Weber Kettle 22 and SnS

[Thunder77]

Hello Folks,
I am seriously considering purchasing the SNS. From the pictures I have seen, it appears to take up about half of the cooking area on a 22 inch Weber kettle. Is this right, or am I not seeing it correctly? If you're doing a couple of good sized steaks, that doesn't leave you much room for the slow part of the cook. Also, can the Hovergrill be used with the SNS? It's either gong to be the SNS or the Smokenator... Any thoughts?

[DWCowles]

It takes up a little more than a third on the 22" Weber kettle. I can cook three good size steaks with it. I wouldn't recommend the Smokenator over the SnS.

[Ernest]

What DWCowles said

[Danjohnston949]

Thunder77, I think if you check the Adrenaline BBQ.Com site they will have the dimensions you are looking for! I have used the Weber Kettle for 35 - 40 years and have cooked about everything on them with varying degrees of success. I purchased S 'n S the first part of October along with a new Weber Performer Deluxe and have cooked on them since! Recently I purchased A DigiQ DX2 Temperature Control and Pit Viper Fan, because of having to drill a 7/8" hole in the Weber to Mount the fan I moved the S 'n S to my old Grill! At this point in time I am Debating purchasing a 2nd. S 'n S! You should be able to see pics of some my rough cooking with the S 'n S on my posts! Dan

[Jon Solberg]

You do Dan. You need it. Danjohnston949 ,

[Danjohnston949]

David Parrish, Jon Solberg, Thanks For Your Support? Why do I get the feeling You Boys have your hand in what's left of my Pockets? 👍😚🤔😚👍. LOL From Fargo ND, Dan

[Jon Solberg]

Dan I have three. btw

[David Parrish]

Thunder77 the Slow 'N Sear dimensions can be found on this page. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised how much you can cook with it.

[Craigar]

Taking into consideration the fire grate opposite the SnS has been covered in foil, can a person utilize the empty space under the main grill, next to SnS for extra cooking space?

[JeffJ]

I did that once with the Smokenator. I was cooking 3 slabs of baby backs and I wanted to also cook a pork butt. I tried it on the hover grill but it was too big for the lid when elevated off the grate like that. So, I threw it underneath. Once the ribs were done I moved it to the main grate. My understanding is temps are a lot cooler on the charcoal grate when using something like the Sn or SnS - 50 degrees, maybe more.

[Craigar]

Thank you JeffJ, that is what I had in mind. The day will come when I will want to do ribs for lunch and pulled pork for dinner. I was thinking a person could toss the PBs on the bottom grate until the ribs were done and then move the PBs to the top grate.

[Smokin' Ham]

The first time I fired up my 22 inch Webber with a Slow 'n Sear, I put one digital thermometer probe on the upper grill and the second probe on the lower grill. I measured temps for a couple of hours and found the lower temp to be from 20 to 30 degrees cooler, if I remember correctly. I tried to cook sweet potatoes on the bottom grill while slow cooking a chicken on the top, and the potatoes never got hot enough to cook. They did get a wonderful smoke flavor, and the juices from the chicken were good when stirred into the potatoes after I cooked them in a microwave.

I generally figure that I'll use the lower grill to add smoke flavor to anything I want to serve as an accompanying dish, but don't expect for it to really cook in the lower part.

[JeffJ]

The size is a bit deceptive looking due to the water reservoir. I've successfully used the hover grill with my smokenator (soon to be replaced by SnS) and it should work just as well with the SnS.

[FLBuckeye]

SnS>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Smokenator

And not even close

[Spinaker]

I feel like this place will be the death nail of the Smokenator. Lets hope it's inventor isn't a member...........

[DWCowles]

The facts is the facts

[David Parrish]

Don Thompson, who invented the Smokenator, passed away in 2009 at age 60. His wife and children took over the business. His invention did a lot to advance smoking with the kettle.

[CW Powers]

Hi, brand new member here... First reply or post!

I just got a new Weber Premium Kettle 22" with a SnS on order

My question -
I have this nagging desire to drill and mount a third party (Tel-Tru or River Country) thermometer on the side of the kettle

Installed so that a long-ish probe enters just under the grate on the "Slow" side of the SnS.
This seems like a great idea in theory, to have easy and fairly accurate temp readings at grate / meat level

Can you guys tell me if this is indeed a good idea?

If so, are there any videos of best install methods, best probe lengths / models?

p.s. - I have a Thermapen, but I am currently without any working, long range digital probe

[Huskee]

Welcome to The Pit CW Powers! Glad to have you here!

To help answer your questions:

Nah. Most folks find it better to use a digital thermometer with probes for a couple reasons. 1st, they can be easily repositioned around whatever meat you're cooking. 2nd- digitals are the most reliable technology available. Tel-Trus are arguably one of the best bi-metal thermometers out there, but it's still old technology. Many here enjoy using a wireless digital thermometer, like the Maverick ET 732. If your budget doesn't allow a digital thermometer unit, and you really want to mount a Tel-Tru, I'd suggest mount it so that the prob, when the lid is on, reads about 1-2" above the food grate.

Placing the probe under the food grate will give you a slightly unreliable reading. The hottest air is at and above the grate (and that's where your meat is too).

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Hope to hear & see more from you!

[DWCowles]

Welcome CW Powers

[CW Powers]

Thanks for the Welcome DWCowles and Huskee

I went ahead and ordered an ET 732. For Kettle + SnS smoking, do you drill holes for probes or lay the lid over the wires?

[Huskee]

Thanks for the Welcome DWCowles and Huskee

I went ahead and ordered an ET 732. For Kettle + SnS smoking, do you drill holes for probes or lay the lid over the wires?

CW Powers Either. Personally I just lay the lid right over the wires. Some don't like to do that and will either drill little holes and place plastic grommets in the holes (available on Maverick's website here) to avoid the sharp edges from the hole, or others will fish the probes through the top vent. I've fished through the top vent too. I just don't like to drill holes in my equipment. All 3 ways of positioning the probe wires have their pros & cons.

For what it's worth you may wish to pick up an extra set of probes for the ET 732, the probes that come with it are 3' long, which is fine in most cases. You can purchase 6' long ones, they are way handier, besides the probes can fail and read erratically in some cases. You'd hate to have that happen mid-cook! I see now Maverick even has "waterproof" probes for the ET 732,733,735 models. (The regular probes that come with it are not waterproof- the joint where the probe meets the wire MUST be kept relatively dry, never submerge the joint or place it under running water.)

I don't want to bombard you with too much info, but we have several posts on how to take care of, and breathe new life into, Maverick probes if they should give you trouble. Just come back here if you ever need help with your Maverick and we can help you.

[Thunder77]

How long are the Maverick probes? If they are too short, that could be problematic fishing them through vent holes. Also, you won't have as much control of how far you can close the vents. Never mind, I see you said the probes were 3 ft. I might try the drilling thing. My kettle is way out of warranty, anyway.

[Huskee]

Thunder77 Personally I don't care for fishing through the top vent, it makes removing the lid a pain as you'd expect. I'll occasionally do it for long cooks like pork butts or chucks where I won't have to lift the lid f or 8hrs or more. The 6' probes make it easier even if you were to drill holes, they're just handier than the 3s, except when it's time to roll them up and come inside!

[(Upnorth)]

I drilled a small hole just big enough to fit the probes through one at a time in the bottom just above where the grill sits and down far enough from the top so the lid doesn't interfere with the cables.
I was just running my probes over the rim and having the lid sit down on them but found it wasn't all that good for the probe wire to be bent at such a sharp angle as happened once you put the lid on.