but also don't want to use 2x times the fuel over a 18 either....but on the other hand people say the 22 is huge. I have looked at a few places around here and nobody has them both in stock to compare side by side and reading makers reviews really don't give you real life use reviews.

Been reading the boards already for awhile and the information here has been great. Already bought the supplies to add probe port and have not bought one yet..Already have a chimney, gloves, temp gauges, probes and etc form the kettle use

These are a few recent pics of my smoking on the weber kettle so cant wait to use a full smoker. Just brined and smoked the 15lb turkey last weekend and it was so juicy.
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Welcome Mike!
I started with a OTG and moved up to the 18.5" WSM cause that was the only one back then. If I were you I would go big. I've seen a few posts where members used a smaller charcoal ring on the big boy to conserve on fuel either using the ring from a 18.5" or fabbin one out of Exp metal. I'm in the process of picking up a barely used 22.5" WSM and am curious also as how much fuel the big guy goes thru..

Tim
 
I don't see any real downsides to the 22". I always fill the charcoal ring and just reuse whatever's left. Doesn't seem to use too much fuel - I've done as long as a 17 hour cook without refueling. I don't know about huge, for me the 18" is tiny. :-) I know people have all kinds of tricks to deal with the size, but I like just being able to slap a couple of slabs of ribs directly on there, or toss on a whole brisket without worrying about if anything's going to fit. Or both, for that matter.
 
Welcome Mike.

I just went through the 18/22 debate and will be picking my WSM up tomorrow morning. This link really helps put the size (capacity) into perspective.
http://www.virtualweberbullet.com/wsmcapacity.html

As far as the fuel goes... Buried in this forum someplace was a post basically saying a full ring of 18 vs a full ring of 22 was about a $3 difference --- IF they used the entire ring. Most say they just shut it down when finished and re-use the leftover charcoal.
 
Since you already have a kettle you can continue to do small cooks on that, so I would go with a 22.5 for sure. I have a kettle and an 18.5 WSM but would probably go with the 22.5 if I was doing it again. I don't run out of space in the 18.5 but I really like the fact that you can get full racks of spares into a 22.5 without cutting or rolling them.
 
Thanks for all the replies and welcomes guys. I have been leaning more towards the 22 WSM since I have the 22 kettle and like that size but was more concerned on the charcoal use. I have located a ring from a 18 and it seems like a reasonable thing to do in using that in the 22 for smaller uses . I was planning on keeping my kettle as I know I can do smaller things with great results already from it. You also cant beat a nice charcoal grilled steak flavor a gas just cant seem to give and will use it for that. I do have a Holland to but feel its more of an outside oven in reality and wife uses it more than I do.. I just want to be able to cook more if needed and the smoker will offer me that over my limited space now on the kettle
Chad...Thanks for that link and it helps to figure out how much I can fit. A seen in the pic above I had to cut my ribs to fit them in the 1/2 to 2/3 space on the rack I could use on the kettle. It would be nice to leave whole flat or curled racks on the smoker.

Look forward to learning more from you guys in the future and thanks for the help so far in the transition. In fact I have a full day Sun with the kettle..Picked up a 14lb shoulder tonight to smoke on the kettle for my daughter in TN we are visiting next week. Hopefully next ones will be on a WSM.
 
Unless you have a LARGE family the 18.5 is the way to go....smaller footprint, easier to use, takes $3 less fuel every time you use it! I use mine twice a week and can cook for a party of 15 on it easily.
Just sayin'
 
Mike it is a matter of preference but really it depends on what capacity you feel you need or maybe not... but I had both and from my point of view the 22 is a lot harder on fuel. Having said that it was the one I started out with and by the way the Smokenator was the stepping stone to the WSM for me too. If you are using water it takes a lot of energy to heat three gallons for the 22 as compared to the 18. By the time you get the temps up there you have a lot of coals burning. I can see where they would be much more efficient without the water or simply less water. I cook mostly for two but have cooked for 12 using my 18 and I like the size of it. I sold my 22. I also only use water for ribs now.

There are members here who have both and love them so...good luck with whatever and welcome. This is a great site:)
 
Hi Mike and welcome aboard.

I have both a small and a large WSM.
The small WSM uses a bit less charcoal per cook than the larger one.
The big WSM has a lot more room. You can put a full size aluminum pan in the 22 1/2" WSM, a half pan is all that will fit in the 18 1/2" model.
If it fits in the small cooker, I use it. I find myself using the big cooker more than the small one. The extra room just makes it more convenient to use.
Temperature control is equally easy with both models.

If I had to have one, I'd get the 22 1/2" WSM.

Good luck,

Bob
 
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Gene B said:
Unless you have a LARGE family the 18.5 is the way to go....smaller footprint, easier to use, takes $3 less fuel every time you use it! I use mine twice a week and can cook for a party of 15 on it easily.
Just sayin'
Click to expand...

There's no way that's true. 6 pounds less of charcoal every time?

Again, I've done 17 hour cooks on the 22" (and it was still going strong). That means if you're making ribs you're using 1/4 of the total capacity. You don't have to fill it up, it's just nice to have a big ring down there if you're doing something long.
 
Doug Wade said:
There's no way that's true. 6 pounds less of charcoal every time?

Again, I've done 17 hour cooks on the 22" (and it was still going strong). That means if you're making ribs you're using 1/4 of the total capacity. You don't have to fill it up, it's just nice to have a big ring down there if you're doing something long.
Click to expand...

Thats why I was leaning towards buying a 18" charcoal ring as mentioned in the forum and using it in the 22 for smaller things if I go bigger. I actually drew out a 21.5 and 17.5 circle just to get a basic idea of sizes in a visual means and may opt for the 22 in the end. It will give me more space if needed and from my reading and as mentioned here cut my charcoal load for smaller things.

Thanks again for all the help and suggestions once again...

ON A SIDE NOTE: Lowes had the 22.5 " Weber kettle One Touch golds on clearance for 119.00 earlier this week. I was going to get another and passed and then twent back today to snag one for a Xmas gift. Lowes no longer has them in store and no longer listed on the website for the 22" ones. Anyone know if they dropped them at Lowes? Still see the 18 and 26 Versions.......
 
Chad Bman said:
There's nothing like a visual. This link helped me make my decision last week.
http://www.virtualweberbullet.com/wsmcapacity.html
Click to expand...

Thanks Chad. I actually found a Lowes that had the 18" WSM in stock last night and got a look at it. I pulled a 22 kettle next to it for a general idea of sizes since the didn't carry the 22 wsm.. I think I will lean towards the 22 and just spend a few $ more on charcoal for big smokes and use a 18" charcoal basket for smaller things/loads. I can even use the kettle with the insert for real small smoking portions if need be Thanks for the link.
 
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I was using the 22" and bought the 18.5 inch. My first smoke was able to get three racks of ribs (cut) and an 8 lb but on. It is plenty big.
 
Well fate may have sealed the deal as they say. I`m out of state visiting my daughter for Thanksgiving and found a guy selling a NIB 18" WSM and on a win offered him 150 cash (75 less than he was asking) to come take it away today...He agreed so heading over there today to check it out and maybe buy...Its not the 22 I wanted but at this cost it will get me started at much less cost...Just hope it fits in the car with all the other stuff I have to bring back..LOL
 
Mike Leiter said:
found a guy selling a NIB 18" WSM and on a win offered him 150 cash (75 less than he was asking) to come take it away today...He agreed
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SOLD!!! For what you paid for it, I'd just keep it and use it.
If nothing else, you could always get home and list it for $250 if you REALLY wanted the 22
 
If it's decent, definitely give it a shot. If you feel the need to upgrade you'll have no trouble getting your money back, that's for sure.
 
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