Using Less Charcoal


 
L

Larry Powers

TVWBB Member
I have a WSM 22.5 and love it. Often though I am cooking one rack of ribs or a small shoulder. I would like to find a way to burn less charcoal. It appears that my options are to get a ring from a WSM 18 and use that, use one of the mods that reduce the volume of the 22 ring or I could get an 18 WSM. The last is my favorite option but not so popular with the wife.

For smoking small amounts of meat is there an advantage one way or the other between using a smaller ring in the 22 or using an 18 WSM?

I have smoked ribs in my 22 OTG and it uses a lot less charcoal but needs alot more attention.

Thanks.
 
Just spitballing here ...

It takes a minimum X amount of charcoal to get a specific cooker up to a specific temp and hold it there for a specific time, even with no meat inside.

Consider the difference between that amount and any additional amount that may be required to cook and just how much charcoal are you really saving ... at $.30 a lb?
 
Originally posted by TravisH:
Just spitballing here ...

It takes a minimum X amount of charcoal to get a specific cooker up to a specific temp and hold it there for a specific time, even with no meat inside.

Consider the difference between that amount and any additional amount that may be required to cook and just how much charcoal are you really saving ... at $.30 a lb?
Click to expand...
I'm with you, its just going to use a certain amount of coal to heat up a large smoker and it doesn't matter how big the pile of coal is. The only savings I could see would be when you shut it down after cooking. As the fire dies you probaby "waste" a little coal that you wouldn't if you had placed the perfect amount in. What I usually do, if I'm doing a short cook, is to just bank the coal on one side of the charcoal ring. It burns better than being spread out on a single layer.

If you want to save significant amounts of charcoal, you're going to need a smaller cooker. Have you looked at the portable grill forum here? Several people have turned smokey joes into mini-wsm's that look great for a single butt.
 
I guess we've learned why Weber took over 25 years to market a larger wsm. It's a great smoker for somebody's first catering gigs.
 
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