Wood Decks

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Hi all,
Just assembled my new WSM and installed a thermometer in the lid per instructions posted on this website. I'm about ready to fire the her up but have a question - unlike the Weber kettles the WSM doesn't have an ash pan. Can I use the WSM on a wood deck? Will ash come through the bottom vents and burn the deck? Will heat radiating from the bottom of the unit burn or discolor the deck? Also, any suggestions on what foods would make good "first attempt" items? Thanks in advance for any help you guys can provide.

Jon B
 
Hi Jon
I use my WSM on a wood deck and have had no trouble with ashes or burns. You'd be well advised to place something under the WSM to protect the wood from grease stains. Never put the lid down directly on the deck or other surface. I learned the hard way that there will be a nice grease ring left behind. There are protective mats available at Home Depot and Lowes. Be sure they are for charcoal use. I saw one at HD that looked great. It was marked FOR GAS GRILLS ONLY. The material was a plastic that I'm assuming would melt or catch fire should a hot coal land on it.
 
I don't use my WSM on a wood deck, but I do place an aluminum pan under mine when I cook. This pan is a water catch pan designed to be used under a hot water heater. It's about 4 feet in diameter. It still gets VERY hot directly under the WSM. I guess if I were going to use my WSM on a wood deck, I'd place the pan down first, then lift the WSM off the deck with cinder blocks. If I don't use the cinder blocks when I cook on the lawn, I get a nice brown circle of dead grass from the heat. The blocks lift it enough to solve that problem.
 
I had the same concerns and some people replied to use an oil drip mat that you can find at auto stores for about $11 I would perform a search in the forums for mats or something. The mats seemed big enough so that you could have the WSM on one side and still have enough room to set down the lid. Good luck. BTW, I just got my smoker yesterday so I'm in the same boat.
 
I have mine on a wood deck. I bought an oil drip pan from an auto store for about $10. I also bought about 6 of the flat square stepping stones from Home Depot to set in the pan.

The stepping stones isolate the heat from the deck. I often set my chimney charcoal starter on the paving stones. Starting with the Minion method requires the WSM to be full of charcoal and dump hot coals on top.

On a wood deck there's no where to set a chimney of lit coals while you fill the WSM charcoal ring. It's also hard if you need 2 full lit chimnes of charcoal (High demp cooking) because you can't just set the chimney on the wood deck. The paving stones really help out.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by JonB:
[qb]Will ash come through the bottom vents and burn the deck? Also, any suggestions on what foods would make good "first attempt" items? [/qb] <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>You should not have a problem with anything coming out of the bottom vents. Even a full charcoal ring's worth of spent charcoal ash won't fill the bowl up to the vents.

Most first-time WSM cooks go with spare ribs or chicken. The ribs are forgiving on cooking time; chicken is a relatively short cook. Two things to consider if you go with chicken-- less smoke wood is required, and, although the WSM is designed for slow cooking, leaving the water pan dry and cooking at 325-350* produces much more satisfying results.
 
And just a note to Doug's suggestion of chicken - cherry wood or pellets is the greatest with chicken, if you can get either the wood chunks or the BBQ Delight pellets. Cherry turns chicken a beautiful color of red.

Keri C
 
I have only cooked once on the WSM so far, so factor that into my reply.

I had a couple of small lit coals drop out of the bottom vents. The alignment must have been just right because the bottom certainly was NOT filled with ashes up to the vents. I would definitely place something under the unit while cooking. We have a Weber firepit that I use on our deck and I put a few bricks under it to shield the deck from the heat.

My first cook was an 8-lb. pork butt that came out great. It took around 12 hours which gave me a lot of chances to check temp, adjust vents, check water level, etc. Oh, and I didn't plan on eating it the same day. That took away any pressure to get it done on time which made for a very relaxing and enjoyable first run.

Good luck and have fun.
 
Has anyone tried that Durock concrete board for this?

If it would hold up to the weather, I'd think a half sheet of that might be a solution. And if you really wanted something that looked nice you could tile the top surface. Just a thought.
 
I've cooked a couple of times on my wood deck including 2 overnighters where i slept 6+ hours. I bought 2 circular water heater pans from home depot but they are plastic not metal.

One for the cooker and one for the lid. I have dropped a coal on this pan and it did not melt (removed it after a minute or 2). The lid does not stick to it either.

For a place to put the chimney starter after I dump the coals I use 6 bricks on the deck.

Hope this helps and gl/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif
 
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