cajun bandit coal ring WSM 22.5

[Trunks]

just got the door and charcoal ring from cajun bandit and was wondering if i need to change the amount of coals i used since the new ring says it has better air flow and all that?

as far as the minion method goes with it just fill it and dump 1/4-1/2 chimney and dump? or do i need more hot coals?

got 2 butts , full brisket, and 4 racks of plate ribs so looking to smoke some combo of all that next weekend

thanks

 

[Trunks]

no one?

 

[Smoking Westy]

For a long cook like butts and brisket, I fill the charcoal ring and then light about a dozen briquettes and dump in the middle. That's all that is needed to get it up to temp.

I haven't upgraded the charcoal ring yet, can't imagine needing more airflow.

 

[DetTigersFan]

With the increased airflow I would think you could start less coals in your chimney and still hit your target temp.

 

[Trunks]

it says it main purpose is to prevent vent jamming, but also has better airflow which i would think would make for cleaner smoke?

thanks guys

 

[Smoking Westy]

Trunks did you get the door upgrade as well? I was thinking about picking one of those up, my door has taking some beating while traveling.

 

[nickmv]

it says it main purpose is to prevent vent jamming, but also has better airflow which i would think would make for cleaner smoke?

thanks guys

To be honest, I'm kinda skeptical on the claims about the charcoal ring. It of course doesn't help that it costs a pretty penny ($35 is small but expensive relative to what it is), but it seems odd that it's fixing a problem that seemingly doesn't exist.

First off, this'll do nothing to help jamming your vents. The stock ring is already smaller in diameter than the bowl, so how your vent jams up from the contents of the inner ring is beyond me. The only time i've had vent jamming issues is because when refilling, I managed to get coal between the ring and the remaining area inside the bowl. Therefore, unburned coal blocked the vents and stayed that way.

And for airflow, let's look at stock operation ----- you can open your vents 100% and spike a 22" model to over 350F in relatively short order, yet somehow there's some need for a high airflow vent for just regular old cooking? Something doesn't seem right there.

If I were really wanting to do this, I'd just take a large drill bit or a step bit and put extra holes around the existing ring. However, I use a HeaterMeter w/fan so I'll stick to the same old method as always -- blocking all but 1 vent hole.

 

[ajstrider]

The ring was designed for a previous version of the WSM. Weber has alleviated the problem on the newer WSMs. It is however slightly bigger and will hold more charcoal. I would treat it just the same except you will notice it holds a bit more charcoal than the original. It has a few nice touches to it, but it probably won't make a huge difference in your cook. It does hold your charcoal grate and then you can criss cross another grate on there for better holding of lump charcoal. That is what I really like about it.

 

[yakdung]

I had a fire ring made out of #9 flat rolled and tack welded. Holds much more fuel and works great.

 

[Trunks]

I got the door as well looking forward to making the changes

I would think the door makes a big difference ?