WSM water pan ?


 
N

Neil Grant

TVWBB Fan
the water pan has always been a mystery to me...what's the point of having hot water in it if some here say having a pot of sand serves the same purpose.

and how do y'all add hot water to it in the midddle of a cook ? thru the side flap or take the lip off and pour ?
 
Either water or sand (or a clay saucer or bricks, etc.) act as a heat sink to hold the temperature more constant (it just can't shift up or down as fast). I've seen comments here from those who use nothing or even a saucer, that temps can change faster. I make no judgement as I've used water (various amounts), saucer and an empty water pan with no bad results.

I guess if you start your cook and totally ignore the cooker for hours you could end up with the temps someplace you don't want. But that can also happen with or without a heat sink. Whatever makes you comfortable...

Rich
 
Neil, just like everyone having an opinion, everything has a downside as well. Experiment for yourself and find out what you like.

Before you try different heat sinks though, I'd make sure that your cooker is nice and tight, as in that you can actually control the temp with the vents and kill the fire quickly at the end of a cook. This is much more critical than heat sink choices. Regarding sand, if temps really get away from you for some reason, it'll take a while for a pan of sand to cool off. As for adding water, I prefer to add through the door with a two liter soda bottle, but I rarely use water any more. I will say that a 212* heat sink is very effective though, especially since the new wsms have a huge water pan that will only need to be refilled on the longest cooks.
 
Unless i'm trying for heat in excess of 275 degrees,i use water in the pan.6 hour cooks and less,i probably only fill it halfway.for adding water which i only had to do one time,i grab my wife's watering can,has a nice spout,and just lift the lid and pour it btween the grates....Richard
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Neil Grant:
the water pan has always been a mystery to me...what's the point of having hot water in it if some here say having a pot of sand serves the same purpose.
<span class="ev_code_RED">Weber built the WSM as a water smoker. You know, to maintain a moist cooking environment. They were unaware of the enterprising cooks on this board</span>

and how do y'all add hot water to it in the midddle of a cook ? thru the side flap or take the lip off and pour ? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
<span class="ev_code_RED">Through the door with a watering can with a longer than normal spout. I did that once, then went to the clay saucer or an empty foiled pan</span>
 
Neil,whatever heat sink you use,water,saucer, sand,just make sure you foil to make clean up easier. I've been using a clay saucer for about 8 months and LOVE it! You don't have to worry about refilling the water pan on those long cooks. HTH
 
thanks guys....I ask about refilling the pan because I don't have a good way of refilling with hot water as would be ideal i guess....I can easily add cold water with a wine bottle but heating, then funneling into bottle, etc. seesm like a hassle.

So you guys say the WSM needs to be tight....I always see a lot of smoke pouring out around the lid and the seams in the door...can anything be done about this ?
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Michael G. (Canada Mike):
Does anyone soak the clay saucer first? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
No. It'll absorb some water and you don't want that.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Neil Grant:
So you guys say the WSM needs to be tight....I always see a lot of smoke pouring out around the lid and the seams in the door...can anything be done about this ? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Not meant to be absolutely air tight. You don't want large gaps anywhere, but it is completely normal to see smoke where you saw some. That stops fairly quickly.
 
I've always used water in mine, it takes me 5-6 hours to do 3 racks. I had to do a quick cook this past weekend, I cooked 3 racks, no water in pan. I should have foiled the ribs for the last hour as they charred a little on the bottom. They were done in 3 hours. Next time I will foil for the last hour. I plan on getting a clay saucer to see how it works. Temperature was more sensitive without water then with.
 
The problem with sand is that it does not cool off like water.

You have to be careful not to get into an overheat situation with sand for a long period. Eventually, the sand will stop absorbing heat and will prevent attempts to reduce the temps by giving up all the energy it has absorbed.

I got into an overheat situation with sand and it held temps near 300º for about 45 min despite all coals being removed! It was the last time I used sand.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Neil Grant:
thanks guys....I ask about refilling the pan because I don't have a good way of refilling with hot water as would be ideal i guess....I can easily add cold water with a wine bottle but heating, then funneling into bottle, etc. seesm like a hassle.

So you guys say the WSM needs to be tight....I always see a lot of smoke pouring out around the lid and the seams in the door...can anything be done about this ? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

As to the water, when I get up in the morning during a long pork butt cook, I just use hot tap water in my two liter bottles. It doesn't need to be as hot as when starting the cook the night before with all that cold pork when I start with a tea kettle and pour through the grate. Even then, I top off with the hot tap in the bottles through the door and get less smoke in my eyes. I'm sure there are better shaped containers, but the two liters work ok for filling through the door.

As to good fit in your wsm, don't worry about SOME smoke escaping in places other than the top vent, (although you might wonder if you're simply using too much/unseasoned wood or not waiting for the smoke to clean up before cooking.) The test is whether or not you can quickly snuff the fire out with all vents closed and save fuel for your next cook. As to the door though, it can be shaped by hand so that the leaks are very minor. I was cleaning the lid once over the grass and dropped it from only a couple of feet at the most. I noticed more smoke coming out around the edges the next time I cooked so I carefully bent it back to being "in round". Oh yeah, it'll get a little "tighter" from the gunk you get from cooking. You don't want the smoker to be too clean. Besides cleaning the grates, I mainly just scrape out the dome with a brass bristle brush or some aluminum foil between cooks.
 
Does the water do anything about the humidity in the WSM or is it negligible. I use water in the oven when I'm roasting a duck for instance to keep it from drying. Does the water has any effect like that at all or is it just a heat sink?
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Espen A (zarkzervo):
Does the water do anything about the humidity in the WSM or is it negligible. I use water in the oven when I'm roasting a duck for instance to keep it from drying. Does the water has any effect like that at all or is it just a heat sink? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

It most certainly adds moisture to the cooker, and you can often see it coming out the top in the form of steam. Is this a good thing? Some folks think so, and some claim that the meat is indeed moister. However, I only use water for the heat sink property on long overnight cooks.

I have found that the water pan steam will inhibit bark formation to a significant degree, particularly if smoking ribs with the vents open, (which eventually gets me about 275* in my cooker). You won't notice near as much difference at lower temps like 225-250, though. One other disadvantage to the water pan is that you've got to keep the inside of the dome scraped out or you'll end up with black flecks falling on the meat in the middle of a cook.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Dave/G:
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Neil Grant:
the water pan has always been a mystery to me...what's the point of having hot water in it if some here say having a pot of sand serves the same purpose.
<span class="ev_code_RED">Weber built the WSM as a water smoker. You know, to maintain a moist cooking environment. They were unaware of the enterprising cooks on this board</span>

and how do y'all add hot water to it in the midddle of a cook ? thru the side flap or take the lip off and pour ? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
<span class="ev_code_RED">Through the door with a watering can with a longer than normal spout. I did that once, then went to the clay saucer or an empty foiled pan</span> </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

The WSM is a modification of the unregulated vertical water smokers which were around before the WSM , which required a water heatsink because you could not regulate the airflow to control the temp.
It was cobbled together out of pieces & parts from other cookers. Im sure they thought you needed the water heatsink.
 
The question of whether the water actually affects the smoking or cooking comes up a lot, here and elsewhere. I seen a number of posts/articles which claim that water present in the cooker has nothing at all to do with whether your meat will be juicier or moisture (I agree with this). The moisture in the meat comes from its fats and other by-products that breakdown from cooking. It's not just "water".

Water vapor in the cooker doesn't get absorbed by the meat. Consider that the human body is 90% water. Getting a steam bath or hot shower or even soaking in a hot tub doesn't increase the amount of water in the body (actually, you sweat). Basically the same with meat (and higher temps cause it to lose moisture). The water in the WSM is a heat sink and, as has been said, provides a good level 212* base to help keep you cooker at those low temps.

Now you don't have to believe me or accept my premise
icon_cool.gif
. Everyone should try out the options that seem good to them. It doesn't matter what the REASONS are you think your meat may be better when cooked with water -- what matters is that you BELIEVE your meat is better.

Rich
 
Does anyone have a link for a clay saucer? Is there a real benefit to that over sand? Don't want to spend $$$ if I don't have to.

Dave, you mentioned "cleaning up the smoke", am I supposed to let the smoke wood burn for a bit prior to cooking?

Gracias senors
 
Tim if you accept the idea that the water pan's main use is a heat diffuser you don't need the saucer. I just cover my empty water pan with HD foil for easy cleanup.
 
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