Joined WSM Club

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Thanks njsmoker83 for posting the link to where you purchased your WSM.  I am this >< close to pulling the trigger on one myself.
 
Cool!  That site is awesome!

The assembly is easy but here's a tip.  Put the legs on first and then put the heat shield on.  The directions say to put a leg on, put the heat shield on one leg and then repeat for the other 2 legs...that's almost impossible without a 2nd person.

I hope you get to fire it up soon.  Use the minion method and Jim's tweak of mixing the wood throughout the coals instead of only on top and you'll be good to go.

I didn't have any of the high heat issues that others seemed to have.  I started shutting the dampers down when it got to 200° and adjusted to my target temp and it was easy as pie.
I am a total noob when it comes to smoking.  I've only smoked about 2 or 3 times....but nothing serious.  What is this minion method you speak of?  And Jim's tweak?

I could really use a link to some noob FAQ or something, if one exists.  Can't seem to find a "noob? read this" sticky.

Anyway, thanks for any help.
 
Minion method is named after Jim Minion, who has invented a method for long burning briquettes in a WSM.

Fill your fire chamber 3/4 in the WSM with unlit briquettes. Mix the briquettes with the smoke wood you have decided to use. Lit 10 - 15 briquettes, and pour them over the unlit.

Then the lit briquettes will gradually lit the unlit briquettes, and you will have a steady unform smoking for hours.

You will have to adjust the three lower vents, once you have reach the desired temperature you close them to 1/4 of open. After a while you might close 1 or two completely, but that is depnding on weather conditions, and the quality of briquettes.

Good luck 
 
  And Jim's tweak?
I use a method spelled out in Low and Slow,  I fill the ring about 1/4 full with lump, then toss in a few wood chunks,  I then fill the ring the rest of the way.  Depending on weather temp.  I fill the starter 1/2 way for warm days, and full for cold days, and dump the lit lump ontop of the unlit ring.  I then toss in a few more chunks of wood, and let the smoke die down before assembling the WSM and getting the meat on.   I close down two of the bottom vents  after about an hour, and then close the last bottom vent and the others as needed.

Got 18 hours off this setup on Saturday.
 
 
Thanks for the replies.

Do you guys soak your wood chunks in water?  Wrap 'em in foil? Or both? Or neither?

Edit:  sorry for hi-jacking your thread njsmoker83
 
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I use a method spelled out in Low and Slow,  I fill the ring about 1/4 full with lump, then toss in a few wood chunks,  I then fill the ring the rest of the way.  Depending on weather temp.  I fill the starter 1/2 way for warm days, and full for cold days, and dump the lit lump ontop of the unlit ring.  I then toss in a few more chunks of wood, and let the smoke die down before assembling the WSM and getting the meat on.   I close down two of the bottom vents  after about an hour, and then close the last bottom vent and the others as needed.

Got 18 hours off this setup on Saturday.
 
so you fill ring all the way with unlit, then put lit on top of that?  i still havent used my WSM but in my brinkmann it would be so filled that the coal would be resting against the water pan, do you have that same problem in the WSM?

 
 
so you fill ring all the way with unlit, then put lit on top of that?  i still havent used my WSM but in my brinkmann it would be so filled that the coal would be resting against the water pan, do you have that same problem in the WSM?

 
The charcoal doesn't come close to the bottom of the water pan on the WSM, plenty of room. I have even mounded my charcoal a tad in the past then created a hollow to dump the lit charcoal into. With my 22.5" WSM I have ran it for 16 hrs. shut it down and still had about 1/4-1/3 of my original charcoal load left.
 
Soaking the smoke wood does not help a lot. The wood will only obtain around 5% water, and I feel the smoke smells more like a garden fire, than a smoker
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IMHO, the best smoke is made by good wood, that has dried in dry conditions, and has not been sawn with a motorsaw. The motorsaw will leave oil on the the wood.

Kind regards

-Meyer
 
Thanks for the input.

Should have a WSM 18 1/2 to play with before the weekend.
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Edit:  moved image to photobucket
 
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so you fill ring all the way with unlit, then put lit on top of that?  i still havent used my WSM but in my brinkmann it would be so filled that the coal would be resting against the water pan, do you have that same problem in the WSM?

 
like JIrod said,  the lump does not touch the water pan, there is plenty of clearance.
 
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I received my WSM yesterday.  The manual doesn't say anything about seasoning the thing and I think I read on here somewhere that it's not necessary.

Should I coat the inside with cooking oil or pam or something?  Or just run it as is?

Thanks.
 
I received my WSM yesterday.  The manual doesn't say anything about seasoning the thing and I think I read on here somewhere that it's not necessary.

Should I coat the inside with cooking oil or pam or something?  Or just run it as is?

Thanks.
The only thing I sprayed with cooking oil was the brackets that hold the water pan and grills.  It's not necessary though.  I just felt like it.  You'll be good without seasoning it.  If you are cooking something for the 4th on it I would highly suggest you do a test run first so you can get used to it.  It's so easy but practice before you do a big smoke.
 
For the Noobs

To make life easier, you want two mods -

1) Get some copper wire and wire the charcoal  ring to the charcoal grate - now it is one piece and easier to handle.

2) Go to Home Depot or such and get a pair of :garage Door Handles"  with screw holes the same distance apart as the grate supports on your WSM - If you put them on, you have handles.

Starting the fire

Fill the charcoal ring with briqs and a FEW dry chunks of wood - the coffee can hack is kewl, but unnecessary, use it or not, I don't.  Put about 8 - 12 briq in a Weber chimney (I removed the wire grid inside it and inverted it so it points down, better for lighting just a few briq IMHO) with a dry chunk of wood

When the few briq are lit, empty on top of the charcoal ring, assemble the WSM with ALL vents wide open.  As the internal temp rises, slowly close the bottom vents.  When you reach temp, have a beer - then check that your are still at temp.

Don't mess with the top vent ;)
 
this message will probably appear twice:

So I have my baby fired for the first time. Temp has not budged from 170. My top vent is closedand bottom are slightly open. Ribs have been on for 2.5 hours. Everything smells great. Using apple and cherry chunks. This thread has been awesomely helpful. Is there anything more at this point? I have been spraying them down at the 1.5 hourly rate.
 
this message will probably appear twice:

So I have my baby fired for the first time. Temp has not budged from 170. My top vent is closedand bottom are slightly open. Ribs have been on for 2.5 hours. Everything smells great. Using apple and cherry chunks. This thread has been awesomely helpful. Is there anything more at this point? I have been spraying them down at the 1.5 hourly rate.
TOP VENT SHOULD BE 100% OPEN! If you leave the top vent closed you are going to create creasote and and ruin your ribs. If you open your top vent you should get up to 200-250°, which is where you want to be, 170° is to low.

If you create creasote you will need to completely scrub the inside of your smoker, or it will stay there and ruin the flavor of future smokes as well. If you have to clean it I suggest simple green and a scrubby sponge, rinse well, then run it for 3 hrs. with all vents open and no water pan.
 
 
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