Jeffery Link
TVWBB Member
Nib for 150! I'd buy that and I already own a 18.5. lucky you.
Switching from kettle to smoker
- Thread starter Mike Leiter
- Start date
Mike Leiter
TVWBB Pro
Well no smoker. It was NIB BUT it was stored in a storage shed with multiple leaking marine batteries stacked up with it since he bought it at HD a yr and half ago. Box was water logged looking and I opened it on spot..I do believe battery acid had seeped through the box and corroded and destroyed parts of the outside of the grill and dis colored the cooking grates. Although a good deal I would prefer one that was intact and not corroded and having the enamel blistering off in spots. I was pretty excited about getting this one for that price too!!! It also DID NOT have the cover in the box which it said it should... The quest still continues and may push me back toward the 22 again....
David
TVWBB Pro
I went through this debate. Ordered a 22 and when it arrived, I thought, way too big. Almost took it back, but kept it anyway. So glad I did. So much easier to cook using only top shelf rather than two most of the time. I have coal left over, don't fill it up for doing six hour cooks and still have coal left over. If I do two racks of ribs that easily lie down flat but on a 18 they don't. I can buy two racks of ribs, cut them st. louis style and get both racks, plus all of the trimmings that are cut on the top rack, and it is full.
Put some wheels on it so that it makes it easy to move. Handles on the mid section, and what else you want.
Get the 22 and don't look back.....................d
Put some wheels on it so that it makes it easy to move. Handles on the mid section, and what else you want.
Get the 22 and don't look back.....................d
Dean Smiley
TVWBB Member
I think this debate has no end; there are excellent points for both sides. However, my view is to buy what fulfills one’s cooking/smoking needs most. If you were buying a new vehicle you wouldn’t buy a 9 seat SUV if it was just you and your wife using it 90% of the time. I cook for two most of the time so I bought an 18.5” and think that it is huge. I always load it up and freeze what’s left, but always have room left over. I am currently building a mini and expect to use it more than the 18.5”. So that’s my 2 cents.
Dean
Dean
Mike Leiter
TVWBB Pro
Thanks for the comments David and Dean,
With that said I now have a 22" WSM coming in the next week or so. Daughter ordered me one for a early B-day and Xmas gift last night and surprised me with it this a.m. She placed a card on the dash of the car for me to open on the way home from her house in TN to our home in NC...She said she knew how disappointed I was in not getting the 18 and got me the one she and my wife knew I was leaning towards. Hope to have some pics in the next week or so. I love my kids !!!
With that said I now have a 22" WSM coming in the next week or so. Daughter ordered me one for a early B-day and Xmas gift last night and surprised me with it this a.m. She placed a card on the dash of the car for me to open on the way home from her house in TN to our home in NC...She said she knew how disappointed I was in not getting the 18 and got me the one she and my wife knew I was leaning towards. Hope to have some pics in the next week or so. I love my kids !!!
Chad Bman
TVWBB All-Star
Woo hoo... I was tickled pink when I got mine. You'll be also. Congrats!
Mike Leiter
TVWBB Pro
Well one part arrived early today and the WSM is expected to be delivered Fri eve. I received the 18 " charcoal ring for smaller cooks to use in the 22" one I have coming. I will wire the larger one in place and then slip this one in for smaller smokes to cut down of fuel use when needed..
David
TVWBB Pro
Now, start making all those mod's.
Be sure and add handles to the center section, it's first mod. Wheels if you move it. Handles to pick up the charcoal grates, and one for lower cooking grate. And of course, your choice of hole for that Mav. you will get sooner or later.......................d
Be sure and add handles to the center section, it's first mod. Wheels if you move it. Handles to pick up the charcoal grates, and one for lower cooking grate. And of course, your choice of hole for that Mav. you will get sooner or later.......................d
Mike Leiter
TVWBB Pro
I already bought the handles this week as well as the wire ties for the grate/ring, Stainless U-Bolts for the charcoal pan and 2nd grate and the lamp rod and bolts for the probe hole. I have lockable casters from Harbor Freight and some marine grade wood at the other house to make a base I can fit it onto. Wife is getting me the Maverick for Birthday...already was told DO NOT buy it...LOL I do have another probe I use all the time so it will do for now. I think I will have most mod bases covered for now.
Picked up some chickens at Costco to rub and smoke on the first run Sat so hopefully the WSM arrives in prime shape tonight.
Mike Leiter
TVWBB Pro
Well this is a major let down. Got back from a quick dinner and found the WSM on my front porch.Great and excited about it until I got the box inside and got to look at it. The one side has a nice gash in the box and the other side had a huge hole torn in it as well as it has been re-taped shut.. I do have all the legs, 2 other racks, top, middle and bottom sections and cover as well as charcoal ring.....I do not have any kind of handle covers for the lids two handles, no screws , nuts, washers or manual to put it together or a charcoal grate for the bottom part. The one big gash in the box was right at the aluminum smoker door and it took a good hit. Cant really tell in pic but the one side with the dent is almost flat.... Looks like I wont be smoking any chickens this weekend after all. Cant prove it was UPS since I wasnt home to receive the package..we didnt leave till 7:45pm ET and they had still not come and got back at 8:10pm and they had come....
So now I get to fight with Amazon or Weber to find out what I need to do now....
So now I get to fight with Amazon or Weber to find out what I need to do now....
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Chad Bman
TVWBB All-Star
Daymn, that's a bummer to say the least. If 1 person had to move this by them-self, I can see how it got bashed. I only unloaded from the truck solo and it's a beast. The missing parts is what really sucks. Not just an item or 2, but that's quite a bit of components. Sorry for the misfortune & good luck getting it hashed out.
In other news... I received my Cajun Bandit stainless steel door for my 22 WSM. Wow, it that MUCH nicer than the crappy one Weber supplies. Well worth looking into.
In other news... I received my Cajun Bandit stainless steel door for my 22 WSM. Wow, it that MUCH nicer than the crappy one Weber supplies. Well worth looking into.
Mike Leiter
TVWBB Pro
Daymn, that's a bummer to say the least. If 1 person had to move this by them-self, I can see how it got bashed. I only unloaded from the truck solo and it's a beast. The missing parts is what really sucks. Not just an item or 2, but that's quite a bit of components. Sorry for the misfortune & good luck getting it hashed out.
In other news... I received my Cajun Bandit stainless steel door for my 22 WSM. Wow, it that MUCH nicer than the crappy one Weber supplies. Well worth looking into.
I actually have that Cajun door on my Christmas list with a direct link to the site for it...WSM was bought at Amazon and they are sending an exchange and it will be here Tues eve by 8:00. Not to bad of a wait and super fast customer service to get it done as well as sending me the return UPS labels already .If it had been Thurs instead of Fri I could of had it tomorrow but have to wait till next week now. I have 30 days to get the damaged one back to them so we don't get charged for it . It was opened at the bottom of the box and re-taped and I did notice the packing squares it all fits into were all torn/cracked too. It may have been sent back already or someone used it for parts....Looking at a few videos on Youtube the small box the legs were in from my assumption is also the one the manual, and handles and nuts and bolts were in?? The cover in this one was also in the middle while in the few videos it was packed in the very bottom??
I guess I will just fire up my trusty smokenator in my Weber kettle to do the chickens instead this weekend.....Wife really wants to still do them...
Chad Bman
TVWBB All-Star
You won't be disappointed! The stock door was the only thing I didn't like about my WSM. The Cajun Bandit is a little wider & taller, but 10 times heavier & better looking.
THAT is great news!
Check out this link. http://virtualweberbullet.com/packaging.html#22wsm
Scroll down to Chris' video of unpacking the 22" WSM. That's what mine looked like a few weeks ago.
Silver lining my friend. Great weather this weekend (assuming for you also) and at least you're still smokin'
Mike Leiter
TVWBB Pro
Thanks for that video link. It was much better than the youtube one. I`m also missing the brackets that hold the grates and water pan up in the parts box as I just had the legs and nothing else. None up my stuff was wrapped with bubble wrap or plastic so I think this was a returned WSM or the like. Its definitely not packed as a new one like in the video. The section with the charcoal ring, water pan and heat shield is the only unopened section as its still wrapped up.
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David
TVWBB Pro
Bummer with the delivery. Here's a link to a some of my mods, all of which I culled from this site. I also put my wires for the mav through the top hole for the center section handle that I added. I'm still thinking about a side table for the wsm, just haven't got around to it yet.
As far a small cooks are concerned, ie, chicken breasts, I always do them on my charbroil grill, as it is just easier and just as good................................d
http://tvwbb.com/showthread.php?35234-New-WSM-22-is-now-initial-placement-of-mods
As far a small cooks are concerned, ie, chicken breasts, I always do them on my charbroil grill, as it is just easier and just as good................................d
http://tvwbb.com/showthread.php?35234-New-WSM-22-is-now-initial-placement-of-mods
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Mike Leiter
TVWBB Pro
David, Thanks for the links to your mods...
I actually was going to put the Genie door handles on the WSM BUT after you mod them and stretch them to fit the holes in the 22" model it flattens them out more and not much room for my big fingers to grab them. Luckily I still have the damaged smoker here to use as starting point for the handle modding to fit the bolt holes. I decided to pick up some Aluminum 3/4" x 1/8" flat stock and will bend a handle frame and then order some extra Weber handle covers and attach them. Doesnt look too hard to do and I took a handle off my kettle to use as a reference and will give me more finger room. I will cut it down 1/2" from the height they are now though so they have lower profile.
I also ordered a new extra charcoal grate from Amazon this a.m and will wire one grate to my 18" ring and the 22" ring to the grate when the new smoker comes. I can just swap them depending on my food load...I will use eye bolts on the 22" one and then U bolts on the outer edge of the 18 ring for handles. I may not have a useable smoker here to assemble but I can at least use it for reference for the mods I will do to the new one. Will save me a little time when it comes Tuesday.
UPDATE- I stole the plastic handles off my newer 22" Weber Kettle to makes these so I could mock them up while I have the damaged WSM sitting here for fitment.. I had to order new handles so that I can use them on the WSM when they come. I cut down some 3/4" wide and 1/8" thick flat stock and made the frames this afternoon. It wasn't easy without my vise at the house but made do with what I had. Sanded them and prepped them and then painted it with Rustoleum Hi-Temp semi-gloss grill paint. I did get one hole drilled off center ( I even had measured and stamped center..LOL ) but shouldn't hurt function any. These should give me the extra room I need for my full hand. They don't stick out any farther than the lower handle on the lid does so I hope it wont cause any cover fit issues. They fit right into the same holes that the smoker has for the inner grate brackets so no new holes need to be made.
DAVID--Where did you buy the wheels you put on the legs on your smoker? I really like them versus making a platform for it to wheel around on. This makes 5 grills on the patio and I like to wheel them around when needed.
I actually was going to put the Genie door handles on the WSM BUT after you mod them and stretch them to fit the holes in the 22" model it flattens them out more and not much room for my big fingers to grab them. Luckily I still have the damaged smoker here to use as starting point for the handle modding to fit the bolt holes. I decided to pick up some Aluminum 3/4" x 1/8" flat stock and will bend a handle frame and then order some extra Weber handle covers and attach them. Doesnt look too hard to do and I took a handle off my kettle to use as a reference and will give me more finger room. I will cut it down 1/2" from the height they are now though so they have lower profile.
I also ordered a new extra charcoal grate from Amazon this a.m and will wire one grate to my 18" ring and the 22" ring to the grate when the new smoker comes. I can just swap them depending on my food load...I will use eye bolts on the 22" one and then U bolts on the outer edge of the 18 ring for handles. I may not have a useable smoker here to assemble but I can at least use it for reference for the mods I will do to the new one. Will save me a little time when it comes Tuesday.
UPDATE- I stole the plastic handles off my newer 22" Weber Kettle to makes these so I could mock them up while I have the damaged WSM sitting here for fitment.. I had to order new handles so that I can use them on the WSM when they come. I cut down some 3/4" wide and 1/8" thick flat stock and made the frames this afternoon. It wasn't easy without my vise at the house but made do with what I had. Sanded them and prepped them and then painted it with Rustoleum Hi-Temp semi-gloss grill paint. I did get one hole drilled off center ( I even had measured and stamped center..LOL ) but shouldn't hurt function any. These should give me the extra room I need for my full hand. They don't stick out any farther than the lower handle on the lid does so I hope it wont cause any cover fit issues. They fit right into the same holes that the smoker has for the inner grate brackets so no new holes need to be made.
DAVID--Where did you buy the wheels you put on the legs on your smoker? I really like them versus making a platform for it to wheel around on. This makes 5 grills on the patio and I like to wheel them around when needed.
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David
TVWBB Pro
I did not use the genie doors, but a black gate handle that only required a slight adjustment. After I shaped my door it was fine, not so at first as could not shut it down after my first cook......it burned all night and used all the charcoal. Now it shuts down pretty quick. The only thing else you might wish to consider is a clay pot rather than the water bowl. Years ago I used water on a forgotten name cooker, but decided to not on the wsm. I have no problems keeping the temp low if I wish, and able to shoot it over 300 if needed. Much easier cleanup as I just tin foil it, and then lay another piece over that which catches most of drippings. Another reason I like the 22 inch is I mostly just use the top shelf and then a drip pan on the lower crate which keeps the clay pot even cleaner. If I use the second crate it is usually not full so I can place the food over the second layer of foil on the clay pot..........just makes it so much easier to keep clean, for me anyway as cleaning is not my thing.
Since it is just the wife and I most of my cooks are small, except when we have guest or kids over, I live on the big top shelf, makes cooking easier not having to move, especially when I start hitting ribs with glaze or juice toward the end. Give yourself a couple of cooks to settle in before doubting your ability. I know I was a little ****ed after not shutting down the first time and struggling with keeping the temp down. I still might get the cajun door at some time as the weber door is not user friendly to take off and on, especially with smoke and heat bellowing out into your face. But, I don't use it much anyway.
Have fun with it. Not long ago we had some friends over for dinner and I cooked ribs, mainly because of a dinner at their where she did short ribs in the oven, that were very good. The lady, who is a really really good cook, said that she had never had ribs as good as mine before and wanted to know how I did it. Told her to get out of the oven and take it outside. Weren't my first try however, but they were the best so far. She went back for seconds....... me too..............................d
Since it is just the wife and I most of my cooks are small, except when we have guest or kids over, I live on the big top shelf, makes cooking easier not having to move, especially when I start hitting ribs with glaze or juice toward the end. Give yourself a couple of cooks to settle in before doubting your ability. I know I was a little ****ed after not shutting down the first time and struggling with keeping the temp down. I still might get the cajun door at some time as the weber door is not user friendly to take off and on, especially with smoke and heat bellowing out into your face. But, I don't use it much anyway.
Have fun with it. Not long ago we had some friends over for dinner and I cooked ribs, mainly because of a dinner at their where she did short ribs in the oven, that were very good. The lady, who is a really really good cook, said that she had never had ribs as good as mine before and wanted to know how I did it. Told her to get out of the oven and take it outside. Weren't my first try however, but they were the best so far. She went back for seconds....... me too..............................d