Charcoal ring mod for my 22.5 WSM

[dlr1]

I saw a mod for the wsm charcoal ring to make it smaller for smaller cooks. I am fortunate enough to work in a fab shop at my company and sometimes can get small things made.This is 4 plates 12x6 that slip together to make a box.

 

[jaguarjim]

Fortunate indeed!  Looks great.

 

[SmokinAl]

The thing about the WSM that makes it so great is you can put as much charcoal in the ring as you want. If the food is done before you run out of charcoal all you have to do is shut all the vents & the fire will go out. Then the next smoke you just use what was left and add more on top if needed.

 

[dlr1]

I've read that you can close the vents to smother the fire but it hasn't worked out like that for me. The first cook I did the temps stayed at 235 for almost 3hrs then spiked to 280 and I couldn't get them down even when I closed all the vents when I was done it stayed at 197 for so long I had to finally remove the coals so I could put the smoker away.My logic and thinking with the basket is that maybe if I could keep the charcoal tight during the cook I could control the temp a little easier by reducing the amount of surface area that was exposed to air and fire.I used this basket during the second cook and managed to maintain 235-240 with no spikes so I felt my idea was maybe working or the places that was allowing air to get in had sealed a little reducing the intake of air to fuel the burn.The basket didn't cost me anything so once I get to feeling a little more confident with what I'm doing and the unit gets seasoned and sealed a little more I may ditch the basket and just go to useing less fuel.I'm also considering trying the foiled dry pan or sand in the near future.

 

[woundedyak]

I likey!