Weber Smokey Mountain Ideal Setup

[whaascarson]

Hello all,

I’m in the process of a move, and I’m going to get away from my pellet smoker. I currently have a weber summit 450 SS gasser and am looking for a dedicated smoker option.

Initially I was sold on the Hunsaker drum smoker, but shipping to Montana will be brutal. Maybe $1500 all in. I’m still an amateur smoker/griller guy, not needing a competition setup.

My thought was to go with a 22 inch weber smoky mountain, I’ve had the 14 inch before and really liked it, just got rid of it because of the lack of capacity. I’m also tall and the leaning over was brutal.

Add the Hunsaker charcoal basket and hinge. I’m all in for $650ish (if I can’t find a used WSM)

Any other ad ons? Cajun bandit door? Any other suggestions? I had the fire dial for the 14 inch, and loved it. But thought the all in one Hunsaker basket and deflector would be worth it. Love that it’s one piece.

Still going back and forth on 18” vs 22”. May as well get the big one and not upgrade later. Family of 4, but planning on throwing bbqs at the house from time to time. May need the extra capacity a few times per year.

I know there’s a lot of threads about this, and appreciate any feedback.






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[bamakettles]

Seems to be the most debated question on the forums/FB groups out there for WSMs.  Which one to get?  What accessories?  And there are a LOT of opinions.  I'll give you my experience and try to keep opinion out of it.  When I was looking for a WSM I wanted to find a used one for cheap so I could add mods and come in around the price of a new stock unit.  Having looked for kettles daily I ran across one for $50 that was in decent shape but missing charcoal ring and grate, water pan and probe grommet.  But the rest was all there and in decent shape.  Guy said the neighbor moved out and left it so he grabbed it and put it on FB Marketplace for a quick $50.  It's a 22" which is what I was leaning toward.... I put every mod I could think of -- being a gadget / fix up / mod guy.  I'm glad I did, I have about $500 in it and it's so fun to cook on.  I've done briskets, butts, ribs, chicken and even hamburgers and hot dogs on it.  They're very versatile cookers.  Good luck!

Link to my upgrade thread:

http://weberkettleclub.com/forums/index.php?topic=44550.0

[Mr.CPHo]

I’ve gone down the WSM rabbit hole myself and after playing around with multiple 14’s and 18’s, finally settled on a 22WSM mounted into a lowered SSP frame.   Installing a lid hinge was a huge improvement I appreciated immediately.   Ash sweepers of the stock SSP bowl negates the need to completely breakdown the WSM between each cook, and the gas-assist is super convenient.  As Bama said, WSMs are very versatile, I use mine mostly in conjunction with the Gateway hanger for hanging ribs/chicken (You mentioned drum smoker)

[acast285]

I’ve gone down the WSM rabbit hole myself and after playing around with multiple 14’s and 18’s, finally settled on a 22WSM mounted into a lowered SSP frame.   Installing a lid hinge was a huge improvement I appreciated immediately.   Ash sweepers of the stock SSP bowl negates the need to completely breakdown the WSM between each cook, and the gas-assist is super convenient.  As Bama said, WSMs are very versatile, I use mine mostly in conjunction with the Gateway hanger for hanging ribs/chicken (You mentioned drum smoker)

Awesome set up!

[whaascarson]

Thank you all for the advice. That WSM SSP setup is crazy cool.

An 18 inch just popped up on my local craigslist, $100. So that’ll be the start of it. I’ll order Hunsaker hinge, Cajun bandit door, and maybe the Hunsaker vortex plate or charcoal basket/plate to start.

If I can keep the whole thing under $250 that’s a win in my book. That’ll give me room to upgrade to a 22” down the road if needed.

Thanks again!


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[Kneab]

The cajun bandit door is nice but not a necessity.
I have the stock door on my 18"
It fits very well and just required a little shaping.

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[michaelmilitello]

I’ve gone down the WSM rabbit hole myself and after playing around with multiple 14’s and 18’s, finally settled on a 22WSM mounted into a lowered SSP frame.   Installing a lid hinge was a huge improvement I appreciated immediately.   Ash sweepers of the stock SSP bowl negates the need to completely breakdown the WSM between each cook, and the gas-assist is super convenient.  As Bama said, WSMs are very versatile, I use mine mostly in conjunction with the Gateway hanger for hanging ribs/chicken (You mentioned drum smoker)

Badass[emoji41].   Love it!


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[michaelmilitello]

Thank you all for the advice. That WSM SSP setup is crazy cool.

An 18 inch just popped up on my local craigslist, $100. So that’ll be the start of it. I’ll order Hunsaker hinge, Cajun bandit door, and maybe the Hunsaker vortex plate or charcoal basket/plate to start.

If I can keep the whole thing under $250 that’s a win in my book. That’ll give me room to upgrade to a 22” down the road if needed.

Thanks again!


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I have an 18 wsm for sale with Cajun bandit door plus gateway rib hanger for $200. 


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[magic mike]

Here's my "ideal" setup..........

22-inch WSM
Cajun Bandit Stacker for a third full grate
CB door and latch
Hunsaker SS rib hanger w/20 hooks (yet to be used)
Hunsaker diffuser
Extra large "beast basket" for WSM (holds 40+ lbs of charcoal).

This is what's in the WSM in the attached pics.  The rib rack hanging from the stacker level plus diffuser should result in up to 15 racks of evenly cooked ribs.  I also like the option of being able to do 3 full packers or 9 large pork butts at once.

I have another 22 setup basically the same as the one shown, except it has the Firedial diffuser instead of Hunsaker and a different rib rack setup. 
 

[JEBIV]

Damn @magic mike you didn't show me that beast all set up, that's bad ass

[magic mike]

Sorry Joe. You are welcome ANYTIME.......social visit, burgers, brisket, you name it. I just got another 26 as well (and you know how badly I needed it........🙄

[whaascarson]

Thanks for all the feedback. I was able to find a used WSM. Ordered the Hunsaker WSM kit rib hanger, hinge, vortex basket, and turkey hanger for the price of the 18” WSM used. Very happy. Can’t wait. Appreciate the help!


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[whaascarson]

* For the price of a new WSM


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[whaascarson]

Pre shipment


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[swamprb]

I’m pretty much into Hunsakers Drum Smokers for Competition, we have 3 and I’ve built numerous clones with parts from them in addition to Gateway clones and Big Poppas drum kits and no matter how fancy you get a Drum is a drum and they all cook pretty much the same. That said dropping a Vortex Firebasket in a 22” WSM its a whole new beast. If you go and start adding all the aftermarket parts like SS door, casters, Firebasket upgrades, hanging racks or even a decent thermometer you’d be better off in the long run to get the Hunsakers Drum.



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