Water or Sand


 
JRAiona

JRAiona

TVWBB Gold Member
So as I read the various threads one subject that seems to spark a bit of debate is what exactly to put in the water pan. I've read water, bricks, sand, a clay pot. I'm finding it a bit confusing and can really use some insight here. What's the best way to go?
 
It's really your preference. I love my clay foiled saucer, i have found that it really helps with long stable temps. The more variables I can remove from temp swings the better. With water you are going to burn through more fuel keeping that water warm, especially if you add more water mid cook. Just more work than it's worth imo. Empty and foiled is fine, but like I said I like my clay saucer for for that heat sink effect.

Hope this helped
 
I never use water anymore. I have used a brick , pea stone , sand and a chunk of steel for heat sinks but now that my wsm is well seasoned I just put the foiled , empty water pan in there and use the vents to control the heat. but if your wsm is new , I would recommend some type of heat sink.
 
JRAiona said:
What's the best way to go?
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Like many things, you'll have to decide for yourself what works best for you. Personally, I have the clay saucer. I'm not sure there's much difference in the waterless options. I used sand and now the clay saucer and did not recognize any difference. I think if I didn't already buy the clay saucer, I'd try foiling it and running dry. I would keep some air space between the pan and the foil though.

As for water - it works well. Face it, that's the way the smoker was built. The problem with water from my perspective is the disposal of the water. Getting rid of greasy water is a chore that I do not want to deal with. It also causes the smoker to use more charcoal. I wouldn't care about that as much if the disposal wasn't an issue for me. One thing that I did do that worked well was to put water in the pan but then put a catch pan on the lower grate for the grease. Then the water could just be poured out or down the sink because it wasn't greasy.

In the end, easiest for me was waterless.
 
I tried water once. Didn't care for the mess and clean up. Plus I wanted to run hotter so I switched to a clay saucer. I recommend you try both and see what you prefer
 
I've been cooking on WSM's for 12 years. I started with water, went to sand, went to the clay saucer, tried the Piedmont Pan (don't ask), for the past several years I've just been using a foiled dry pan. All have their pro's and con's, but once you have gained enough experience using your cooker, you can control the temps using any method. It all comes down to what is best for you and what you feel comfortable using, nobody can make that decision for you.
 
So I am fairly new as well. About 3-4 smokes on my WSM 22.5. Once I have enough on that is it sealed and stable, can I get and keep 225-240 degree range temps without the water? Is it as simple as the vents just have to be closed more?
 
Keith R said:
So I am fairly new as well. About 3-4 smokes on my WSM 22.5. Once I have enough on that is it sealed and stable, can I get and keep 225-240 degree range temps without the water? Is it as simple as the vents just have to be closed more?
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Yes. One thing people say with gas engines that carries over here IMO is: Fuel + Air + (spark)Fire...

Make sure you have enough fuel, give it enough air, ignite it....

I almost always run a dry pan.
 
Keith R said:
So I am fairly new as well. About 3-4 smokes on my WSM 22.5. Once I have enough on that is it sealed and stable, can I get and keep 225-240 degree range temps without the water? Is it as simple as the vents just have to be closed more?
Click to expand...

Keith it's just that simple....kind of. If you're going to use a foiled, empty pan, you must control your temps on the way up. For example, if you want to cook in the 225-240 range, once your temp gets to about 205-210, close down two of your vents. Once it reaches 225-230...start closing down the third bottom vent to just barely open (about 25% open), then leave it alone and see where your cooker wants to settle in at. When you make small adjustments on the vent let it sit for a while and see where it goes. Mine likes to settle in at around 248-250 and thats fine with me. Don't worry too much about chasing temps, shoot for a range, 225-240 is fine, but don't get too excited if it settles in at 245, that's fine.
 
I'll give it a shot. Mainly I think to try to conserve charcoal more than anything. The filling and disposing of water to me isn't that big a deal, my set up is very close to some woods. So far it has been lift, walk 10 steps, water a tree. But if I can cook away and control away and not use excess charcoal in heating the water pan etc then that sounds good to me.

I will give it a shot. even with water in the short time I have tried the WSM I have tried to catch the temp on the upswing versus it getting to 275 + and then having to back it down.
 
I moved from water in original water pan, to empty foiled original water pan. W/Water (just 1/4 lt) is in a disposable foil pan over upper grate.
Then I replaced the original water plan with the foiled pizza stone, w/some water as above.
Now I'm thinking to cut off water. Next ribs w/o water for sure.
Pizza stone is something you should try, IMO. Temp is super steady, with or without the BBQ Guru fan system.
 
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