Wanted to throw a bone out there: going to use my 22" WSM to do some beef briskets and short ribs. During that timeframe of 5-7 hrs, how are you guys keeping your wsm stabilized at 250F during the winter months? Blankets? Canopy tents with wind breakers? Special contraptions like an enclosed shed? Wife's argyle poncho?
I use a WSM 18 completely stock.
I've never had problems with maintaining temps for a sustained period of time in the cold.
My experience may be different from others. I have not ever used water in mine. Instead I run my water pan half full with pumice stones, with foil wrapped over the top of the bowl and a depression in the middle for the drippings to collect. Makes for easy cleanup too.
I have only used Stubb's or weber briquettes with oak or hickory chunks. I have had several cooks that my coals have lasted up to 16hrs.
However I do not remember the wind conditions from those cooks. Maybe the wind was calm.
I have thought about cutting a 55 gallon drum for a windshield though. I think that the wind affects it more than the outside temperature does.
What fuel do you plan on using?
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This is a pretty typical run from a fully packed ring of Stubb's and oak.
Never had an issue keeping temps up in my 22 WSM. If it's really windy I might block the lower half with some leftover pieces of plywood.
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No real problems keeping my 14.5 WSM going in the cold. If there is a big ambient temp swing such I've had to open the dampers up to increase the fire a bit which has a small impact on fuel supply. An annoyance during overnight cooks but not a big deal. Bought a PartyQ in the fall so I wouldn't have to worry about it so much this winter.
I'll jump on "no problem" bandwagon. I don't put anything in the bowl, just foil to catch drippings. The main thing is to make sure you are preheated and have enough fuel.
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I just live in the south so I don't have to deal with all this cold weather nonsense.
No problems up here.
I use sometimes a blanket also on very windy days in order to save save fuel too.
I've found that wind is the biggest factor not so much the cold. If it's really cold, 27*F, the other night then I have noticed that fuel doesn't last quite as long. So far if I know it's going to be cold I will usually just light a little more charcoal in the chimney starter when using minion method. It starts out a little bit hotter at first but again it's easily controlled with the vents and I've maintained 225* - 250* very easily!
But hey, take advantage of the cold. Smoke some cheese!!!