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Increasing
Pan Capacity
Dave Stamper writes to
TVWB, "I have been smoking with water smokers for over 35 years. I
have built some and also purchased some, but the WSM is the best small
cooker out there, in my opinion.
"The biggest fault I can find with this
cooker is the rinky-dink water pan. Why own a
smoker that is capable of running unattended for 10-12 hours on one fill of
charcoal if it wasn't for the lousy water pan?"
Dave's solution is to
replace the WSM water pan with a Brinkmann charcoal pan. It holds almost 2 gallons of water, twice the capacity of
the WSM pan.
Picture 1 shows the WSM
water pan next to the Brinkmann charcoal pan. Pictures 2 and 3 show the difference between the
Brinkmann and WSM pans
inside the middle cooking section. Picture 4 shows how the pan's wide rim
sits firmly on the water pan support flanges.
Here are the specs
comparing the two pans:
|
Brinkmann
Pan |
WSM
Pan |
| Outside
diameter at rim |
15-1/16" |
14-3/4" |
| Inside
diameter, top of pan |
12-7/8" |
14" |
| Inside
diameter, bottom of pan * |
8-1/2" |
N/A |
| Width
of rim |
1-1/16" |
5/16" |
| Depth |
4-1/2" |
3-1/16" |
| Distance
between bottom of pan and top of charcoal ring |
3-1/4" |
5-1/4" |
| Water
capacity |
Almost
2 gallons |
1
gallon |
| Weight |
1
lb, 4.3 oz |
1
lb, 9.7 oz |
| *
The inside of the Brinkmann pan curves down to a flat bottom, while
the WSM pan has a rounded bottom. |
Dave says, "It's a
drop-in modification and actually fits better than the standard pan. It
cuts down on the room between the bottom of the pan and the charcoal, but
works fine under all conditions that I have tried.
"I find that a
fellow gets two benefits from this larger water pan. First, instead of
checking and adding water every two to three hours depending on cooking
temperature, I can run my cooker over nine hours with this pan before
adding water. The second benefit--and this is the best one--is that this
larger water pan really helps control the temperature in the smoker. I
think all folks that use this cooker know that as the water goes down in
the pan, the temperature goes up in the smoker. I find that I can just
about run any temperature I want from 180°F to about 250°F real easy
without making many adjustments."
I have purchased one of
these pans and it works quite well. The wide rim does provide a more stable fit for the pan when
placed in the middle cooking section.
- The Brinkmann Charcoal Pan, part number 114-0002-0, can be ordered from Brinkmann at 800-468-5252
or from the
Brinkmann Web site.
- This pan is also available
at retailers that carry Brinkmann smokers, and is sometimes sold
under part number 812-0002-0.
- The price ranges from
$4 to $14 depending on where you purchase the pan.
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