WSM 14.5 Charcoal Basket - ARBORFAB


 
Vaughan

Vaughan

TVWBB Member
I just completed smoking a nice sized chicken and polish sausage on my WSM 14,5 with excellent results. Pegged the temp at 225 degrees through out the cook. So I ask myself, why should I spend $72.00 (w/shipping) on an ARBORFAB basket? Folks with them.....what does this bring to the table? It seems to me that the the WSM will hold its own if you know what you are doing and learn to use this wonderful little smoker as designed.
 
I‘ll give this a go. I recently purchased one for my 18.5 WSM. The arbor fab basket isn’t about holding temperature… it’s about getting the most life out of your charcoal. You’ll notice the stock grate bars are spread fairly far apart, and smaller pieces of charcoal will fall through instead of being “used up.”

Could you achieve more efficiency by purchasing another grate and cross-crossing the bars? Absolutely. I was doing so for the last year. I then completed a 5-6 hour smoke with some pork butts as my “maiden voyage” for my arborfab basket, and I didn’t make it through half of my charcoal. I found it quite impressive In my humble experience.

Is it necessary? No. Is it awesome? Yes.
 
Bradley Mack said:
I‘ll give this a go. I recently purchased one for my 18.5 WSM. The arbor fab basket isn’t about holding temperature… it’s about getting the most life out of your charcoal. You’ll notice the stock grate bars are spread fairly far apart, and smaller pieces of charcoal will fall through instead of being “used up.”

Could you achieve more efficiency by purchasing another grate and cross-crossing the bars? Absolutely. I was doing so for the last year. I then completed a 5-6 hour smoke with some pork butts as my “maiden voyage” for my arborfab basket, and I didn’t make it through half of my charcoal. I found it quite impressive In my humble experience.

Is it necessary? No. Is it awesome? Yes.
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I have to ask. Are you saying that the Arbofab is responsible for getting a 5-6 hour smoke? I have criss-crossed grates and have been getting smokes that length. Even better with the Hunsacker vortex plate ($25).
 
RichPB (richlife) said:
I have to ask. Are you saying that the Arbofab is responsible for getting a 5-6 hour smoke? I have criss-crossed grates and have been getting smokes that length. Even better with the Hunsacker vortex plate ($25).
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Quite the opposite. I probably could have worded that better. My apologies.

I completed a 5-6 hour smoke with the use of my WSM and arborfab. I filled the basket to maybe half and used the minion method. I didn’t even burn through half of the charcoal by the time the cook was complete. Quite a bit left over. So I am quite please with how efficient the basket made the overall smoke. I probably could have gone for another 5-7 hours easily.
 
Vaughan said:
I just completed smoking a nice sized chicken and polish sausage on my WSM 14,5 with excellent results. Pegged the temp at 225 degrees through out the cook. So I ask myself, why should I spend $72.00 (w/shipping) on an ARBORFAB basket? Folks with them.....what does this bring to the table? It seems to me that the the WSM will hold its own if you know what you are doing and learn to use this wonderful little smoker as designed.
Click to expand...
I’ve only cooked on my 14.5” 2 times now - 1 with the stock basket & 1 with the ARBORFAB one & the ARBORFAB one is still over half full of charcoal after smoking for 8 hr. I agree, it’s not necessary but it really is nice to have. Bought one for my 18.5” one too (haven’t used in it yet).
 
Instead of spending a bunch of money on that basket, you can make one for around $15. That's what I did anyway. I got some expanded metal from a local steel shop, cut and bent it up to form a bigger basket for my 14.5" WSM, and it works perfectly.
 
Lots of folks have done the expanded steel basket wrap and that makes a ton of sense to me. I ran a ten hour overnight with nothing but stock equipment in my 18 last Friday. I’m not too anxious to mess with success these days.
 
Paula Hays said:
I’ve only cooked on my 14.5” 2 times now - 1 with the stock basket & 1 with the ARBORFAB one & the ARBORFAB one is still over half full of charcoal after smoking for 8 hr. I agree, it’s not necessary but it really is nice to have. Bought one for my 18.5” one too (haven’t used in it yet).
Click to expand...
This is where I'm at - arborfab basket in my 14 works fantastic, I use my stock grate too and stack charcoal all the way up and around my water pan. Light mine using the tin can method. I also think folks are right and the after market basket is unnecessary. But it is definitely cool/functional and I would buy another if mine disappeared.

Works so great I bought one for my 18 too but that was ill advised. I can get such a long cook stock that I do not "need" it and have never used it.
 
I have never had any problem whatsoever with charcoal falling through the bottom grate on my WSM-18. I find any modifications to that to be unnecessary. There is never been anything in the bottom of my smoker.....but fine ash. If something does fall down there it continues to burn there. All the lower grate modifications are a solution in search of a make-believe problem. Imo. Don't waste your money.

First and most importantly the charcoal burns from the top down..... So the coals on the bottom are the last to burn...... It is rare to burn empty hyour whole basket so you always have a layer of coals in the bottom of your basket.

And you can extend your coal basket for greater capacity if desired (longer burn times, longer time before ash causes problems), for $15 of expanded metal and a couple of small screws,/nuts/washers. No need to spend $45 or more on some special custom basket
 
Vaughan said:
<snip> why should I spend $72.00 (w/shipping) on an ARBORFAB basket? Folks with them.....what does this bring to the table? It seems to me that the the WSM will hold its own if you know what you are doing and learn to use this wonderful little smoker as designed.
Click to expand...
I got an Arbor Fab for my 14. I like it. I didn't have to rig up crossed grates, dink around with expanded stuff, wire stuff together or anything. I have done a LOT of fabrication and "re-engineering" in my life. These days, I live by the adage "Time is Money". I take into account the amount of my time that's going to be consumed in addition to the paltry materials cost to do some sort of rigged apparatus. I already have enough to do without adding more tasks to the list.
The Arbor Fab is merely a one-piece drop-in upgrade. It holds more charcoal. After a cook, I grab the crossbar, give it a shimmy-shake to drop out ash and tiny bits. The ash gets dumped and the remaining charcoal goes into a container to keep it dry. It's a one-piece solution that enables such simplicity of task. I also got a little minion basket for mine. I just drop a few hot briquettes into the minion, leave it there, and let 'er rip.
There is more complete airflow around the sides with the Arbor Fab.
I realize that the WSMs work very well "as designed", but that doesn't mean there isn't room for improvement. "As designed" takes into account not only function, but material sourcing, cost of production, profit margins and so on. Such factors often reduce the overall viability of the product. Very few products hit the market as the Holy Grail of what that product should be. If it does achieve that status, be prepared to pay LOTS more for it than for any similar or competing product.
That's where all the room for upgrades, modifications and improvement comes into play. It's kinda like buying a pickup truck. Many people leave them stock and they are happy with that. Many people add bed liners, mud guards, fog lights, tonneau covers, bumper steps, tool boxes, cold air intakes, suspension mods, and so on. Changes for improved function, protection, and performance. Advantages not provided by OEM configuration.
All that being said, I like my Arbor Fab. I know how to deal with the OEM charcoal ring / grate, etc. as designed. I preferred something simpler with more capacity and more evenly distributed airflow around the sides. I like stainless steel, too. It's gonna last a LOT longer than the OEM charcoal grate.
Can I get longer cook times? Yes. Is cleanup easier? Yes. Is the overall aspect of dealing with the one-piece charcoal apparatus easier? Definitely -- Yes.
Sure, the OEM WSM will hold its own. Enjoy it. I just appreciate the advantages provided by the Arbor Fab.
 
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OliverLeveritt said:
I got an Arbor Fab for my 14. I like it. I didn't have to rig up crossed grates, dink around with expanded stuff, wire stuff together or anything. I have done a LOT of fabrication and "re-engineering" in my life. These days, I live by the adage "Time is Money". I take into account the amount of my time that's going to be consumed in addition to the paltry materials cost to do some sort of rigged apparatus. I already have enough to do without adding more tasks to the list.
The Arbor Fab is merely a one-piece drop-in upgrade. It holds more charcoal. After a cook, I grab the crossbar, give it a shimmy-shake to drop out ash and tiny bits. The ash gets dumped and the remaining charcoal goes into a container to keep it dry. It's a one-piece solution that enables such simplicity of task. I also got a little minion basket for mine. I just drop a few hot briquettes into the minion, leave it there, and let 'er rip.
There is more complete airflow around the sides with the Arbor Fab.
I realize that the WSMs work very well "as designed", but that doesn't mean there isn't room for improvement. "As designed" takes into account not only function, but material sourcing, cost of production, profit margins and so on. Such factors often reduce the overall viability of the product. Very few products hit the market as the Holy Grail of what that product should be. If it does achieve that status, be prepared to pay LOTS more for it than for any similar or competing product.
That's where all the room for upgrades, modifications and improvement comes into play. It's kinda like buying a pickup truck. Many people leave them stock and they are happy with that. Many people add bed liners, mud guards, fog lights, tonneau covers, bumper steps, tool boxes, cold air intakes, suspension mods, and so on. Changes for improved function, protection, and performance. Advantages not provided by OEM configuration.
All that being said, I like my Arbor Fab. I know how to deal with the OEM charcoal ring / grate, etc. as designed. I preferred something simpler with more capacity and more evenly distributed airflow around the sides. I like stainless steel, too. It's gonna last a LOT longer than the OEM charcoal grate.
Can I get longer cook times? Yes. Is cleanup easier? Yes. Is the overall aspect of dealing with the one-piece charcoal apparatus easier? Definitely -- Yes.
Sure, the OEM WSM will hold its own. Enjoy it. I just appreciate the advantages provided by the Arbor Fab.
Click to expand...
Don't sugar coat it. How do you really feel about the Arbor Fab? :)
 
My concern with this type of mod is that it holds that charcoal but it also holds in the ash. This could be terrible with KBB. Might not be a problem with lump. You want that ash to fall through.
 
I have the 22.5 ArborFab charcoal basket & minion starter, it works like a charm. No clogging of ash, however I do use an ATC & I never use KBB when smoking. I can only guess on how long you can keep the temp going if you actually filled it to its capacity. The price of these have gone up since I purchased mine a couple of years ago. The other factor is that I don't need the charcoal grate when using this. Check out the reviews in link below:

www.arborfab.com

Charcoal Assembly for Weber Smokey Mountain Grill 22.5" WSM

www.arborfab.com
 

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OliverLeveritt said:
I got an Arbor Fab for my 14. I like it. I didn't have to rig up crossed grates, dink around with expanded stuff, wire stuff together or anything. I have done a LOT of fabrication and "re-engineering" in my life. These days, I live by the adage "Time is Money". I take into account the amount of my time that's going to be consumed in addition to the paltry materials cost to do some sort of rigged apparatus. I already have enough to do without adding more tasks to the list.
The Arbor Fab is merely a one-piece drop-in upgrade. It holds more charcoal. After a cook, I grab the crossbar, give it a shimmy-shake to drop out ash and tiny bits. The ash gets dumped and the remaining charcoal goes into a container to keep it dry. It's a one-piece solution that enables such simplicity of task. I also got a little minion basket for mine. I just drop a few hot briquettes into the minion, leave it there, and let 'er rip.
There is more complete airflow around the sides with the Arbor Fab.
I realize that the WSMs work very well "as designed", but that doesn't mean there isn't room for improvement. "As designed" takes into account not only function, but material sourcing, cost of production, profit margins and so on. Such factors often reduce the overall viability of the product. Very few products hit the market as the Holy Grail of what that product should be. If it does achieve that status, be prepared to pay LOTS more for it than for any similar or competing product.
That's where all the room for upgrades, modifications and improvement comes into play. It's kinda like buying a pickup truck. Many people leave them stock and they are happy with that. Many people add bed liners, mud guards, fog lights, tonneau covers, bumper steps, tool boxes, cold air intakes, suspension mods, and so on. Changes for improved function, protection, and performance. Advantages not provided by OEM configuration.
All that being said, I like my Arbor Fab. I know how to deal with the OEM charcoal ring / grate, etc. as designed. I preferred something simpler with more capacity and more evenly distributed airflow around the sides. I like stainless steel, too. It's gonna last a LOT longer than the OEM charcoal grate.
Can I get longer cook times? Yes. Is cleanup easier? Yes. Is the overall aspect of dealing with the one-piece charcoal apparatus easier? Definitely -- Yes.
Sure, the OEM WSM will hold its own. Enjoy it. I just appreciate the advantages provided by the Arbor Fab.
Click to expand...
Any thing you had to do to season it before first use?
 
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