I have a 22" kettle with the SNS and it's keeps rock solid temps with no controller necessary. I've been watching it since 6 this morning and it's been between 241 and 223 right now. I think either one would do what you want, but the kettle is more versatile with a SNS.
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Here she my pennies worth. I don't own a WSM. I HAVE A 26 wSnS and a 22. I have not used the 22 in a long while asmy26 is RIDICULOUSLY DIALED IN.
I hold 225° for most of the 6-8 hours of burn time with load of coal.
the coal last a long time depending on what you cookand how often you open the lid and tend to your meats.
ive put 6 slabs of SLC in a cook. 4 in a rack and 2 below. Don't forget you can use the lower section too. Baked taters and other root vegetables in butter or a flavorful sauce , yum!
Huseee and jon solberg pretty much nailed it with the others.
you can get the kettle way over 400° without any effort.
The 26 with an SnS is a now brainier. I'm not dissing the WSM but based on the comments above you can smoke a little more with a little more smoke.
so if you like a lighter smoke and bark like I do the smoke is not an issue for me. I get plenty of smoke on my 26 and consistently feed more than five people between relatives, neighbors and neighborhood kids.
keep youe electric smoker as advised above.
I LOVE LOVE LOVE my 26 with SnS.Comment
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ColonialDawg The SnS holds a bit more than a full chimney. When using the 26 for regular cooks I usually put a layer (about 30) of unlit coals in the bottom and then pour a lit chimney on top. Doing it that way I get similar temps to the 22 when using only a lit chimney.Comment
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ColonialDawg I own a WSM 22.5. I love it. It’s an absolute beast. Without doing anything special I can cook 6 racks of ribs, laying flat. I can easily cook two 20 lb turkeys in it, one on each rack (not ideal since the top turkey is not close to a water pan). I can easily cook 6 pork butts on it. Or two briskets. In other words, this beast is awesome for cooking up huge amounts of meat for big summer parties. That said, it works great for a family of five (which is what I have). I can do one pork butt or 2-3 racks of ribs just as easily. It does burn more fuel than a WSM 18.5 or 26†kettle with SNS. To me, that’s minor, since I can go from cooking for just my family to cooking for 35 people on the same platform.
The big drawback is that the WSM is not a grill. I wouldn’t try to use it as a grill. I know, theoretically, that you could use the lower section that way. But that would frustrate me to no end. Ugh. No thanks. I have a Hasty-Bake grill and the WSM. The Hasty-Bake can be used for low n slow or hot, direct, also. Between the two, I can cook anything.
If I was only going to have one cooker, and I didn’t want to spend in the Lang or Hasty-Bake range, I would have a Weber Kettle 26 with SnS. It can do everything. It’s about 85% as capable as the Hasty-Bake Legacy, at half the cost. On the other hand, if you want a grill that can do everything and don’t mind spending the money (and also don’t want to tend a stick burner), I can’t recommend a Hasty-Bake nearly enough.Comment
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Or you can do this to make it more convenient to grill on your WSM. http://virtualweberbullet.com/grilling.html
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I've been using a 22" with the Auber controler with and without a SnS for over a year now in all weather conditions. I sealed all the bottom vents and drilled a new 1" dia. hole for the Auber. Installed Nomex gasket on lid. Sealed the top vent and made a new vent lower to the cooking grate level. +- no more than 5 deg. worst case. It is a rib machine! And with the Auber acting like a bellows I can get some serious temps going for searing a steak or finishing off some thick smoked chops. Best of both worlds. I have no intrest in buying a dedicated smoker.Comment
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Hi, I'm new to the forum, but wanted to give my experience, having grilled and smoked out in the backyard for many years.
I've got a large offset smoker, and two Weber 22" kettles (standard and Performer Deluxe). I've been moving to doing most of my smoking on the 22" Performer this year, as I have found with a rib rack I can fit 3 or 4 slabs of baby back ribs in there, with the fire to the side in one of the Weber char baskets, or by doing the snake method (highly recommended). I've also smoked two 8-9# Boston butts easily on the kettle. I like it better than my big offset, as it uses so much less fuel. With the flip up grate I can add more fuel if needed. It's enough difference to where I am pondering getting a 22" Weber Smokey Mountain to replace my 30+ year old offset smoker (the smoker that won't die as it was put together from 304SS).
While you CAN grill on the WSM, that is not its primary purpose, and I think you will find it very inconvenient. If you want one tool that can both grill AND smoke, I would go with the 26" kettle. It will not disappoint you I think. And you might want to give it a spin with the minion and snake methods for smoking too, before investing in a SnS. I'm going to eventually get the SnS I imagine, but have found that use of the Weber char baskets I already have, and a water/drip pan, or using the snake method with a water/drip pan, has been just fine. With the snake I can maintain 225-250F all day long with 40 to 60 Kingsford briquets and some chunks of apple or pecan wood.Comment
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welcome to the pit any pictures of the smoker that won't die? -
bardsleyque you can see it in a picture or two in this thread:
Nothing magical - just something my dad sketched up and had one of his welders put together back in the 1980's. He used to make them in various sizes, and give them away as customer gifts. Sadly my dad painted it before handing off to me...
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Guys, you have all given me some great info - shared experiences and useful tips. The problem is you've all made my decision that much harder - Ha! I'm leaning toward the kettle/SNS and then maybe getting the WSM next year. It's all about options. About that shrink that was mentioned...Comment
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ColonialDawg I owned a WSM 18.5 and used it with a Guru. Moved to a Yoder 640. Now on a Backwoods Chubby G2.
I think the main thing you need to ask is how do you need to use it. If I already have a grill, then I would get a dedicated smoker - the WSM. If I needed both a grill and a smoker, then I would get the kettle and the SnS.
As a real life example, while I was using the WSM and a gas grill, my daughter asked for a recommendation for my son-in-law. They did not have a grill or a smoker, so I recommended the Weber 22 and the SnS. They like it but use the Weber as a grill 95% of the time. You can lead a horse to water but not make them drink.Comment
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I recommend the 26†with the slow and sear and then get a PBC for larger smoke cooks and to satisfy MCS!Comment
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I just bought a wsm and I have a weber kettle with sns. Will be using wsm next week properly.
I bought the wsm for capacity for larger parties, but i was cooking great ribs using the kettle and sns. I could get 3 racks on the kettle easily using a rib rack or a decent size pork butt. The one problem I found when I used my weber kettle for the ribs was that I had no space available to cook other stuff e.g. sausages, burgers, chicken etc.
From now on my wsm will take the bigger meats/ribs and my kettle will mainly be used just for grilling.
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I say go with the 26 and SnS, and then build yourself a UDS for less than $100 if you're handy and have basic tools. That will give you a smoker that you can have 2-3 22" cooking grates for a fraction of the cost. I'll be building one myself this winter for camp next year, and buying the SnS for my 22" at home.Comment
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True. But I drilled a 1†hole for the guru like others do 180 from the SNS. Advantage is you can then still use the ash sweepers to clean in the middle of a cook if needed to keep the air flowing, and when you want to grill or use it normally you pop a plug into the guru port and it is ready to go. The controller gives you "attention insurance" and stretches you coals out a little more efficiently.Originally posted by Troutman View Post
The 26 does a few racks of ribs easily especially if you get something like a hovergrill rack they can all lay flat. Four is probably the limit but I haven’t tried to force the issue. A 19 lb full packer brisket will lay flat in the 26.
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YMMV, but I just haven't touched my 18.5" WSM after I received the Slow N' Sear for my 22" Weber kettle. If I were starting all over I'd go with a 26" kettle with the SNS for most small batches of BBQ (or weeknight BBQ cooks where time is a factor) and would then buy a really nice smoker for big cooks (e.g. expensive offset, cabinet smoker like a Backwoods Party, a Meadow Creek pig roaster, or perhaps a KBQ depending on your heart's desire).Comment
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