WSM owners

[armor]

Looking at buying a WSM. Having never used one I am wondering if anyone who started on the 18.5 and moved to the 22.5 notices any difference in the way they cook and if so do you have a preference. My decision has nothing to do with amount of meat on cooker but on how they cook. Probably will be used for chicken mainly. Thanks

 

[hcj3rd]

I have the 22.5'" WSM. If you are going to do nothing but chicken you will be fine with the smaller one. The 22.5" is quite a bit larger cooking area. On the larger one you can easily cook 2 briskets or 4 racks of spares with ease. One of the complaints of the smaller WSM is if you are cooking spare ribs you have to use a rib rack if you don't want to burn part of the rack because it isn't protected by the water pan. Thge temp outside the circumference of the water pan is quite a bit hotter. Most people cooking chicken remove water pan and cook at hotter temps. Hopes this helps.

 

[BBQ Grail]

Get the smaller one if all you plan to do is chicken. And I don't ever have water in my water pan. It's easier to control the temps with a clay pot saucer or sand.

 

[swamprb]

I've got both, and feel more love for the 18's.

 

[Rich Parker]

I have an 18 and it does a great job with chicken

 

[Jeff Selle]

I have the 22.5 and I use my performer to cook chicken ... Unless I already have something cooking on the WSM. It just too big to fire up for a short duration chicken cook. My next purchase is an 18.5 for everyday use...

 

[lfurl43142]

I just fired up my brand new WSM 22 today to do 5 slabs of baby backs and a big pot of beans. I strugled with temp control a bit, but learned a lot. The ribs were killer and the bean pot cooked directly under the ribs were awesome too. A few more cooks and I should have this down pat. Go big or go home. Learned that at the horse track.

 

[swamprb]

I have the 22.5 and I use my performer to cook chicken ... Unless I already have something cooking on the WSM. It just too big to fire up for a short duration chicken cook. My next purchase is an 18.5 for everyday use...

I use smaller charcoal rings for most of my 22" WSM cooks. Made an 11" ring from a savaged steel form.

Works great for small short cooks. For even longer cooks at higher temps, I fabbed a 14" dia. expando ring. (same size as an 18" WSM ring)

And if you are looking for charcoal capacity, the Cajun Bandit High Flow Stainless steel charcoal ring is an inch larger in diameter than the stock 22" WSM ring and it will hold a full 21.6lb bag of Kingsford, for those rock steady 225-250* low n' slow cooks w/o adding to the fuel hog!

Cram that bullet full of yardbirds!

 

[Bluesman]

I have a 22.5 WSM and a 22.5 performer. The big WSM is the way to go. use some of the basket mods mentioned here and have the capcity when you need it. I fire up the performer for chicken and shorter high temp cooks. When I need Lo n' Slo I fire up the Big Bullet.

 

[Shiz-Nit]

I have the 22.5 and really like it. I use the BGE's most of the time but the WSM gets out for larger cooks and turns out some killer Que.

 

[redbandit98]

I have the 18.5" bullet. I have both the clay saucer and the big water bowl from the brinkman. Both seem to work equally as well. If I use my bullet for chicken, I have to leave the water pan empty and most of the time have to crack the door to get it to 350. As for low and slow..its the cats meow. Its rock steady at 250 which is where I cook at. I have my drums with heat diffusers for rib cooks as I dont even mess with the ribs on the small bullet. To me its not worth it because it doesnt hold enough. I dont like to cook my ribs on a rib rack or rolled up or whatever. I have to have them laying flat..dont ask..its just a "thing" of mine. The WSM will not let you down. I would go with the smaller one just for chicken. good luck

 

[JD McGee]

I prefer to use my 18's for butts and briskies...but the 22 is a rib cookin' machine baby!

 

[jimbloomfield]

As many of the others I have a 18 and a 22 The 22 I use for ribs and brisket because of it size. The 18 is my choice for anything that fits on it including chicken. A lot easier to keep in the 300 temp range then the 22 in the winter.