22.5 WSM fire ring modification w/pics

[JONESY]

Well I used my new 22.5 WSM the other night for a short cook, and loved the way it cooked, but had trouble keeping my coals in one nice pile. So it got me to thinking, what if I made a smaller fire ring to contain the coals better? I think I can get better fuel utilization on shorter cooks with a more compact coal bed. I figured I’d start with 50% volume and see where that gets me. So I bought some expanded metal and…..

Original 22.5 fire ring volume
V=∏r^2h
V=∏*8.5^2*4.75 = 1078.30in^3

Half V = 539.15in^3

So bla, bla, bla and a bunch of math, I come up with….
V=∏*5.35^2*6 = 539.59in^3 Close enough to half original V.

Since I’m using flat stock expanded metal I need to come up with a circumference that will determine diameter.

C=∏/d
C=∏/10.7 = 33.61in

I took my expanded metal and made cut 6” tall by 33.61” long(or close there to), that when rolled into a circle will give me a 10.7”dia x 6” tall fire ring, that is half the volume of the original 22.5WSM fire ring.

I’m going to give this a try tomorrow on a short cook and see how it works. I don’t have an accurate enough scale, so I guess I will count briquettes to determine how much fuel I used. I would love to hear from any WSM owners, and what you think. Thanks.

 

[MikeR]

All I can say is keep us posted. I've never seen anything like this before- but the more coal the longer the burn- no?

 

[JONESY]

Mike, absolutely the more coal the longer the burn, but the fire ring on 22.5 is so damn big, I think it may be inefficient on shorter cooks. I think with a more compact fire I can achieve the same temps, over a short period of time(like 4-6 hours), with less fuel.

 

[wormdrink67]

Fantastic!! I'm doing this tomorrow....thanks.

 

[swamprb]

You would be surprised how much difference size makes, with the Cajun Bandit oversized charcoal ring for the big bullet, you can fit a whole 21.6 lb bag of Kingsford, do a Minion burn and rock out all night.

But for short cooks on the 22" WSM fuel hog, a small ring is the only way to roll!

 

[Smoothsmoke]

Good job on the expanded metal basket. I'm not good with my hands or I'd make one like yours. I got 16 hours on my 22" wsm yesterday. That was with temps rocking at 270-295. For shorter cooks I'm definitely going to use my 18" charcoal basket instead.

 

[jrbBBQ]

I only got about 10 hours out of my wsm 22 yesterday, I was using royal oak lump and about 4 hand size chunks of applewood... it seemed a little short for me but I had the sucker wide open and it was around 40 degrees i'm assuming that why I didn't get more out of it. I like the idea of a smaller basket for smaller/shorter cooks.

 

[Stoke&Smoke]

I only got about 10 hours out of my wsm 22 yesterday, I was using royal oak lump and about 4 hand size chunks of applewood... it seemed a little short for me but I had the sucker wide open and it was around 40 degrees i'm assuming that why I didn't get more out of it. I like the idea of a smaller basket for smaller/shorter cooks.

When you use lump, you need to be careful to pack it into the fire ring carefully. You don't want to leave a lot of space between chunks. If you just pour it in, it won't hold as much, and you'll get a lot shorter burn. I think with more space for air to circulate, that would shorten overall burn time also.

And yes, wind and cold will make it burn through more fuel faster also.

I do like the idea of using a smaller basket for short cooks though:thumb: