For most pellet cookers you really don't need a water pan. Pellets supposedly burn less dry than other fuels. I don't know if that's the reason or not, but I have yet to wrap a protein unless I needed to bump up the temp to finish faster. Haven't had a dry meat yet that wasn't my own fault (ignoring carry over or forgetting to monitor the temp). Some of the barrel shape supposedly cookers benefit from a waterpan to even out temps when doing things that need a spritz but I don't think the CC models are one of them, they're pretty small so probably recover temp quickly after opening the lid.
> Weber Genesis EP-330
> Grilla Grills Original Grilla (OG) pellet smoker with Alpha/Connect
> Pit Barrel Cooker (gone to a new home)
> WeberQ 2000 (on "loan" to a relative (I'll never see it again))
> Old Smokey Electric (for chickens mostly - when it's too nasty out
to fiddle with a more capable cooker)
> Luhr Jensen Little Chief Electric - Top Loader circa 1990 (smoked fish & jerky)
> Thermoworks Smoke
> 3 Thermoworks Chef Alarms
> Thermoworks Thermapen One
> Thermoworks Thermapen Classic
> Thermoworks Thermopop
> Thermoworks IR-GUN-S
> Anova sous vide circulator
> Searzall torch
> BBQ Guru Rib Ring
> WÜSTHOF, Dalstrong, and Buck knives
> Paprika App on Mac and iOS
Wood has a certain amount of moisture in it so as the pellets burn the water is released. I have not checked the amount in wood pellets but normal wood contains 10-20 percent, depending where you live.
I use a water pan when I do brisket or pork shoulders. I don't have a specific reason, that's just how I do it. Since I have never done either without a water pan, I can't tell you if it makes a difference or not.
I have a Camp Chef Woodwind from a generation released 2 or more like 3 years ago. I have done several cooks to determine if a water pan makes a difference or not. I prefer running my pellet cooker without it for 2 main reasons.
1. I don’t taste nor see a difference in the finished products, from using or not using a water pan.
2. The water pan itself occupies surface area, i.e. restricts grill space, which I prefer to fill with something to eat.
These units are well designed. I haven’t found cold spots, nor hot spots, that would be smoothed or balanced out with a water pan in the cooking chamber, nor found that added humidity will do something different to the cuts being smoked or cooked, as compared to going without it.
If there is a topic of divergence amongst BBQ pit masters, I would venture to say that using or not using a water pan is one of them.
When cooking with the KBQ, I use a water pan for ease of cleanup. Other than that, I don’t see the need nor any advantage of smoking with a water pan. That’s of course just my personal preference and opinion.
Bob Hicks, from Mormon Mecca
I'm 81 years young and going as hard as I can for as long as I can.
Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter, and those who matter don't mind.
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