WSM 14.5" vs. 18.5"?


 
Not sure I'm added anything to what's been said so far, but I have the 18.5 and love it. Granted the 14 wasn't an option when I bought mine, but I suspect that all things being equal I would have gotten the 18 anyway.

I say that because when I bought it I already knew that the WSM wasn't a "let me see if I like it" purchase but a "I haven't used it yet, but I know I'll love it" kind a thing. And while my regular cooks are for 2 adults, when my out of town family visits they tend to do so all at once. Plus since the 18.5" has been the work horse of the WSM fleet for so long, I knew it should be able to handle whatever I can throw at it. And if I need extra capacity I've got an 18" OTS and a 22" OTG to augment my capacity.

At the end of the day whatever your choice is, you should be happy with your WSM.
 
JasonQuevada said:
i was thinking of a 14 in addition to the 22...overkill?

i can see why people think that 22 is too much though. almost feel like im cooking way too much just to make the coals worth it...
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I agonized over the 18 vs the 22 and then decided on the better to have it and got the 22. I have to admit part of it was not a snob appeal but a "mine is bigger than yours" It looks darn impressive, about the size of a Saturn 5 rocket! I also like the ability to fit 3 racks of ribs on the top rack without cutting them.
That being said I built a mini about 2 months ago and have only used the 22 once since, when I did 3 racks and didn't want to cut them for the mini. I have done a 6 pound chicken along with 6 turkey legs at the same time on the mini.
I am now waiting on my 14.5, the BBQ Barn in Arlington just let me know they have 6 coming in next week. With usually 2 of us eating, sometimes 3, the mini is perfect and uses VERY little charcoal.
But I do love the look of the 22, sitting next to my offset it makes a heck of a BBQ area. I do want the 22 for big parties, but for every day the mini is it.





 
JoeMarcum said:
Anyone have a couple good pictures of a cook on a 14.5" doing ribs, brisket, etc. Just curious to see how the spacing works out. I'm going to assume a brisket would need to be cut like the ribs would.
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Here's a different twist on the 14.5. By replacing the 14.5 smoker boby with a 16 gallon drum you can hang full slabs, no cutting.

P1070259_zps590d1d1a.jpg
 
George, so a Smoky Joe lid fits the 16 gallon drum? Will you tell us more about that please?
 
I originally got an 18 1/2" WSM. After about a year, I felt I needed more room, so I got a 22 1/2" WSM.
I use an 18 1/2" charcoal ring in my 22 1/2" WSM, it does use a bit more fuel, but not that much.
I use both WSMs, if it fits in the 18 1/2" model, I use it, otherwise the 22 1/2".
I have both a 22 1/2" and 26 3/4" OTG, besides grilling, kettles are great for smoking, especially small cuts of meat.
If you cook a lot, get a 22 1/2" WSM and a 26 3/4" OTG, you can cook almost anything on that combo.
 
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If you tailgate or go camping a lot I could see using the 14 just for space purposes. For home cooking, That extra 4 inches on the 18 will come in handy especially if using foiled pans.
 
Well not a whole lot to add, it's just me and the wife also, so I built a mini and I'm completely content with it. It uses very little charcoal and if I need to BBQ something bigger I use my performer in a pinch. That said if I ran across an 18.5 in good shape for a super price I would probably buy it just to be able to replicate what a lot of the folks on here do. But I’m sure the mini would still be the star of the show.
 
I got the 18.5 because of price and knew that it would do most things I wanted to do. I eventually wanted more space-like another cooker kind of space. I did not have the money to spend on a 22, I thought about building a mini, but I decided to build a UDS instead so I could have the 22 inch cooking space. Most people on here cook way more than the average joe.
 
I suggest buying bigger than what you think you need. Better to have the room and not need it, than needing it and not having it.
 
JoeMarcum said:
Considering my first WSM and its just the wife and I so I'm not sure if the 18.5" is over kill... This will be my first smoker, I tired the "amazingtube" smoker with little success, could never keep the pellets lit in my Genesis gas grill once the lid was closed!

So, since its just the two of us, I'm not sure if the 18.5" is over kill, but i don't want to regret not getting the 18.5" down the road on the flip side. That said, I'd probably like to be able to smoke 2-3 racks of ribs at a time. I think id probably want to cook a pork butt or separately a full brisket, but i don't think i'd have need to cook more than one pork butt or one brisket at a time.

All opinions are welcome, please let me know your thoughts.

Thanks,

Joe
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I'm not sure anybody has pointed this out, and I'm sure that you've probably already picked up on this little secret if you've spent a good bit of time on this site. One of the nice things about having so much space to cook with is the extra space to cook with! Meaning, just because it's only the two of you doesn't mean you can't smoke extra food and freeze it for later in the week. As an example, whenever I do a pork shoulder, I usually throw on another shoulder that basically gets pulled and frozen for use as tacos or enchiladas or with beans or whatever else we come up with. This is a great bonus for my family because my schedule really only gives me one good day to smoke (Saturday), and with my wife caring for our 1.5 year old all day, my cooking extra meat on the weekend helps her spend less time cooking during the week.

Just something else to consider!

Also as long as you stockpile your charcoal when it's cheap and reuse what's left after a cook, the 18.5" is not that expensive to fuel. Granted I do use a full ring of coals every time I cook, most of the time 1/2 of it has been used before.
 
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Not sure if you all saw Harry Soo this past weekend entered I think four different categories in a BBQ contest and did well, all using only one home made mini!!

- Joe
 
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I have been waiting to see the 14.5 in person at a store, so far no luck. It is the perfect size for 2. Can travel easily for camping, and day trips.
If I need more room than that, a mini will work too. I thought that with the holidays coming that more Ace Hardwares would have the 14.5 in stock.
 
Bob H. said:
I have been waiting to see the 14.5 in person at a store, so far no luck. It is the perfect size for 2. Can travel easily for camping, and day trips.
If I need more room than that, a mini will work too. I thought that with the holidays coming that more Ace Hardwares would have the 14.5 in stock.
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thats the thing... I have found with my home built mini it is the perfect size for camping but other than that I don't find myself using it


For every day home use I wouldn't discount the importance of fire control and ash usage.
If you want to do a high heat cook with your mini you are going to have to replace coals much more often and dump ash more often (and also will probably have more heat variance because of that)
I have found even a lower heat cook requires a lot more maintenance on the mini. (maybe weber's official one will be better here)

Point is if you have can only have 1 cooker, or for your first cooker,the 18 or 22 is the way to go. You might have expectations going in but you never know what type of cooking you might get into (High heat, cooking for a group, etc).

I want one though! and will be really interested in the test runs
 
DK Smith said:
thats the thing... I have found with my home built mini it is the perfect size for camping but other than that I don't find myself using it


For every day home use I wouldn't discount the importance of fire control and ash usage.
If you want to do a high heat cook with your mini you are going to have to replace coals much more often and dump ash more often (and also will probably have more heat variance because of that)
I have found even a lower heat cook requires a lot more maintenance on the mini. (maybe weber's official one will be better here)

Point is if you have can only have 1 cooker, or for your first cooker,the 18 or 22 is the way to go. You might have expectations going in but you never know what type of cooking you might get into (High heat, cooking for a group, etc).

I want one though! and will be really interested in the test runs
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I agree that the mini is a good second (or third) cooker, but I have been able to maintain 325 in my mini for 5 hours without having to replace any coals. I get my 14.5 this Friday so will see how a real one works. I will still keep my SJG mini, can use it to double the height on the 14.5
 
^ Yep

I also can do 325 on my 22 for 5 hours - 3 or 4 times without having to dump ash

Maybe not important to some but is for me
 
DK Smith said:
^ Yep

I also can do 325 on my 22 for 5 hours - 3 or 4 times without having to dump ash

Maybe not important to some but is for me
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I have a 22.5, a mini, and a 14.5. I would much rather dump the ashes 3- 4 times on the smaller ones then ONCE on the WSM. Especially WET ashes.
 
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