WSM No Water in Pan - But why?

[Hamdrew]

I just dump mine over the fence in my A-hole neighbor's yard!

lol, that's a chicken or the egg sitch if i ever heard one

 

[HankB]

A new WSM may tend to run hot and the water will help to moderate temperature as it boils at 212°F. Once you get the hang of temperature control, you don't need the water to keep things in check. I don't use water any more but I do recommend it for new WSM owners.

 

[Volsfan846]

When I had my 22" WSM, I used the water pan the first few cooks, got tired of the mess inside the cooker and the pan. I filled mine with sand to help stabilize the temps and covered that with aluminum foil. Worked great until I got my Kamado Joe. Never used it after that.

 

[onemanlan]

When I bought my 18" it came with no water pan. I bought a 15" pizza pan to use as a heat deflector. No water in my cookers.

Just a note. The meaning of "heat sink" is something that removes heat. Such as the cooling fins of a radiator. Not something that holds heat...

Heat capacitance perhaps? Water takes a lot of energy to heat up to the point of phase change from liquid --> gas. It's a high specific heat capacity.

Yeah it's a pain to clean up, but they suggest it to keep the smoker more steady.

If you're spritzing your meat then I don't think having a water pan is necessary. I've actually started taking that approach with my Battle Box. Water + grease is a huge pain in the ass to clean up. The PITA clean up is > the utility of water as a heat capacitor in the smoker IMO.

 

[Lynn Dollar]

When I bought my 18" it came with no water pan. I bought a 15" pizza pan to use as a heat deflector. No water in my cookers.

Just a note. The meaning of "heat sink" is something that removes heat. Such as the cooling fins of a radiator. Not something that holds heat...

Merriam Webster


heat sink

noun

https://www.merriam-webster.com/saved-wordshttps://www.merriam-webster.com/saved-wordshttps://www.merriam-webster.com/login





Definition of heat sink



: a substance or device that absorbs or dissipates especially unwanted heat (as from a process or an electronic device)

 

[musicmanj]

No water here. I wrap the pan in foil and cook away. These WSM run themselves. I usually spritz with some cider vinegar/water so I can feel like I'm doing something. LOL

 

[Clasko2]

I used water in my WSM for the first cook, and had to deal with hot, greasy water. I never used it again.

^ This. Made a mess that was a pain to clean. Even worse was when I forgot about the pan for a couple days during a humid August and had to then clean and burn out all the mold.

Use a foiled clay saucer now and haven't looked back.