WeberSmokey Mountain Cooker 57cm

Excelente producto, con el respaldo de que es weber, llego antes de lo previsto, facil de ensamblar, una chulada!

Received my 22.5" WSM yesterday, set it up in about half an hour. I'm not sure if the cook book others have mentioned was missing from the box or perhaps Weber no longer includes it but no matter, I'm no newcomer to BBQ.There are no assembly instructions in the book that I DID receive however there is a nice exploded diagram showing where all the parts should go and I believe this should be enough for all but the most mechanically challenged. Everything fit together nicely without any "Jimmying" or banging and all the fasteners were included.Well .... it was a beautiful day and still plenty of daylight left (12:30 P.M.) so I decided to fire it up and get it seasoned. I have a 30 gal. plastic trash can that I keep filled with Mexican mesquite lump charcoal for my trusty old heavy iron sidewinder (offset) pit so, I decided to use that instead of running to the store for briquets. Filled the charcoal ring about level and threw in some mesquite chunks, then dumped about a quarter chimney of lit charcoal on top, sprayed the inside of the center section and lid with Pam cooking spray, filled the water pan and put on the lid. Started out with all the vents wide open and within 30 min. the temp. was at 200 degrees and climbing so, I closed two bottom vents. Temp. continued climbing till it reached 225 deg. and held there, very nice!As I said, it was a beautiful day and I couldn't feature letting that fire go to waste so, I put on some beer brats and a "Fatty" (to help with the seasoning of course :->) and let them smoke for about two and a half hours. Now, I'll be the first to admit you'd have to try pretty hard to mess up something as easy as that but I gotta tell you they were amazing! After I took the meat off I let the fire continue to burn still holding at 225 deg. until 6:30 P.M. when I closed all the vents. This morning I cleand it up and found it still had about a third of the unburned charcoal remaining. I'll use briquets when I do the first long smoke for brisket or butts and expect it'll give me 12 hrs.+ burn time without any problem. My old sidewinder pit will work you to death on a long smoke because it uses so much more fuel and if its cold outside I may as well just forget about it (barbecueing). Now I expect to finally get a good nights sleep without having to babysit the pit.I give it 4 stars instead of 5 because the thermometer fogged up. I know that's nit pickin and you need a good meat thermometer with a probe anyway but it just looks bad on an otherwise high quality (and expensive) product.A final word on the Minion method (that's what the method I used to start my fire is called) for those just starting out. My very first attempt at real barbecue (not grilling) took place 30+ years ago using what's affectionately referred to nowadays as the ECB, which stands for "El Cheapo Brinkman" water smoker. I could fill a book writing about the inadequacies of this unit but, to their credit, the method of starting the fire was outlined in the instruction manual that came with it and I've been using it ever since. If you want long burn times its the only way to go.In addition to the WSM I also purchased the Pitmaster IQ temp. controller. It came in the day after the pit so, I haven't tried it out yet but, from what I've seen it may not see much use. The WSM is rock steady all by itself. Where I live (So. Texas) the wind is a constant companion, it often blows 20 to 30 mph and can make fire tending a real chore. I bought the Pitmaster as insurance for those difficult days.UPDATE on the Pitmaster iQue 110.After a good deal of head scratching and hair pulling and some help from my son who is an engineer, I think we MAY have this thing figured out. It appears (to me anyways) that this device will only function properly within the confines of a specified air flow of between 5 and 15 cfm. You must have your pit configured to allow no more than 15 cfm and no less than 5 cfm air flow through the combinedtop and bottom vents, this takes some trial and error as no two (pits) are exactlyalike. Too little flow and the Pitmaster cannot recover when the temp drops out of range and too much will not allow the temp to fall when it gets too high. I finallysettled on this configuration; Two bottom vents fully closed, the Pitmaster air manifold vent fully open, and the top vent slightly more than half open. I've gone to great lengths to seal up the air leaks on my WSM (lid gasket, high temp tape, etc. etc.) and you may or may not need to do the same depending on how tightly yoursfits together, mine was like a screen door! Anyway, I can say with some confidencenow after several trial runs that we seem to have it nailed down to the point where I can get some sleep at night while barbecueing. If you buy one of these be prepared to do some experimenting but all in all I'd say its worth the money.

There are a lot of positive comments about this smoker and most people go to great lengths to explain their happiness. There's a good reason. I've been grilling for a very long time but barbeque wasn't done much over the years because the results just weren't worth the effort. Now I understand that the proper equipment is essential. You'll have a very hard time making good barbeque in a $50 Brinkman. If you're talented enough to do that you're probably not cooking on one of those anyway. This smoker isn't cheap but it also isn't a Big Green Egg or a decent side smoker in terms of expense. Most of the side smokers are hard to regulate and most don't cook evenly without some extra work. Find a blog on side smokers and you'll find lot's of "fixes" and "fiddling" to get the heat even.This Weber is really easy to use for low and slow cooking and it doesn't require much "tending" on a 10-12 hour cook. By the way, you definitely can use a couple of Weber chimneys to get a good, quick start on the fire without petroleum based fluids if you opt to buy one of these. Lighter fluid is generally a bad thing. You either have to burn up a good bit of your fuel to get all of the lighter fluid gone or, even worse, you stink up your food with it.We've been using this smoker for about a year now and I'm happy with the purchase. The 22.5 is a surprisingly big boy for sure when you take it out of the box but now I can do 8 racks of ribs if I want. If you don't ever need to do that much, the smaller one may be a better choice for your needs but they both do the same work in the same way. If you've ever seen a Weber kettle grill (and who hasn't?) this equipment will be very familiar to you; same porcelain on steel construction, same vents and still made in the US when I got mine.Several people mentioned being disappointed with quality of the access door and I agree with them that it should fit better out of the box but, with some careful bending you can get a good seal and then you don't have to fool with it again; it stays put. It's made from fairly thin stucco embossed aluminum that you can easily shape with with your hands. Just take your time to get it shaped a little better to the smoker barrel and you're all set from then on. After getting used to tipping it sideways to remove and replace the access door, it really does work quite well and the size of the opening makes it easy to add fuel or wood chunks during the cook.I've eaten barbeque from Texas to Virginia and it's always a favorite choice when traveling somewhere because it's all a little different. I've had dry rub ribs at the Rendezvous in Memphis and wet ribs in St. Louis and pulled pork at Dreamland in Tuscaloosa and chicken and rib plates at Johnny Harris' in Savannah and I like Luther's in Houston for brisket! My point is that I've had some REALLY good barbeque but now I can duplicate what the Rendezvous serves right on my patio. My pulled pork is as good as anything I've had in ANY restaurant; ever. The best barbeque I eat is at home now. The restaurants just aren't likely to take the time to do what you can do with this smoker and maybe Big Bob Gibson's book on how to do it....which is well worth the $16 in my opinion.If you want to do some truly great barbeque at home, spend the money for good equipment and take just a few minutes to learn some rubs and sauces. If you can read, measure and tell time, you can make some excellent smoked meats without buying someone else's WONDER SAUCE (aka ketchup, vinegar, salt and a few minor spices)to slather on the meat and call it your own. What you can make from scratch is cheaper and better than most of what you would buy. And, when you're done, you'll be justifiably proud of YOUR barbeque and probably a very popular cook with the people who get to eat it.I mean, they're just not going to be getting any peach roasted pork shoulder anywhere but your house......Lord that's a good recipe from Big Bob's book! As we say in parts of the south, "that stuff is so good it'll make your tongue slap your brains out."Get the smoker, get some books and have some FUN if you like to cook outside and show off a little. You'll be famous and popular in no time.

After a long cooling off period and after a ton of research I finally gave in a bought the 22.5 inch model.-This thing is beast...It's huge! But in a good way I suppose. As others have said, you can't create a bigger space out of a smaller space but you can create a smaller space out of a bigger space. As for perspective, it's just me and my wife...*BUT*...With the vacuum sealer I bought along with this, the excuse to do big cooks are perfectly valid and forthcoming..."Freezer Fodder"-On to my first cook...Not wanting to ruin a bunch of expensive cuts of meat I went with three whole chickens. Not going to get into the details but as for perspective, I spatchcoked the chickens so I had six halves. Six half chickens fit on the top grill perfectly with space between. No way I could have fit another half on, but the spacing was perfect between the halves. I hope this helps you visualize in your head what the surface area looks like. The lower grill is a tad smaller but probably could have got six halves on there too (didn't use it)-As for fuel consumption, I was worried that this thing would be a coal-hog...It's not. I used one flat layer of unlit coal and one full (3/4 lit) chimney. This was enough to keep my average temp at around 305F for the 1.5 hours of the cook. I kept all the vents wide open the whole time and I guess with the relatively small amount of coal for the chamber, it took all the air I could get into it to get it as hot as I needed. Worked out great for me and my application. For perspective, you could probably put 4 or 5 chimneys of coal into the fire chamber (probably find the exact number if you look it up)...again, as for efficiency, check this out. When my cook was done, I closed all the vents to snuff the coals. This morning, I went to clean it up and I had 3/4s of a chimney of unspent coal! The coal I salvaged was probably 25% burnt...So next cook I'll recycle those.-As for out of the box shape, barrel was slightly out-of-round but easily corrected. One vent was a little loose compared to the others, I flattened a piece of copper phone wire and wedged it in the rivet gap, problem solved. The aluminum door took some finessing...Don't go by what the outer edges look like against the barrel (you'll go mad).. Look inside the barrel and run your finger along that contact point...The edges are slightly flared on the outside of mine but the seal was perfect where it mattered.-The first unit I received was bashed in (thanks Fed-ex) and had to be returned...I'm not here to review shipping but if you have a choice, I'd probably avoid them if possible. Seems like they lived up to their internet notoriety of destroying packages with my shipment...I suppose it could happen with any carrier but just sayin...Returning a 75 pound box stinks!-So that's my review...and as a helpful hint...if you don't want your shiny new smoker to "walk away"...Go to the hardware store, find the appropriate size chain that will fit through the vent holes...Fish it through the top vent and apply a small padlock there...Fish it through the grills and out the bottom vent and wrap that end around something secure and padlock that end...put on your spiffy cover and know you've done your best to protect it. But I suppose if you have a garage or rabid pit bulls patrolling your yard then this isn't a concern =)

I've tried other electric and charcoal smokers. The failures outnumbered successes by drying the meat or flavoring it too strongly or the fire went out. The first 'smoke' with a WSM22.5 was a raging success, resulting in moist flavorful meat cooked from scratch, not parboiled. The WSM22.5 has a 3 gallon water tank, air control and fuel system that none other have copied which results in an almost automatic 250F temp at the built in dome thermometer. Using chunk charcoal, I can get a 6 hour burn on a calm 30F temp day, which is enough to cook two whole chickens, four babyback ribs and four spareribs totaling 45 lb of product. Adding a shovel full of charcoal through the huge side door makes enough heat to smoke a gallon of tarted-up Bush's beans after removing the meat. Wrapping the drip pan in foil before the smoke makes cleanup a snap.Smokers concentrate flavors, so be sure you only use charcoal that you want to taste. I never use petroleum fire starter, and I avoid charcoal briquets because I don't know what went into their manufacture. Hardware and home improvement stores carry lump charcoal made from pieces of hardwood. The most interesting is Mesquite from Mexico where you might get a whole chunk of tree trunk, but wow, does it cook nicely. The Mexican charcoal might need to be sorted for starting and long term burning. Other brands of oak or hickory are more uniform. There are web sites dedicated to rating charcoal: Well worth a look.Lighting is also easy if you use the Weber chimney starter. Once lit just spread the burning coals on the charcoal in the burn ring and let it burn down. Meanwhile, set the tube nearby and load it with a filled water pan and arrange meat on the racks. When the fire burns clean stack the tube on the fire and add the lid. Toss an occasional chunk of dry flavoring wood on the fire thru the side door for smoke. In most cases the temp gage will rise into the 'smoke' range with some adjustment of the air shutters and stay there. Once it does, you can walk away for the next three-4 hours.There is a web site dedicated to the smoker, filled with recipes and suggestions [...]The product is well built of heavy gage materials and built to last. Unfortunately, there isn't much price competition. After much research I've concluded that $400 is the street price. That's what WalMart's web site sells them for with free in store pickup. There are vendors selling this product at ridiculous prices plus stunning shipping fees so shop carefully. I got mine for $340 delivered.The manufacturer includes a nylon weather cover. The parts are machined in a way that will funnel rainwater into the smoker without the cover. I think I will drill a small drain hole in the bottom to ensure it doesn't fill up if I forget the cover.The smoker really needs handles on the sides so one can lift the whole stack on and off the fire.I added an ugly galvanized car drip pan under the smoker to protect my deck from errant firebrands and grease drips. A nearby foil-covered table for tongs, pans, sauces and racks is also essential to my happiness. A plastic tub for charcoal and a small shovel for adding charcoal are handy. Likewise a watering can with spout makes it easy to add water thru the side door.