Water in the bottom of the WSM


 
L

LoisS

New member
Hi Everyone,

I cured and smoked my first pork loin (first cook of the season) approximating Tom Barineau's recipe http://tvwbb.infopop.cc/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/28800690...560093152#3560093152 (thanks, Tom) for Easter Sunday dinner. It turned out great and influenced several friends. Butt, when I cleaned out the WSM, there was over an inch of water in the bottom. This being Seattle, it may have rained a bit between smoking and clean-up although I had protected it by hanging a blue tarp over it. I remember this happened to me last time as well and it wasn't raining. It sure makes for a mucky clean-up. Does anyone have any idea what might be causing this and suggestions for fixing it? I've read a couple of past posts which mentioned rain being the culprit and a fix of placing some foil in the bottom. Anything else?

Thanks.

Lois in Seattle
 
I am using a Brinkman pan for probably the third or fourth time so no holes or rust...yet. I put foil in it and I'm not over-filling it.

I should say that when I was done with the cook, I closed all vents including the top. Perhaps that creates a lot of condensation. Maybe I should try leaving the vents open so that the condensation can evaporate even though that will burn up the charcoal.
 
My guess is, being as you're using the Brinkman Charcoal bowl, the wide heavy duty foil isn't wide enough to foil the whole bowl and you have to use 2 sheets? If this is the case, water gets under the foil and then wicks over the edge, under the foil. Just a thought.
 
Unless the WSM is totally covered by something waterproof-- the included cover isn't-- any water hitting the dome lid or the center section is going to end up in the charcoal bowl. It's just the way the cooker is put together. So, unless the blue tarp was large enough, totally waterproof, and tied securely at the bottom, the likely culprit is plain old rain. Being the cooker is porcelain enamel inside and out, it won't hurt anything, but, as you said, it's a bit muck-ey to clean out.
 
Thanks, guys. Bill, you're right about needing to use two sheets of foil to cover the pan. I didn't realize that water could be wicking over the edge. I tried going foil-free one time and cleaning up the water pan was even a worse mess than cleaning up the muck in the charcoal bowl. If Kingsford can reconfigure its charcoal, maybe Reynolds Wrap can make a wider aluminum foil. We can only hope!

Lois
 
Cleaning up an unlined water bowl is a despicable task! But, the only time i had water in my cvharcoal bowl was when I carefully tipped most of the water from my water pan into it. What a delightful mess that was.

Cheers,
Mike
 
Be careful after you clean up your WSM that you let it dry out well before covering it up for storage. I had gotten water in the charcoal bowl from rain and closed it up (after cleaning it out) when it must have still been damp and ended up with a good bit of fuzzy white mold on the interior. I now leave my top vent open whne I cover it, figuring it would allow evaporating water to escape (no clue if it helps).
Jamie
 
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