WSM 22" Upgrades

[Paul299]

Hi guys, long time since I've posted anything but I still check in most weeks.

Anyway, I bought my 22" Weber Master Touch and slow n sear last year and have been loving the results (due in no small part to all the tips I've learnt from this site).

It's my birthday in May and I'm treating myself to a 22" WSM since I'd like more capacity for BBQing (especially since I'm buying a house and have promised everyone pulled pork, ribs and smoked ox cheeks for the house warming!!).
I've already decided on buying a gasket kit and the Cajun Bandit door to help with any leaks and to hopefully keep the temp down as I've heard they can run a little hot. I'm also going to put some locking casters on it to make it easier to move out of the garage and on to the patio.
I see that Cajun Bandit also do a replacement water pan, would this be necessary for cooks that are less than 12 hours (I know this is hard to answer but to help I try to cook at 225*F-235*F) and does this take up extra room so you can't fit as many coals in? 20 quarts sounds like over kill to me (that's 20kg nealry 40lb of extra weight for starters).

Any help is much appreciated and if there are any other useful tips/mods I should consider please let me know, the expert knowledge and advice on this site has been invaluable over the last 18 months.

Thank you in advance.

[Troutman]

I would forget about the Cajun Bandit water pan. Although it gets into some money, the best bang for the buck for the WSM is to get a good thermo/controller like the Fireboard. You can couple that with a good fan that controls your burn (I like the Pit Viper). When using the controller/fan properly you can just about set and forget your WSM. I've even found that eliminating the water pan helps the controller work even better. Again this is involves some additional expenditure but the result is amazing.

[dshaffes]

The other mod that I find extremely helpful is the lid hinge kit from Unknown BBQ. You don't have to worry about finding a spot to place the hot lid every time you want to check on your food. As for the Cajun Bandit door, I don't feel that is necessary either, just put a gasket around the existing door and it will tighten up the leaks. Lastly, don't buy the replacement water pan either until you use the smoker for awhile. Some people, like me, do not use the water pan anymore and have grown to hate it ...lol. The suggestion above to buy a controller is good, but you might want to learn to use without at first to see if it's necessary for you. Good luck!

[JOE E]

I did the hinge and door. Completely satisfied with both.

[Paul299]

Thanks for all the advice, especially the hinge. Think I'll go for that especially since you can get that and the gasket kit in a bundle on BBQGaskets.com, I'll also be getting a FireBoard too since there'll be times I need more than the two channels my Smoke currently offers. I'll go with the Cajun Bandit door too, I think it looks great and plenty of people on here love it but I'll give the water pan a miss and I'll leave the Pit Viper for now (I'll probably save that for Christmas!!)