WSM on a wood deck

[Brett_Roundy]

Got my WSM Wednesday (ordered from Amazon through this webpage)...put it together on the deck and fired up some Kingsfords to burn it in...

Yesterday I wanted to do another test burn and decided that a couple of skinless/boneless chicken breasts would do the trick...fired up some lump charcoal and the temp got away from me a bit...350 or so...and I wondered how hot the deck under it would be, so I performed a scientific test which involved touching the deck with my bare toes...ouch!!!

The deck was so hot that I was suprised that I didn't have blisters on the tips of each toe...

I ended up putting a round galvanized plate down that had came with a Brinkman turkey cooker and pouring cold water on the plate...was wondering what other people do if you use the WSM on a wood deck?

Oh...and the plum wood that a co-worker gave me was yummy with the chicken /infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif ...can't wait to do the baby-backs tomorrow

 

[Doug D]

You may want to consider protecting your deck from potential burns and stains with a product like an automotive oil drip tray, or similar items which are marketed specifically for grills and the like, and maybe even two-- one for the cooker, and one to set the lid on when you baste and turn.

 

[Brett_Roundy]

the round galvinized metal plate that I put down is large enough that all 3 feet of the WSM are inside the slightly raised lip...just wonder about heat transfer through it, particularly on long cooks...

has anyone actually scortched a deck?

 

[Doug D]

You may still get a scorch depending on the finish on the deck. I have seen some people use the large concrete stepstones-- 24"x24"-- and make the WSM its own pad rather than risk deck damage.

 

[Ed Jones]

By all means, put down your metal pan, then use cinder blocks or something like it to lift the WSM off the deck. The first time I cooked in my yard I burned a ring into the grass. That sucked. Now I lay three cinder blocks down flat and have no problems.