WSM 18.5 Purchase


 
Vaughan

Vaughan

TVWBB Member
I had a WSM 14.5. While having the typical Weber engineering and quality, it was a little small for me. I sold it and purchased a WSM 18.5. I am sure it will deliver the same smoking ease and quality of the WSM 14.5. The kicker is that I was able to purchase the WSM 18.5 (brand new and assembled) for $225.00 at Lowes. It was the only one in stock and the floor model. I asked about the floor model markdown and the rest is history. I am pretty amazed they would mark down the price this much. I am looking forward to many years of smoking.:wsm:
 
Good deal and you did not even have to assemble it.:D
The 18.5 is great. The only drawback I have with it is it multiple rib racks are a bit of a pain, if you wrap or sauce and put back on cooker. I would love to be able to lay three racks of ribs out flat on the top grate. I'm thinking of a UDS or a WSM 22 just for easier ribs. Not to replace my 18, but as an addition.

It's hard to check for doneness if your wrapped in foil and in a rib rack. Also hard to sauce.
 
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Congrats. In my opinion you can't go wrong with the 18.5. I was looking really hard at the 14.5 when I was looking to get back into this. I was mainly thinking about charcoal savings. I am soooo glad i went with the 18.5. It really is easy on fuel. I was using Brinkmans in the past and they waste a lot of charcoal. I stock up on charcoal memorial/Labor day at the big box stores and it just isn't an issue.
So far i have yet to run out of room.
 
Yes. The 14.5 is a nice smoker. I could peg desired temp the entire cook. I hope temp control is as easy on the 18.5. Also, with the last few smokes on the 14.5 I did not use water in the pan and the meat was as good as using water. Any thoughts on this? Thanks.......
 
Congrats. I love my 18.5". I had a chance back when I was first learning on an ECB to score a 14.5" for $150 that i've kicked myself for quite some time on never buying. That said the 18.5" that i finally bought has been serving me well and I really do think it is probably the perfect size. I havent' had major fitment issues, yes i have to cut baby backs in half but with the cheap weber rib racks i can get up to 6 racks on the smoker, and I can't imagine a time that i need more space than that. If i ever were to run out of room i can always fire up the 22" kettle that I refurbished as a secondary smoker.

I'm sure for those who smoke a lot and for lots of ppl the 22" is great, but i really think that the recommendations on the 22" have gotten a little out of hand. Congrats on that price though! i finally committed to mine last fall, just in time to get a 18.5" at $300 before the price hike.
 
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