Ultra Newbie with more questions about the water pan

[Jon Tofte]

OK, I did a huge parts swap of gas grill parts with my friend @Bruce in Wisconsin. One of the cool things he threw in was a '95 WSM 18. Not perfect, of course, but I have seen kettles that look way worse. I have never owned a WSM or cooked on one. Anyway, I am working on getting what I need to have my first try at cooking on this after mnay years of grilling and doing low and slow BBQing on a Big Green Egg, many kettles, and 2 pellet grills. I am really looking forward to the challenge and to seeing the difference in results.

I purchased the Hunsaker top and middle cooking grates to replace the totally rusted out ones that were in the WSM. They look great! I am sure they will outlast this WSM and probably me, too.

Next issue is the water pan. It is still there as is a charcoal ring (two sets of holes all the way around - I thought the older ones had only one set of holes???). Unfortunately, the water pan has rust on the bottom and a hole perfectly placed in the middle to ruin a charcoal fire:



I was kind of set back at the price of an OEM replacement, so just like we do over in the gas grill section, I started looking for alternative solutions. One that popped out was this stainless bowl on Walmart.com. It is 14.25" wide, so the lip will still catch the tabs, and it's less than $22:



I understand that the newer bowls for the 18" WSM are deeper than the shallow one I have. However, this bowl is 6.25" inches deep. That leaves barely over an inch above the charcoal ring.

I am looking for advice as to whether using this deep of a bowl would suffocate the fire and/or to other ideas of what I should do. I have considered using high heat RTV to plug the hole in the existing bowl, but as you can see, the whole center portion is pretty compromised, so at best that will only buy me a little time. I would rather get something that works well from the get-go and won't ruin a cook this fall.

Like I said, I am just a total newbie at this, so I am open to all good suggestions!

 

[Chris Allingham]

Addressing your comment on the charcoal chamber first, it's had two rows of holes for many years, but the earliest ones had a single row of holes, as in this photo from a 1981 WSM by member Chris-P:



As for the water pan, I've made several videos on this subject. My advice is for you to somehow patch that original bowl and continue to use it because of the low profile. The newer 18.5" deep bowl hangs too low over the fire, IMHO.

If you intend to cook without water, you can just foil the pan with two sheets of wide aluminum foil or use one of those water pan covers wrapped with foil.

If you want to use water, patch it with J-B Weld and cover with two layers of foil or use a 12" disposable Dutch oven liner inside.

If you insist on a new pan, the one in the Walmart ad or others I've featured in videos like the Winco MXB-1300Q can be problematic because the stated dimensions can vary from batch to batch. You can buy and try, if it doesn't seat well then return it and try another from a different batch or a different supplier.

Another new pan option is the Hubert chafer pan (see second video). I like it because it's fairly shallow with straight sides...but expensive.

 

[Jon Tofte]

Chris,
GREAT Answers from the WSM Pro! I will check all this out. My initial reaction is that the disposable oven liner looks like the easiest and most logical fix. I will follow-up after I have had time to review.

 

[John F Ford]

Chris,
GREAT Answers from the WSM Pro! I will check all this out. My initial reaction is that the disposable oven liner looks like the easiest and most logical fix. I will follow-up after I have had time to review.

Jon,
Since there are only wife and I the water pan (really sand pan foil covered) sits on the bottom grate, since it is never used now. This also leaves more room to add additional fuel if needed. This works well for us.

 

[Jon Tofte]

So much to learn! Seems like there are quite a few that don't see the water filled pan as a needed or even positive thing. Intuitively, to me, the idea of some moisture - along with temperature moderation - makes sense. Yet so many experienced users say not to use water .

 

[Richard Garcia]

So much to learn! Seems like there are quite a few that don't see the water filled pan as a needed or even positive thing. Intuitively, to me, the idea of some moisture - along with temperature moderation - makes sense. Yet so many experienced users say not to use water .

I am in the process to activate my underused Year 2008 WSM Classic in which I always filled the water pan with water. I line only the bottom of the water pan with heavy duty aluminum foil as shown in one of Chris’s You Tube Videos which made clean-up a breeze.

 

[Jim C in Denver]

Dutch oven liner if you want to use the water pan and cook on the lower grate.

If not cooking on the lower grate, put a tray of water there.

Lots of discussion about whether to use water.

Once you get experienced with the cooker, you don’t need all that water to regulate temps much. And the water uses up a lot of fuel.

I think most of us still use water from time to time in modest amounts for moisture. But don’t keep a full pan of boiling water for the whole cook.

A lot of the water pan discussion on here is because the current oem pan on the 18 is way too big/deep for that cooker. If the 18 came with a smaller shallower pan, folks would be fine with using it (wet or dry).

 

[Jon Tofte]

So, I wanted to report back. After watching the videos kindly provided by @Chris Allingham I decided to take a chance on the Winco mixing bowl. I liked that it was close to the original in shape and size. (I am keeping my original with the hole in the bottom for who knows what.) I bought my WInco from a place called TigerChef.com. They had a price cheap enough that I bought three for little more than it would have cost to get one elsewhere.

So, the bowl is fairly thin but stainless.



The good news is that it is large enough in diameter to not have any risk of falling through. The bad news is that it is a tiny bit TOO WIDE to nest in the straps - at least as they are in their current unrestored state. When I clean up this grill, I might see if I can bend each one just a little to make the bowl sit down and allow a grate to rest properly on top. Of course, if you aren't using the bottom grate (as apparently many users do not) then the way it sits now is not a big deal. It may wiggle a little and I wouldn't fill it to the brim, but no chance of it falling in or flipping over that I see.

 

[timothy]

How's it fit inside the old one?