Hello people,
Yesterday I assembled my
WSM and I am looking forward to the first of many great (I hope) smokes with it. I have a few questions and comments though...
- I'm not crazy about the door at all.... I did tweak it a little for a better fit but still... Weber, are you guys serious??? Just bend the door for a decent fix. Once you get a layer of gunk built up it works fine.... or you can spend $40-$50 at CajunBandit.com for their replacement door.... my factory door has worked fine for years.
- Not too sure about the fire ring either, it seems kind of flimsy also and I'm wondering how long it will keep it's shape. It holds up just fine, never had any issues with it.
- Not sure how the heat will affect the brackets if at all, but for now the upper grate fits pretty good and shouldn't give me any problems, but we'll see... The heat does not affect the brackets at all, but some people get middle section bodies that are slightly out of round (mine was that way). When that happens your uppper rack can end up supported on only 3 of the brackets. Check out the
wsm-mods link posted above and you will see what I did to make sure my upper rack engaged all 4 brackets. Your other option if the center is to out of round is call Weber, they will send you a new one no hassle.
- I'm planning on using the water pan w/water and I'm wondering if there's any difference between the finished products from the lower and upper grates, do to the bottom grate sitting right above the water pan. Don't worry, the water pan doesn't over steam stuff on the lower rack. I have gotten great bark on butts and brisket on the lower and upper racks at the same time. Foil your water pan for easy clean up!
I will probably do the temp probe and charcoal grate mods before I start using it. Is there anything else I should know of or do to it before my first smoke? Thanks To get a feal for how truely great the
WSM runs load your first ring all the way full (20 lbs. of charcoal), dump 1/2 a lit chimney on top, let it season for the first two hours at 250°, then toss on some meat for dinner. After it is all cooked leave the vents set at 250° and just let it run, you will be amazed at how long it will hold 250° with no input from you!
