WSM 14.5 impulse buy

[Rbar]

I bought a WSM 14.5" for $98 today and am debating whether or not to keep it. It got a silver review on this site due to small size. I have already smoked my last full size pork shoulder (not worth the time involved); I buy the minis that are ~2 lbs. and cook 2 or 3 of those at a time. My preference is to cook chunks of cushion meat (a lean part of a shoulder) but I find that mostly in 4 packs. The portability of this unit exceeds any hope I ever had for a smoker.
I'd have posted this in the review section but refuse to add another type of logon Id to my congested world of such things.
I'd enjoy hearing from any mini WSM owners about how happy they are with the unit.
Thanks,
Rbar

[Jerod Broussard]

For that price, ain't no way I'd get rid of it.

[Rbar]

After 1 use, I am happy with my bargain purchase. I sliced a rack to make it fit on the top rack. I cooked a 3 lb. pork shoulder on the bottom rack.
I will take this unit to some outdoor gatherings.

[Jerod Broussard]

Great to hear!

I almost picked one up at our Walmart last year, or was it this year? Maybe both.

[Mudkat]

Great price for that cooker! I'm just getting started with mine and love it. If you don't want to cut the ribs to fit the rack you can use the Weber rib rack and bend the ribs through the slots. They'll fit on the top rack and not touch the top or sides.

[Gilmore]

Great find! At that price, let me know if you want to get rid of it... I call dibs

[Spinaker]

IF you need more room for ribs. You should consider rolling the ribs into coils. When I do this I can fit a few in my Kamado Joe Jr. which has a 13" grate.

[JeffJ]

I've done a bunch of cooks on mine and love it. For that price, keeping it is a no-brainer IMO. It travels very well and has a surprising amount of capacity. Last summer I separated the point from the flat and cooked a 17-pound packer in it without difficulty. As an added bonus it is a charcoal miser.

[Dale53]

I have a 18.5" and alsogot the 14.5 when it first hit the market. I bought two rib racks and cut all my racks of ribs in half and do three halves on each grate. I have also, several times done two 8-9 lb. bone in Boston Butts for pulled pork on the 14.5". No problem at all. If I could only have one, it would be the 18.5" but like having both.

YMMV
Dale53

[Mr. Bones]

2nd dibs, if yer silly enough to get rid of that 14.5 WSM lol!
Or, ya' can jus' use it to make Great Food!

[Rbar]

After years of using a small WSM I am glad that I got it for 50% off and anything on the lower shelf is at risk of being boiled if you fill the water pan. I've had success with it too but the charcoal ends up in deep ash and adding charcoal is cartoonishly poor in design. A friend runs his with gas and is very happy with that setup (zero interest to me). For $100, the thing had great price/performance but I only paid $25 (end of season closeout) for my Weber kettle and it smokes, too. I always use Grill Grates which are worth the price.

[jeffpadell]

I love my 14.5's (yes 2 of them) it is the perfect size for a small family, there are 3 of us at home. I did a 9 lb pork shoulder and we ate for a week and gave some away. Ribs I usually do 1 or 3 halves.
Yes the ash can get deep but I can easily deal with it and adding coals is easy with my added handles on the side of the WSM. 3 racks of ribs (6 halves) work perfect and I used to do 4 racks but the outside ones would get too much heat, with the 2 now it is easy.
I love the portability and light weight and it is a charcoal mizer

[Jerod Broussard]

You essentially have a 29" WSM, so THAT'S awesome!

[HawkerXP]

Two times the power of the WSM! Like how you've boosted them up to adult working height!

[jsaniga]

Where did you get the handles? That is a great idea if you need to add coals on longer smokes.

[jeffpadell]

I had to boost them up as I have bad knees and cannot work on them lower down

[dshaffes]

I picked up a new in box 14.5 WSM for $125 and used it this summer for the first time. I smoked a small pork butt, 2 racks of ribs cut in half using a small rib rack and a batch of jalapeño poppers in 3 separate cooks. The smoker performance was excellent: temp held steady, used only a little charcoal, fire lasted for hours, and created nice bark with good flavor. I will probably just use it for road trips along with my Weber Q, but really happy about having it in my collection of smokers.

[Rob Johnston]

Lacey: Here is a check for $10,000.
Ty: Keep it.

KEEP IT! You won't be sorry.