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OT - WSM

Just wanted to get some opinions on the weber smokey mountain bullet smoker. I have 3 Eggs but want to get a smoker to take up to the cottage. I have a weber performer up there for a grill but do not have a smoker. I have been looking and reading about the WSM and for the money it seems hard to beat. Does any one have experience with the WSM? I am leaning towards the 22" model over the 18. Any insight would be appreciated. 

And before it starts, I would love to buy another egg for up there but right now is not in the budget. 
Pure Michigan
Large BGE, Medium BGE, Mini BGE, Weber Smokey Mountain, Weber Performer.
If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went.
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Comments

  • DoubleEgger
    DoubleEgger Posts: 17,125
    Why not leave one of your eggs up there?
  • setdahook
    setdahook Posts: 284
    My brother in law has one says he thinks it may outperform his eggs for low and slows for taiste.
  • bud812
    bud812 Posts: 1,869
    I had one for years before I got the BGE & loved it, wish that I would have kept it. Good solid cooking tool.

    Not to get technical, but according to chemistry alcohol is a solution...

    Large & Small BGE

    Stockton Ca.

  • shadowcaster
    shadowcaster Posts: 620
    I use all my Eggs at home. I have a Large, medium and a mini and use all 3 at least once a week depending on meals
    Pure Michigan
    Large BGE, Medium BGE, Mini BGE, Weber Smokey Mountain, Weber Performer.
    If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went.
  • DoubleEgger
    DoubleEgger Posts: 17,125
  • shadowcaster
    shadowcaster Posts: 620
    Yea I could live without my eggs...I just want a good smoker to have up there for when I want BBQ and from what I have heard and read the weber is just that
    Pure Michigan
    Large BGE, Medium BGE, Mini BGE, Weber Smokey Mountain, Weber Performer.
    If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went.
  • Photo Egg
    Photo Egg Posts: 12,110
    Great product for the money and outstanding customer service.
    The 22", with duel cooking levels is a massive cooker compared to the 18".
    Do you need that much?
    Thank you,
    Darian

    Galveston Texas
  • Dyal_SC
    Dyal_SC Posts: 6,023
    If it's going to be only an occasionally used smoker, you might be able to score one on CL for pretty cheap instead of dishing out a few hundred bucks on a new one.  An UDS might be another good alternative. 
  • Skiddymarker
    Skiddymarker Posts: 8,522
    My son has a WSM, along with an offset and three kettles - when he talks Weber I listen. The other option is an Apollo from Napoleon. Some like the doors on the Napoleon a bit better. He makes some great Q with the WSM. Also, he likes Stubbs briquettes, Wally World. 
    Delta B.C. - Whiskey and steak, because no good story ever started with someone having a salad!
  • WeberWho
    WeberWho Posts: 11,008
    "The pig is an amazing animal. You feed a pig an apple and it makes bacon. Let's see Michael Phelps do that" - Jim Gaffigan

    Minnesota
  • Focker
    Focker Posts: 8,364
    edited June 2015
    The biggest bang for your buck you will find.  Tons of mods.  A few of the most useful.

    1.  Buying a second charcoal grate, and using copper wire to tie them together perpendicularly, keeps the charcoal from falling through.
    2.  Piedmont pan using two Brinkman water pans, wings nuts, bolts and copper spacers for waterless cooking.  Longer burn times, more efficient.
    3.  Inverted door mod for raised direct, high temp cooking.  Drill a couple of holes in the top two corners of the door, put a SS 2-3" flathead screw with nut facing in.  You invert the door and place the thread of the bolts on the bottom edge of the opening.  Pretty much gives you raised direct, and high temp indirect cooking options.  

    The 18" is more than adequate for my needs.  Have seriously considered the 22", my Cajun Bandit rotisserie fits it, and most importantly, it is nice to lay out 3 racks of ribs without the use of a rib rack.  I no longer cook brisket, but if you do, it would be nice to not have to shoehorn a larger packer to fit.  The only obvious con of the 22 is that it uses quite a bit more fuel for the longer cooks.  Not a deal breaker, you would just have to add charcoal at times. 

    I get by with adding a third grate in the middle by drilling holes through the straps and grinding several 16 penny nail heads and cutting them to size to hold the second lower grate(ordered from Weber) through the mounting staps.  Last month I had 6 8lb shoulders in it twice for a celebration of life party.   

    Subjectively, for traditional Q, I prefer the results of the WSM over ceramic. 

    The WSM is the most decorated mass produced cooker in existence.  You can't go wrong with any size.
    Brandon
    Quad Cities
    "If yer gonna denigrate, familiarity with the subject is helpful."

  • bweekes
    bweekes Posts: 725
    Loved my WSM, and in fact, I learned how to smoke on my old 18.5: bullet. To this day, I still think the bullet churned out better ribs. The main drawback for me was temp control and briquette consumption. I did a lot of cold weather cooking, and the bullet was impacted by outside temperature quite easily. In fact, even small things like the sun being directly overhead would cause temp spikes. If you have a stoker or other temp controller, you can't go wrong w/ the bullet. Can't really get around the high fuel usage, and reloading lump during longer cooks, but hey, it's a sweet deal for the price.  
    Ajax, ON Canada
    (XL BGE, MED BGE, La Caja China #2, and the wife's Napoleon gasser)
  • pigoutsc
    pigoutsc Posts: 92
    I have a 22 WSM and a large egg and do most of my cooks on the egg. The WSM is easy to transport and can hold a ton of food. I would not pay 499 for one but it you can find one on Craigs List for half that you will not regret it.
  • Miked125
    Miked125 Posts: 481
    You can't beat the warm for the price, it's great. It will use more charcoal and doesn't stand up to wind that well, those would be the drawbacks...
  • Thatgrimguy
    Thatgrimguy Posts: 4,722
    The WSM is a phenomenal smoker. I would also consider the Pit Barrel Smoker. You can do a lot of really cool things on the PBC
    XL, Small, Mini & Mini Max Green Egg, Shirley Fab Trailer, 6 gal and 2.5 gal Cajun Fryers, BlueStar 60" Range, 48" Lonestar Grillz Santa Maria, Alto Shaam 1200s, Gozney Dome, Gateway 55g Drum
  • jimithing
    jimithing Posts: 254
    I have a 22.5 WSM and I've had multiple 18.5 WSM's. The 22.5 does use more fuel than the 18.5 simply because it's bigger.  But I went from a couple of 18.5's to a 22.5 so I could fit whole packer briskets on there.  You have to bend or trim the brisket to get a whole one on an 18.5.

    In the middle of winter on a cold night you will probably reload before you finish a brisket or pork butt.  They're just not as resistant to elements as an egg.  But in the middle of the summer you can get 18+ hours on a full load of charcoal.
    XL BGE
    Plano, TX
  • ryantt
    ryantt Posts: 2,532
    edited June 2015
    I have WSM, and it's nice, but I'd suggest building an Ugly Drum Smoker.  It can be done for as little as $100, and the product is as good as the egg.  The other nice thing is the amount of time it will burn on a load of charcoal, I've gone 22 hrs.  
    Pic of UDS in action
    XL BGE, KJ classic, Joe Jr, UDS x2 


  • theyolksonyou
    theyolksonyou Posts: 18,458
    ryantt said:
    I have WSM, and it's nice, but I'd suggest building an Ugly Drum Smoker.  It can be done for as little as $100, and the product is as good as the egg.  
    So, why did you spend the coin on an egg?  Seems like you wasted some cash. 
  • ryantt
    ryantt Posts: 2,532
    @theyolksonyou I love my egg, but the UDS is good for what it is.  The egg is a completely different animal, it is versatile and also fun to cook on.  For something cheap and easy to transport  the UDS works for me. It was also my first "real" smoker.  
    XL BGE, KJ classic, Joe Jr, UDS x2 


  • shadowcaster
    shadowcaster Posts: 620
    Thanks for the input everyone! I like doing briskets as well as butt and ribs..even the occasional turkey so that is why I am looking at the 22"
    Pure Michigan
    Large BGE, Medium BGE, Mini BGE, Weber Smokey Mountain, Weber Performer.
    If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went.
  • theyolksonyou
    theyolksonyou Posts: 18,458
    ryantt said:
    @theyolksonyou I love my egg, but the UDS is good for what it is.  The egg is a completely different animal, it is versatile and also fun to cook on.  For something cheap and easy to transport  the UDS works for me. It was also my first "real" smoker.  
    Just stirring the pot. ;)
  • QingEsq
    QingEsq Posts: 241
    I echo the comments of others.  The WSM is a real good product for what you are looking for.  I have the 18.5 and was happy with it as my primary bbq source before the egg, but as others said, temp control is not as easy as an egg.  I personally found briquets seemed to work better for steady temp in the wSM, but the tradeoff for that is even with Stubbs or TJs all natural briquets, ash would tend to build up and smother remaining coals on a long cook (and Kingsford produces ridiculous amounts of ash) and there is no good way to clean out ash or replenish coals mid cook.  Grand scheme of things, relatively minor issues and I kept mine and others have kept theirs because it is a good product, just wanted to make sure you knew the weaknesses od the WSM.  Now that I think of it, the BGE ash tool would actually be helpful with the WSM othering issue.
    Always seeking the high I experienced from my first true BBQ experience.
    Downingtown, PA
    LBGE, WSM, Weber Kettle
  • shadowcaster
    shadowcaster Posts: 620
    Yea I am some what aware of the drawbacks on the WSM but as I said I am ok with that. I just want something to use up there when I feel like smoking. I started on the weber kettle with the smokenator so I am aware of some of the drawbacks. Although I am hoping for better out of the smokey mountain. If it can turn out good ribs and the occasional bisket/butt I will be happy.
    Pure Michigan
    Large BGE, Medium BGE, Mini BGE, Weber Smokey Mountain, Weber Performer.
    If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went.
  • SmokeyPitt
    SmokeyPitt Posts: 10,490
    I have a friend with the WSM and he turns out some great Q.  He doesn't have any issues cooking overnighters on it.  He always does pork butts overnight and he just sets an alarm to wake up once to check on it.  

    Current price of the 22 inch is $400 which is a little steep IMO.  It was $275 shipped from Amazon just a couple of years ago.  


    Which came first the chicken or the egg?  I egged the chicken and then I ate his leg. 

  • QingEsq
    QingEsq Posts: 241
    Yea I am some what aware of the drawbacks on the WSM but as I said I am ok with that. I just want something to use up there when I feel like smoking. I started on the weber kettle with the smokenator so I am aware of some of the drawbacks. Although I am hoping for better out of the smokey mountain. If it can turn out good ribs and the occasional bisket/butt I will be happy.
    Then the WSM will definitely fit the bill.  
    Always seeking the high I experienced from my first true BBQ experience.
    Downingtown, PA
    LBGE, WSM, Weber Kettle
  • ChokeOnSmoke
    ChokeOnSmoke Posts: 1,942
    Used a WMS for 8 years before I bought my EGG.  Went to the EGG because the WSM is not great during the $hitty WI winters (cold & especially wind).  Haven't fired the WSM up once since I bought the EGG.  Both make great food.  It's all about the cook, not the cooker.
    Packerland, Wisconsin

  • johnnyp
    johnnyp Posts: 3,932
    For similar cost you could grab an Akorn. Blend of cost effectiveness and Kamodo style cooking
    XL & MM BGE, 36" Blackstone - Newport News, VA
  • Whirly
    Whirly Posts: 30
    You couldn't pay me enough to go back to pre Egg days. Babysit it. Add charcoal etc. Sure everything else can work but is it as consistent and reliable and versatile as an Egg? If you can afford a cabin...you can afford another Egg. Shell out the money and be done with it. You will thank yourself every day you have it there. Life is short...Egg always!
  • fishlessman
    fishlessman Posts: 32,668
    the wsm will do what you want but if you do want to get an egg down the road for the camp you will never use it again. for convienience look at the gas smoker ones that have the big burner for wok cooking, pan frying, fried turkey pot/fryer, smoked turkey etc. i still use mine regularly outdoors for steaming lobster and searing meats for the dutch oven that will be going in the egg, and sometimes i bring the burner out for icefishing
    fukahwee maine

    you can lead a fish to water but you can not make him drink it
  • Foghorn
    Foghorn Posts: 9,795
    johnnyp said:
    For similar cost you could grab an Akorn. Blend of cost effectiveness and Kamodo style cooking

    That's an excellent thought.  I've cooked on several (four) of them at friends' houses.   They cook almost exactly like an egg.  No need for babysitting.  It doesn't have quite as much capacity at a 22.5" WSM would be the main downside.  And you have to be careful not to let the temp get above 650 as the lid (airflow controller on top) can seal shut. 

    As somebody else mentioned the Apollo Napolean AS300K is also a great option.  I have one (purchased years ago under the British manufacturer's name of ProQ).  It is dollar for dollar the best money I have spent on a grill.  It is our travel grill because it latches together and you can lift it with just the handle on top.  Take out one section and it will fit upright in a van or SUV.  Take out 2 sections and it is like a 20" Weber Smokey Joe.  We bake apple pastries on it while camping after doing caveman steaks as the entree - and when I need some extra grill space I use it for veggies or wings as it is a great raised direct cooker if you take out the water pan. 

    For your needs, these may or may not be better options than the WSM.  But, these would be my 3 "finalists" for sure.

    XXL BGE, Karebecue, Klose BYC, Chargiller Akorn Kamado, Weber Smokey Mountain, Grand Turbo gasser, Weber Smoky Joe, and the wheelbarrow that my grandfather used to cook steaks from his cattle

    San Antonio, TX