Finally got one - 18" WSM

[Brickout]

After months and months of searching, lost deals, misses, and out bidding, I finally got one!



I was the first to respond, 15 min from the time it was listed. The seller called me right away, told me I was the first to respond. We arranged for me to pick it up the next day. An hour later he texts me back saying he's had multiple inquires including one from the same town. This is usually where I get screwed. I told him I'm serious and that if needed I could be there tonight. He told me not to worry, we are men of our word. He would hold till I got there. I arrived at the agreed time, and picked her up complete with cover and the owners manual. He told me when I picked it up he had received 15 inquires. I thanked him for being so honest. I can't tell you what a relief it is to meet an honest seller on Craigslist for once.

On with the details: Vent code is DT, which put's it at 2003. It has the shallow water pan, skinny legs and no ash catcher. The previous owner also installed a thermometer in the lid. The bottom vents are a little banged up and stuck in the open position. The previous owner also added an additional charcoal grate at 90* to the original which saves the the hassle.

The first thing I plan on doing is giving it a good cleaning. Anyone ever use EZ Off on the outside?

Possible upgrades; Weber thermometer, current legs & ash catcher, deeper water pan (brinkman), wood handle, mid section handles, Therm probe port (the new one), and compression latch for the door.

[argentflame]

Congratulations. Great pickup. These are so efficient and use a little charcoal.

[Harbormaster]

Great score Brickout!

As far as your cleaning question, I have great luck with Greased Lightning and a green 3M ScotchBrite pad to clean the outside.

Possible upgrades; Weber thermometer, current legs & ash catcher, deeper water pan (brinkman), wood handle, mid section handles, Therm probe port (the new one), and compression latch for the door.

I would suggest you buy a Tel-Tru thermo instead of the Weber, at least get one that you can calibrate. Many reports that the Weber thermos aren't accurate.

Don't spend money on the new legs. And that extra pan is a heat shield, not an ash catcher. I have no issues with my WSMs, all have the old legs.

New probe port - I wouldn't try to cut that hole in one of my WSMs. Run them under the lid or get the ports that replace one of the grate bracket bolts.

If you'll accept the advice of a long time WSM user, cook on it first before you decide to blow a wad of $$ on upgrades you don't need.

You'll love the WSM!

[Brickout]

Thanks for the advice Harbormaster. The them was just a cosmetic issue for me. The previous owner put a Brinkman them in the lid. I can live with it for now, but will upgrade later...maybe. I usually rely on my Mavrick for temps. Do you have a Tel-Tru you recommend? Legs...check! Cant see why I could replace them. Probe port...K.I.S.S., I'll just run it under the lid.

[Brickout]

Clean-up has begun!

First I disassembled and used a plastic scraper to get all the built up gunk off.

Here's the pile of everything that scraped off.


The inside got sprayed down with Easy-Off, the outside was sprayed down with Purple Power.


Then warped it all in plastic bags.

[Hogsy]

Great Score!! I'm glad you finally got one
An easy mod I did to mine which is handy for shaking out ash and emptying used coals is to attach the charcoal ring to the charcoal grate with some tie wire

[Idahawk]

I bet that's getting fired up this weekend ! Congrats


Esto Perpetua

[Weber MD]

A good Craig's list story - thanks for sharing.

[MINIgrillin]

I bet that's getting fired up this weekend ! Congrats


Esto Perpetua

Might wanna do a hot burn off of that Easy Off before cooking on that.
Don't bother with the weber therm... Your gonna want a digital dual probe. I just run mine thru the front door.  It don't seal for crap anyway

[mike.stavlund]

+1 for wiring the charcoal ring to the bottom grate.  And for getting a Brinkman (charcoal!) pan to use for longer cooks.

I'd think twice about using two bottom grates, as you want the ash to fall away easily, rather than choke off the coals. But ymmv.

And like Harbormaster (a true master of the WSM) said, don't make any rash decisions until you've cooked a few times on it.  Especially if you're cleaning the inside, you'll need to build up some gunk to get the sections to seal up properly.  I bought mine used and pre-gunked, and only cleaned the outside, and *still* needed to cook on it 5 or so times before it started running at normal temps.  So be patient.  The WSM rewards patience.

[Brickout]

Got her all cleaned up and ready to use.





Broke her in with a picnic cut shoulder over Memorial Day weekend.