So I already have a WSM 18†and I saw this pop up on Craigslist. At first glance it appears this is a good deal but wondered what the experts thought. If this is in the wrong forum please move it.
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The WSM looks like it is almost new and has the casters and hinge after market adds. If you are interested in a WSM, this is a cherry and the added bonus of the DigiQ is great. That old school DigiQ fan is a jewel by itself. They're no longer made like that and are easily repaired. My son recently bought a DigiQ setup like that for $75 which we thought was a really good buy.
Since you own a WSM you know what you will be getting. A 22.5" smoker is a nice size.Last edited by Alphonse; November 3, 2020, 08:57 PM. -
You may know this because you have an 18 already but the 22 seems to be a little different animal.
Bare with my essay
Given the cost of the hinge and caster add-ons and the cleanliness I’d say that’s a great deal. I’ll add that given how clean everything looks (everything, down to the grate support brackets) my guess is this person is selling it after only a couple cooks...because he can’t keep the temps down.
Maybe more guessing on my part, but I’ll bet the fan was purchased to help regulate the temp, which was a lost cause. Maybe the fan forces so much air that it forces it out of places it shouldn’t go but if you buy this you will need a gasket kit. NBD at all because it’s relatively cheap but just trying to help you out. Personally I think they should all come with a gasket kit. I never had a Cajun bandit door but they seem to get good reviews as well. Either way you will need to fix the leaks.
Observations:
Pic 3, look on the right side where the door is supposed to meet the body. You can physically see the grate in this space meaning there is a HUGE air gap there, not to mention the left side doesn’t exactly sit tight to the barrel. You can see the smoke marks across the top of the entire door in pic 2. Yes you can bend it but it’s nearly impossible to get it perfect.
Again, the grates look fantastic in pic 3, and those are really hard to keep that shiny edge to edge over time even with a pressure washer which tells me they haven’t seen heavy use, or they were very diligent on cleaning.
Pic 6, there’s dark residue on the aftermarket bracket that attaches to the lid which to me means it gets hit with a lot of smoke, aka leakage. If it was from the intermittent opening of the lid that could have easily been cleaned off. This may or may not be because the bracket was put on improperly. I never had that on mine so I can’t give advice but given the sheer number of positive reviews that hinge has, and the apparent simplicity of installation, I think it was done correctly.
I tend to see myself as a realist, not a pessimist, so know that I think this is a killer deal but unless you want to do the snake method every time you will need to invest a little bit more in a gasket kit to really appreciate this cooker, and it’s definitely worth it. Even if you buy it and the kit, it will take a few cooks to gunk it up, but after that you’re golden especially with the DigiQ. According to the folks here that setup is good for 12+hr unsupervised cooks.
Max Good let me know next time you have a cooker laying around that needs a review!
Last edited by Andrrr; November 3, 2020, 11:10 PM.Comment
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If'n WSM 22.5" is what ya wanna do, I don't think that it's too dang dang likely ya'll anytime soon find a better package deal;
Course I'd (respectfully) make em a counteroffer...
Never hurts to try...
Last edited by Mr. Bones; November 4, 2020, 12:28 AM.Comment
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This seems like a good deal given that it looks almost new, and comes with upgrades plus the temp controller setup. I would still try to talk them down to $300 (or as low as you can).Comment
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So I went and saw the thing and pulled the trigger. It was nice and clean and looked well taken care of. He wasn’t much for haggling either, was perfectly fine waiting for full price. Wife gave me the green light despite the growing number of cookers on the patio.
Had to do a test run today to make sure I made the right choice and gear up for turkey day. Everything worked.
I had some leftover gasket I used to seal up the door a little better and I think it worked well. Thanks Andrrr for the observations and everyone. I think I’m going to be happy about this one.
side note: that blasted digiQ, where have you been all my life!
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