Best Fuel for WSM

[neocacher]

Newbie to WSM here.  I've decided to buy the 14" due to the recommendations of a couple people on the forum.  Next question?

Briquettes, Lump charcoal, or Wood Chunks.  I have availability (i have bags of already) of all three.  Mixed fuel OK?  Opinions. Thanks.
Stephen

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[JDann24]

I use the regular blue bag kingsford briquettes and they work fine.

[varekai]

KBB always great, the new Weber briquettes are awesome also.

[bigssa]

I would recommend using the Weber briquettes using the minion method.

[GoAnywhereJeep]

I liked briquettes vs lump in the WSM for low and slow. I have used Kingsford Blue, Stubbs, Royal Oak (and generic store brand versions of Royal Oak) and Royal Oak Chef's Select. My favorite was ROCS. Larger briquettes and they burned cleanly and fairly completely for a briquette (minimal ash).

[Kneab]

I have a Wsm 18", Stubb's briquettes and Weber is all I burn in mine. Low ash and super long burn times.

[Mike in Roseville]

My favorite is Stubbs. Weber briquettes are good too. Of the more "economical" choices, the Royal Oak Ridge Briquettes aren't bad at all. Those seem to have gotten a little better recently and I prefer then to KBB.

[GoAnywhereJeep]

Stubb's burns nicely and has minimal ash. Only thing I prefer (personally) in the RO and ROCS is the aroma. Regular RO does produce more ash than Stubb's. I do like the larger briquette size of the ROCS. Seems to stay above the charcoal grate for a longer period of time.

edit: Someone with more knowledge than me, please reply but I think Stubb's (vs RO/ROCS) is just made from different wood (more hickory content?). One cannot ignore the price point of RO. Both Stubb's and regular RO available at my local Lowe's - maybe yours too?

[neocacher]

Stubbs ($9.99) and Royal Oaks ($5.99) available my local Lowe's.  Weber 20 lb. is available for $11.99 which is a LOT less than at Walmart.

[GoAnywhereJeep]

I've seen 2 for 1 on the regular Royal Oak at Lowes. I think the Stubb's too.

[Big Dawg]

I use the regular blue bag kingsford briquettes and they work fine.

It's all I've ever used and I've never been disappointed.  Plus the Lower & HD put it on a mega-sale 2-3 times a year.  So, stock up.





BD

[Lightning]

I started out using Royal Oak briquettes in my WSM and eventually changed over to Maple Leaf briquettes.  I have a 22 inch smoker and found that the Maple Leaf briquettes ran a touch hotter and that helped preventing that big smoker's temperature from bottoming out but that probably wouldn't be a concern with the 14 inch WSM you're planning to buy.  Back in summer 2017 when I bought discounted Kingsford briquettes since they rarely go on sale here and tested it, I tried it my WSM once.  The briquettes worked in terms of burning and producing adequate heat to cook with but I didn't really care for the flavour that their smoke imparted to the food so I reverted back to Maple Leaf or Maple Leaf with Royal Oak mixed in.

One thing you might find with using briquettes in general in your smoker is that they tend to choke on their own ash after long enough burn time and the temperature inside starts to sag.  I deal with that by opening the front door and using my charcoal tongs to gently shake the ash off the briquettes so that fresh fuel's exposed to air and can burn effectively to burn the briquettes more completely and get the temperature back up where it should be.

I still have yet to try lump charcoal in my smoker.  One of these days...

[chapel321]

I’ve tried Kingsford and Weber , Weber is by far the best but high.


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[tmartin]

Another vote for weber, easily get 12+ hours on my 14.5 WSM.

[vverewolf]

Another vote for weber, easily get 12+ hours on my 14.5 WSM.

Impressive. Is that a stock unit?

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