WSM 22" Adapt-A-Damper Mounting Tips


 

Glover George

New member
Hi all,

While I waited on my new WSM 22" to arrive, I decided to order an adapt-o-damper from the heater meter store and try it out on my Webber Kettle that I had used for years with a HeaterMeter 3. I used to used to attach the fan to a Walmart dog bowl with some wire. It worked great until the wires broke, but for the adapt a damper I attached it with the 1" npt threaded adapter listed in the adapt-a-damper instructions to the dog bowl. After the first cook, the 1npt 3d-printed adapter melted to the the pipe.

Before I go and ruin another adapter, does anyone have any recommendations on how to connect the blower/adapt-a-damper to a WSM without the risk of it melting? I prefer not to modify the WSM at all, especially since the dog bowl fits pretty good around the existing vent. Currently looking for someone with a 3D printer nearby to recreate that piece.

Cheers.
 

Attachments

  • f29f28d7dbbe7088dfc0ac3f1a1098c45c9d056d-1.jpeg
    f29f28d7dbbe7088dfc0ac3f1a1098c45c9d056d-1.jpeg
    108.4 KB · Views: 38
Wow that melted up real good, didn't it? I've never had an issue using just a pipe nipple on my Egg, but maybe the WSM gets a little hotter by the vent? Maybe instead of just the short nipple, a 2-4" long connecting pipe with 1" NPT on both ends would work? I can send you out a couple of those printed adapter bits to replace that one and have a spare if the new idea doesn't work. Contact me at heatermeter at capnbry.net with your order number and I'll set you up.

How are folks attaching their Adapt-a-Dampers to their WSMs, and is this a common problem?
 
Yeah that wasn't my WSM, that was my Weber 22" Kettle grill. I had the bare fan barely touching the cat bowl for the last few years with no problems. Maybe the addition of the pipe helped transfer heat to the plastic. Is that PLA or ABS that's used in the kit on the site?

Sending you an email. Thanks!
 
The black ones are PETG, sort of in the middle as far as temperature resistance. This is only the second one I've heard about deforming, but it is making me strongly consider making all the dampers in a light gray ABS from now on, because it seems like there's a real possibility of meltage on non-ceramic-style smokers (BGE / Kamado).
 
I have mine attached with a 4” piece of 1" NPT, no issues with melting.
GSpinelli,

Are you running the 22” WSM? My old method of just throwing a Weber paraffin starter on unlit coals, and letting the fan bring it up to temp in a 22” kettle seems to be struggling to do that in a WSM 22. I’ll probably jump start it with pre-lit coals next time, but I was wondering if the 50mm 6CFM fan will struggle with this size of a smoker, especially as we get into winter.
 
I have the 18.5 WSM, but they are pretty similar. I think the 6CFM fan is more than enough if the airflow is not restricted. Mine is connected with 1" NPT through a 1" hole. I usually only run the 6 CFM fan at about 30%max so I would be surprised if it was not enough for the 22. If you have too much airflow, the cooling effect of the air starts to work against you. I do light mine with lit coals though from a chimney, usually around 8 lit coals.
 
Yeah i actually opened the other two vents and it was able to pull itself up pretty nicely. Was going to just play with it, but once i got it up to 325, I threw a spatchcocked chicken on there and it cooked great. Nice to finally have all this room and not have to sacrifice half of my kettle for the indirect heat side.
 

 

Back
Top