WSM sections sticking together


 
William E.

William E.

New member
I have had my 18" smoker for three weeks now. Works as advertised. I am beyond happy with it. I used a Brinkmann ECB up until now.

For my fist smoke I used water in the water pan and had a pound of bacon in a foil pan on the top grate as per advice gained from online forums. I smoked for 6 hours at 225* (the bacon tasted amazing, expected an overcooked lump). This process certainly coated the inside of my WSM and I learned how to control temperature with the bottom vents. I then ditched the water in the water pan for play sand. After that I smoked pork ribs, skinless chicken breasts and a beef roast (all at 250*). All delicious.

I am using 3 or 4 wood chunks per smoke and I am burning Kingsford Original Briquettes.

I now have a black gummy residue between the three WSM sections. Less between the charcoal pan and the mid section but a lot more between the lid and the mid section. I have to pull to get the lid off. Looking at online WSM videos I am not seeing this ever mentioned. I never had this with the Brinkmann ECB.

What have I done and how do I get rid of it.

Thanks.

PS: I did NOT spray the inside of the WSM with vegetable oil to season it as I did for the Brinkmann ECB when I first got that. I learned that much from smoking forums and an email from JB Couyon (Louisiana Cajun Recipes) confirming that spraying would be a terrible idea.
 
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Welcome William :)

Next time you use it, just get a paper towel or two and wipe it around the rim/mating surface when it's nice and "liquidy". I wouldn't use any sort of cleaning liquid on it.

To be quite honest, I've been using mine for a few years now and although there is "a layer" on those surfaces, I've never encountered any issues with getting the lid off. That might be why you haven't encountered any tips about it.
 
Len Dennis said:
I wouldn't use any sort of cleaning liquid on it.
Click to expand...

I use a paper towel wet with white vinegar. When the WSM is warm, I clean the rim of the lid and the rim at the top of the middle section. I've also ad the middle section stick to the charcoal bowl but have never done anything about that because it's only happened a couple times.

One idea I was given in the event of complete sticking was to light a fire and let it warm up. Even if both the lid and the middle section are completely stuck, you could throw a chimney in the door and get the wsm to warm up. I haven't had any problem since I started focusing on keeping the lid clean but I would try the heat instead of prying the lid off with a screw driver which is what I did when my lid got really stuck.
 
When I said cleaning liquid, I was refering to something like Mr Clean or any commercially prepared grease cleaners.
 
Great question William. I've been experiencing similar issues with the lid sticking to the middle section in between cooks. Been meaning to look this up before my next cook on the WSM. Going to try the tips provided here by Len and Jerry.
 
yeah my 14.5 would do that when it was new also the grease/smoke buildup in the lid makes the top vent get stuck in position, its completely normal for this to happen it just means your using it right :) I installed Nomex gaskets on my door and lid mating surface and it has reduced this issue but the grease will still pile up on the lid edge to nomex and cause it to glue slightly if it bothers you a lot as others said the only real solution is to wipe off the mating surfaces when its hot so when it cools down theres not much there to solidify but DO NOT clean anywhere else! you want that buildup inside the cooker it helps with flavor on future cooks as well as helps to keep temperatures more stable as well!
 
To all that responded, thank you! I will run the WSM today to do a temperature calibration with the upper and lower grate. When hot, I will wipe down the surfaces with paper toweling (and white vinegar if needed).

Cheers,

Bill
 
William, it's a very common issue and seems to depend on what you cook, how often, and how greasy the meat is. In fact, we had a long discussion about this in February 2016 when member Joe Tacoma got so frustrated with his sticking lid he wrapped a towel around the lid handle and started whacking it with a hammer...and damaged the handle and porcelain. Don't do that!

Lots of good comments in this thread, including mine:

http://tvwbb.com/showthread.php?64022-New-WSM-owner-having-problems
 
William E. said:
To all that responded, thank you! I will run the WSM today to do a temperature calibration with the upper and lower grate. When hot, I will wipe down the surfaces with paper toweling (and white vinegar if needed).

Cheers,

Bill
Click to expand...

In my experience, paper towels just seem to fall apart and get stuck in the gunk themselves. I just went to the dollar store and bought a bunch of cheap kitchen towels (this was after ruining one of the Mrs.' "good" kitchen towels) and use them for cleaning the WSM, my cast iron and anything else "outdoorsy".
 
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