Thinking about purchasing WSM but....

[Guest]

I still have some concerns. I have been smoking on a brinkman for the past few years. Is the WSM that much better than the brinkman?

I was considering making a move to a large smoker such as a Good-one 30/24. The reason I never thought of another tube smoker was that I really never had the room to smoke more than 3 racs of ribs on my Brinkman. How many racs of bbbacks can you smoke on a WSM (without using rib rack)?

Does the WSM work well in the winter?

Is it harder to control the temp on WSM versus a larger smoker like the Good-one?

Does it take longer to cook meats on WSM versus a larger smoker?


What are other advantages and disadvantages of the WSM versus a larger smoker like the Good-one?

Thanks
Steven

 

[Keri C]

Steven,

Is the WSM that much better than a Brinkman? That's a resounding YES - design and temperature control is OUTSTANDING.

Cooking time - no difference between small smoker or large, as "done" depends on temperature and time, not on volume of cooking space. What you need to cook "low and slow" on one, you will still need to cook "low and slow" on the other.

How many rack of BBs can be cooked at a time on the WSM, you ask? Hey, Stogie, what'd you have - 12 or 14 at once by coiling them, if I remember right?

WSM in winter - I think most members of this list will say that they cook all year round, with some care as to blocking wind.

Temp control - short of your oven, a smoker with electronic temp control LIKE an oven, or a $10,000 Klose rig, the WSM is probably the easiest temp control there is. Commonly referred to as "set-it-and-forget-it".

I must confess that I'm not sure what a "Good-One" is, so I can't address that one for you. We have a trailer-mounted log burner (1/4-inch steel, 20-inch firebox, 48" horizontal, 48" vertical), and I WILL say that unless we are cooking for a large group (more than 20, I'd guess) we use the WSM. Probably 8 out of 10 cooks are on the WSM, I'd say. I can leave the WSM to its own devices for hours at a time, and can sleep through an all-night cook of butt or brisket. No way could we do that with the log-burner or our 20-year-old ECB, as they insist on attention every 30 minutes or so.

That's my view on things - many of us could guarantee that you'd be very pleased with the WSM. Others may know more about the "Good One". If you REALLY want to investigate a good smoker, and price doesn't matter much, look at the Klose smokers, built by David Klose in Houston. Whereas the WSM is the Cadillac of small smokers, the Klose cookers are the Cadillacs of ALL the smokers, in the opinions of many competitors and BBQ professionals.

Keri C
Still smokin on Tulsa Time

 

[Larry D.]

I've used a modified Brinkmann Gourmet (see http://community.webshots.com/user/dsorgnzd
for photos of the modifications) for the past 4 years, and just got a WSM (cooked on it on Saturday), so I think I can make a valid comparison.

The WSM is by far a higher quality smoker, made of porcelain coated steel, like the Weber kettle grills. The cooking grates are much heavier and better quality. The charcoal access door is larger, so you can easily add more charcoal during a long cook, if you need to, without having to lift the body off the charcoal pan.

The charcoal pan is deeper, and has a grate in the bottom, so ashes don't build up and smother the coals. Even with the mods I made, I'd have to lift off the body of the smoker and dump the accumulated ashes once during a 10-hour butt cooking session. With the WSM, I didn't. I just stirred the coals and added more unlit charcoal when I needed to, which apparently was caused by the winds we had here yesterday. Many WSM owners talk about going 12 hours or more on one fill of charcoal.

The big drawback (in my opinion) with the Brinkmann was lack of temperature control, due to not being able to control the amount of air going to the fire. After I modified mine, I was able to maintain a steady temperature without a problem. It's easier with the WSM's built-in vents.

Did I like the Brinkmann? Yes, after I modified it to make it easier to use. But I like the WSM much better.

 

[Jim Minion]

The Good One is a very good cooker, there some mods to make it better also. The biggest difference here is price, two completely different worlds.
Jim