so i have done 4 cooks in my new wsm. i have noticed that smoke escapes thru the door and around where the top cover meets the middle section. is this anything to be concerned about? thanks

My WSM leaks like a sieve but cooks just fine. If you like you can try to bend the door to form a better seal. There's also a replacement stainless steel door from a third party vendor which apparently seals better.

Try rotating the top dome within the seat on the middle section, and see if that doesn't stop the leaks. If you can't and it leaks excessively you may have an out-of-round middle section and Weber CS can replace that for you.

However, so long as you can control the temperature, a little leak isn't an issue from a BBQ perspective. The WSM isn't designed to be airtight - there needs to be a flow for full combustion.

The most important thing is: did your cooks turn out good? If so don't worry about it at all. Most, if not all WSMs leak smoke around the doors and other areas, it doesn't usually affect the performance at all.

thanks guys, while i have had different amounts of sucess in my cooks, the temp of the wsm has always stayed steady thru out the cook

Let your WSM build up some "Bar-B-Goo". That will help with the seal.
Seriously, work the door into shape and turn your lid on the middle section to get your best fit.
As long as the eats are good, I say "no worries".

Mine is (was) just like that and it cooked GREAT! Came up to temp in a reasonable amount of time and I was always able to dial in desired temp with little fussing. I picked up one of those stainless doors and the verdict is still out. The WSM almost runs too tight for my taste as I'm having problems getting up to and maintaining temps. I've had to double the amount of "Starting Lit" Charcoal for minion. I guess my point is, Don't sweat the leaks.

quote:

Originally posted by john mark:
so i have done 4 cooks in my new wsm. i have noticed that smoke escapes thru the door and around where the top cover meets the middle section. is this anything to be concerned about? thanks

No.Completely normal.

My door leaks quite a bit as well but doesnt seem to affect the ability of the smoker to hold a constant heat. Plus that little bit of extra smoke that escapes is like perfume from the gods wafting across the backyard...essence of pig with hints of pecan undertones

joe

If you shut all the vents and the fire goes out, then you don't have a problem. The fire should go out in an hour or so and when you open the smoker the next day, there should be some charcoal left.

Note, fire going out with charcoal is a relative statement. Charcoal has a tendency to start back up when exposed to air (even if you think it's out). I don't mess with my WSM until the next day. Even then, I dump charcoal that I'm not going to re-use into a metal can.

I'm like Joe! The smoke and scent that wafts out when the meat goes on is an essential part of my smoking spiritual retreat experience - kind of like incense!

Pat