Newbie INCOMING
 

Good afternoon all,
Name is Jeremiah and currently reside out in SoCal (around Camp Pendleton). I figured while I'm looking around for a deal on my first smoker I'd do my due diligence and research, research, research (doesn't seem to be any used ones listed out here; so, I maybe researching a lot till I have to pull the trigger on a new one).
So, here I am absorbing the wealth of knowledge I discovered on this forum. Really have enjoyed reading through your threads.

I'm leaning toward a 22" WSM as my first purchase. Eventually want to go with a larger wood smoker, but for now it seems the WSM is a sound investment both monetarily and learning curve wise. I found an 18" at the local base exchange on sale for $230, but I think I'll hold out for a 22". There's just the wife, the 2 dogs, and myself but we have a lot of potlucks between church and work. Besides I will smoke probably every weekend for the upcoming week, and I hate buying something in a smaller version if I have the least bit of hesitancy thinking I'd use the larger.

Any words of wisdom and advice is much appreciated!

Really excited to join the community and get to know ya'll.
Be safe,
Jer

Welcome to the forum from sunny SE Arizona, I think you will be happy going with the 22 over the 18.

Welocme to the asylum, Jer!

Take a look around and if you have questions please feel free to contact the moderator team or our senior members. Their names are color coded so you can recognized them.

Also, each section of the forum has a description that you can use to figure out where to post.

Finally, please review our rules! They are pretty straight forward, but looking at them up front may help to eliminate problems later :-D

Oh! Don't forget to add your name to the Brethren Map, located at the top of this Cattle Call forum.

Most important, have fun and join in our conversations and share and learn!

Welcome to the forum from Victoria, Aust.
Nice friendly bunch here that are very sharing with information.
Enjoy your time here, I sure have

Welcome Jer!

Welcome from VA!

Prevailing wisdom is to get the biggest your budget allows, and if you’re close to the next bigger size it’s probably worth a bit of a wait to grow the war chest until you can get that next bigger one. Good luck!

Welcome aboard, glad to have you as a fellow Brethren here.

I hope to see you in the Q-Talk forum soon. You'll find help on almost every topic from cooking your first Pork Butt to curing and smoking your own ham and bacon.

If you can't find the topic you need help with, or have questions about, just start a new thread in "Q-Talk". There are many people with years of experience that are willing to answer your questions and guide you in the right direction.

Thanks for the warm welcome guys.

Crazy how timing is everything...
Not a big FB guy, but I checked the Marketplace their Saturday night and low and behold a dude the town over had a 22" for sale.

Sunday afternoon he accepted my offer and I ran over there to get it. Wasn't as cheap as I was hoping, but out here there's a ton of grills and not many smokers in the adds. It came to $30 more than I could have got a new 18" on sale at the base.

Bottom line: on Sunday I became the owner of a "new to me" 22" WSM...Sunday was my BIRTHDAY; that's my justification!:thumb:

Think I'm going to clean her up today, grab a butt and maybe some ribs today (local grocery has "10% off Monday"), and fire her up tomorrow. Figured I might as well throw some meat on while I learn the vents and how she runs. The worse outcome...the dogs get fed well all week. The best outcome...I'm eating ribs and pulled pork Tuesday/Wednesday!

Be safe,
Jer