Using sand in the water pan


 
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Rich T

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The sand thing sounds very interesting, especially for those long overnight smokes. I have a question for the guys who use sand: Do you use sand exclusively, even with leaner cuts of meat? Or only for extended smokes with fattier meats?

I want to try sand, but I don't want to dry out the product. I thought the water pan was used to add moisture. Now I'm starting to wonder if it's more for temperature stabilization.

Thanks,
-Rich
 
I asked this question in the adding water thread, but, since you broke out the sand conversation, let me cut and paste it here too.

One question I have about sand is this, stated as a winding path .

I understand that water has heat control qualities. Obviously, if you put in 70 degree water, the heat of the cooker will come down because the water will be heating up. This makes sense to me. Sand does to, at least for about three hours. But, at some point does the sand not just get hot and stay hot and therefore cause you to lose any control benefits?

That would be my reason for not using sand, but, perhaps I'm not seeing the big picture and those who do use it could explain it better.
 
I use a Brinkmann pan filled to within 2 inches of the top with sand. I haven't weighed it, but I bet it weighs around 20 lbs. The temps are much more stable with it than either then standard or Brinkmann pan filled with water. I haven't noticed any difference in the food versus using water.

My practice with the water-filled pan was to fire up (Minion method), then leave the door and dampers open until it got to 275 degrees, then add the food. It would then stabilize to 225 or so within a few minutes. With the sand pan, I leave the door and dampers open until it gets to 200 or so, then put on food and close down the dampers. It then stabilizes at 225 in a few minutes, and doesn't change much at all after that.

I think the sand is a greater mass to heat up than the water, so it heats up somewhat slower (but not much), but stays much more stable once heated. I don't think it takes hours to heat up a sand filled pan-- my experience with the above method is that it is very stable within 15 minutes or so.

Clark
 
My understanding of why sand works as well as water is that each of the grains of sand has a really high surface area relative to mass. This means that it is able to absorb/release heat in a relatively steady manner, keeping it from getting too hot, it kind of acts like a capacitor in that it stores the heat to a certain point and then slowly releases it. Water is able to do this especially well because of its high heat capacity, but with water you have the problem of evaporation and needing to replace it every so often. Sand probably isn't as efficient as water but it has the advantage of not evaporating.

It would be interesting to experiment with rocks of different sizes in the water pan and see if you get temperature plateaus at different points.

Tim
 
I use sand exclusively for every cook. I don't forsee ever going back to water. I travel to contests but I also take my WSM on camping and tailgating trips. One of the big pains was always having to find water OR hauling it around with you...especially when camping or tailgating.

No idea about the science, but I can attest to the fact that the sand acts very much like water as far as stabilizing the temps. My chuck roast experiments were done with sand and the temps held steady when I wanted them to and increased with ease when I wanted them to.

In regards to the initial heating...that is dependant on how much lit charcoal is used...not on whether there is water or sand in the pan...as far as I can tell anyway. I continue to put my meats on immediately after lighting the pit and have noticed no difference in the time the pit takes to rise to 225?.

I don't see any difference in the moisture content of the meats. Of course, the meats we smoke are typically full of fat so they will be moist regardless of using water or sand. Plus, I am an avid user of foil on ribs and brisket which will, of course, keep the moisture level quite high.

Just my observations from many months of sand usage. Also, I have not had to change my sand since late last summer.
 
I'm going to give it a try. Do you guys recommend the coarser sands or the really fine stuff. I've purchased the sandbox stuff for the kids that is really fine, and I've also used the coarse stuff when I mix concrete. Not sure which would be better in the WSM, or if it makes a difference.

Thanks again for all the great info.

-Rich
 
Should not matter. Overall mass should not change much.

"I use sand exclusively for every cook. I don't foresee ever going back to water." Quoting and agreeing with Kevin.
 
I personally use sand the majority of the time. If I'm cooking something especially lean, I may use water. To be honest, I can't say it makes an obvious difference. Dang near everything on the WSM comes out tasting pretty good. I use my WSM all year round. One thing I've gone to doing on sub freezing temp days is to put my "Sand" pan and grates in a 400 degree oven while my coals are firing up. My personal experience is that this makes a pretty big different on getting the smoker to cooking temps - especially on single digit temp days. YMMV. Obviously use extreme care in transporting the pan and grates to the WSM....
 
I still use the standard water pan 95% filled with clean sand. Wide heavy-duty foil covers the top completely. Very easy clean up as compared to using water.
 
Larry....

Check out my pics on the chuck roast experiment thread. You will see how gnarly the foil gets. I let it solidify and then lift it off and toss. Sooooo simple and easy.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Kevin Taylor:
[qb] Larry....

Check out my pics on the chuck roast experiment thread. You will see how gnarly the foil gets. I let it solidify and then lift it off and toss. Sooooo simple and easy. [/qb] <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>Help! Kevin, I can't find your pics on that thread. Did you get to post them?
 
Howard,
This should take you to Kevin's pic's:
Stogie's Weber

P.S. Hey Kevin, I went to pick up some sand yesterday, and I saw a similar cart at my local hardware store for $89!!!! Yikes, I'm definately gonna check Wally World...

-Rich
 
Rich.....

I'll save you a trip. Was at Wally World today...same price...$90.

I did buy some of that GreenHeat...the all natural starter gel. $3.46 a bottle.
 
Where do you get the sand and what kind? Is the standard bowl that comes with the WSM ok or is the brinkman better?

Never tried sand and may give it a go.
 
I think most people buy a bag of playground sand at Home Depot. People use both pans with sand. I would think that the standard pan should be sufficient.

Regards,
Chris
 
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