Hi everyone,

In late July, I was asked by Weber Public Relations to try out a pre-production version of a new 2009 WSM model that will be available this fall. I agreed, but was asked to do so on a confidential basis as the product had not been announced.

I received the cooker on Saturday, Aug. 9, assembled it on Sunday, and cooked on it for the first time on Monday, Aug. 11.

When the photo from the Weber Denmark site emerged, I asked Weber if I could speak about the product, and they agreed.

Yes, this is the 22" WSM you have been waiting for!

It features:

• Two 22" cooking grates - 50% larger than current WSM
  
• Built-in lid thermometer with 1.5" stem...temp range of 100-350*F in 5*F increments
  
• Extra lid handle on edge (it's a heavy lid)
  
• Larger 4-1/4" vent dampers with 4 3/4" holes
  
• Improved access door: taller, wider, with handle that indicates locked position, and a clever design that allows you to remove the door entirely or have it open downward but still attached--without hinges
  
• Monster 3-gallon water pan with wider rim and redesigned grill straps to stablize the pan...this pan is not going anywhere once in the cooker
  
• Sturdier 2" wide legs
  
• Improved charcoal grate: the gaps at the edges have been closed to prevent charcoal from falling through
  
• Really big charcoal chamber...have not yet measured capacity, but 9 lbs of charcoal looked very lonely in the bottom of the chamber
  
• A heat shield mounted on the legs to protect surfaces beneath the cooker
  
• A bit more headroom between the top grate and inside top of lid, and a bit more space between top and bottom grates

There will also be a new 18" WSM that includes many features from the 22" cooker, like the lid thermometer (slightly different design), improved access door, 2-gallon water pan, and heat shield.

What is not included that you may have wanted?

• Handles on middle section
  
• Probe thermometer eyelet
  
• Handles on lower cooking grate
  
• Connected charcoal chamber/grate

But hey, you still need stuff to be able to mod yourself, right?

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Test Cooks

I have performed a series of test cooks on the new 22" cooker in order to provide feedback to Weber.

View test cook photos

My first test cook was 6 slabs of loin back ribs on the top grate...4 in a rib rack and one slab on either side laid out flat on the grate. So 6 slabs cooked in flat orientation without having to roll the ribs. Without a rib rack, 3 slabs lay flat with room to spare on all sides, unlike the current WSM. (I learned later that the grate is large enough to nest 2 Weber rib racks end-to-end to create 9 slots for full and half slabs of ribs.) Temperature control during this cook seemed to be as good as the current WSM.

My second test cook was 6 beer can chickens, 3 on each grate. I used big, 5 lb. chickens and they stood on the bottom grate without touching the top grate, unlike in the current WSM. I used lump charcoal and started with a full chimney of lit over a bed of unlit. The cooker ran around 275*F for quite a while before dropping below 250*F, even with all the bottom vents closed.

My third test cook was 45 lbs. of pork butt to see how a longer cook would go. I used an entire 21.6 lb. bag of Kingsford and cooked the meat for 11-1/2 hours until tender. I was running out of fuel toward the end of the cook.

My fourth test cook was another 45 lbs. of pork butt. I wanted to see if I could get more than 11 hours out of a big bag of Kingsford. This time I used 2 gallons of hot water in the pan instead of cool water. It was also a calm, warm night, never went below 63 degree. Someone at Weber told me they got 14 hours by starting with a lot of hot coals, setting the top vent 3/4 open, and closing all the bottom vents for the entire cook. Well, I used foil to plug the gaps in my out-of-round condition and put a full Weber chimney of hot coals over the remainder of a 21.6 lb. bag of Kingsford. Set the vents as instructed. Meat sat at room temp for 1 hour before going into the cooker. I could not get it over 200*F. So I opened just 1 bottom vent 100% and it ran in the low 200's for a long time, then I ended up with 2 bottom vents open 100% toward the end of the cook. Once again, it started to poop-out at about 11 hours. The meat was done at 11-1/2 hours. I shook loose the ashes to reveal maybe a chimney-full of partial briquettes in various stages of burning.

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New Product Page

I have created a product page that includes product pricing and availability (when this info becomes available), features, detailed specs, photo gallery, and photos from my test cooks:

New 18" and 22" Weber Smokey Mountain Cookers for 2009

I have also posted several videos on YouTube:

(If you have a good high-speed Internet connection, click High Quality.)

Part 1: Out of Box Experience
Standard Quality | High Quality

Part 2: Out of Box Experience
Standard Quality | High Quality

Part 3: Assembly
Standard Quality | High Quality

Part 4: Final Comments & Comparison to Current 18" WSM
Standard Quality | High Quality

Part 5: Addendum to Parts 1 - 4
Standard Quality | High Quality

Charcoal Capacity
Standard Quality | High Quality

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Visit to Weber Corporate Offices

On August 25, I had the distinct pleasure of visiting Weber's corporate offices in Palatine, IL.

In a series of meetings throughout the morning, I met with members of the packaging development team, the smoker R&D team, and several product managers for the smoker and for accessories. We discussed a wide variety of topics related to the new 18" and 22" Smokey Mountain Cookers, as well as some general discussion about the smoker market segment in general.

You can read about my trip and see some photos here:

Visit to Weber Corporate Offices

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To sum up in one word...Wow! Hard to believe that after 20+ years of no feature enhancement, Weber turned its attention to the WSM and made many of the improvements we've all been asking for, including larger capacity. For years, I never believed this day would come. So to all you dreamers out there, keep on dreaming...because sometimes dreams do come true!

Regards,
Chris

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Chris Allingham,

Chris,
this is truly great news for all of us WSM fans. Can't wait until they are available for purchase. Thanks for the great news, it looks really good.

That's fantastic news!! There's been alot of talk about this as of late and I just blew it off as more BS but MAN! I did read about a price on another forum that seemed pretty steep .. Are you allowed to talk about that yet?

Thanks, Chris!

Bill

Chris, no doubt this site and all of the interest in a new product from members here contributed. Thanks!!

Wow!


Gary

quote:

Originally posted by Bill Hays:
I did read about a price on another forum that seemed pretty steep .. Are you allowed to talk about that yet?

I honestly do not have any info about price.

Regards,
Chris

quote:

Originally posted by Bill Hays:
That's fantastic news!! There's been alot of talk about this as of late and I just blew it off as more BS but MAN! I did read about a price on another forum that seemed pretty steep .. Are you allowed to talk about that yet?

Thanks, Chris!

Bill

Bill,

What guesstimate did the other forum have on the price?

Looks great, two turkeys no problem on that one. I would have liked to have seen a handle on the water pan to lower it in with the fire going without spilling water or dropping in the coals, or having to pour water into and already hot cooker/pan. Maybe that is just a me problem. And impractical but a window would be nice to watch. And a hinged lid that opened to 90 degrees so that I don't have to set the greasy lid on the ground. Wait a minute, am I actually complaining already about this beautiful piece of equipment?

quote:

Originally posted by Jim 'Rhino' Reincke:

quote:

Originally posted by Bill Hays:
That's fantastic news!! There's been alot of talk about this as of late and I just blew it off as more BS but MAN! I did read about a price on another forum that seemed pretty steep .. Are you allowed to talk about that yet?

Thanks, Chris!

Bill

Bill,

What guesstimate did the other forum have on the price?

This is the text but I won't say who or where .. Only the related text in that post is here...


just got a look at the new 09-- 22.5 inch smokey mountain,very cool,new high cap water pan,new ash pan 399.00msrp
also a cool new 26.75 inch kettle coming 299.00msrp
trying to find out a release date

Bill

quote:

Originally posted by Shiloh:
I would have liked to have seen a handle on the water pan to lower it in with the fire going without spilling water or dropping in the coals...

Not an advised technique...too dangerous, with or without handles. Place pan in middle section, place middle section on bowl, fill pan immediately. Done.

quote:

Shilod continues:
And impractical but a window would be nice to watch.

Windows don't work in gas grills, no reason to think they would work here, either.

quote:

Shiloh concludes:
And a hinged lid that opened to 90 degrees so that I don't have to set the greasy lid on the ground.

When I saw the handle on the edge of the lid, it reminded me of the Ranch Kettle and the fact that it has a holder for the lid. I think the deep shape of the WSM lid precludes such a holder or a hanger like the kettle lids have. You're still gonna need someplace to set down this lid.

Regards,
Chris

After seeing the inside of the cooker after one cook I knew there was no way to have a window, at least that you could see through after the first cook, but it would still be cool. The Rancher Kettle kettle with the hanger is what made me think of the hinges but the lid on that hangs below the curve of the bowl so clearly wouldn't work on the WSM. That made me think about the hinged lid on the Big Green Egg. Thanks for the advice on the water pan, I have narrowly escaped a few steam burns when the water pan fell off the tabs it sits on while either lowering or filling.

This might just prove that Weber lurks on this site! So those wanting the bigger WSM have been appeased... now about those wanting a smaller one, ie: WSM 1880... what say, Weber?!

Sweet, And thanks for the info Chris. But I have to ask, Do you get to keep it or do you have to send it back?

When are they going to be able to buy...

quote:

Originally posted by Bryan S:
Do you get to keep it or do you have to send it back?

They haven't said, and I haven't asked. We'll see.

Regards,
Chris

quote:

Originally posted by Mike Willis:
This might just prove that Weber lurks on this site!

It does, indeed.

Regards,
Chris

quote:

Originally posted by Mike Willis:
This might just prove that Weber lurks on this site! So those wanting the bigger WSM have been appeased... now about those wanting a smaller one, ie: WSM 1880... what say, Weber?!

Well you can count me in for a smaller one for sure (return of the 1880!) and one of these big bad boys too! I'll have the whole family!

quote:

Originally posted by Dave Witt:
When are they going to be able to buy...

According to Chris' post, the Fall of 2009.

Bill

quote:

Originally posted by Dave Witt:
When are they going to be able to buy...

I think the official public announcement is October, but no telling how long they will take to arrive at retailers.

I seem to recall that when the new Genesis gas grills were announced in 2006, they were not available at retailers until January 2007. Not sure if these will follow the same pattern or not. If I understand the process correctly, Weber announces product, distributors order product, Weber ships product, then distributors sell product. I would expect some lag between announcement and retail availability.

Regards,
Chris

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Chris Allingham,

Take a look at this thread from my visit to the Hearth, Patio & BBQ Show in Reno in 2007. I spoke with Mike Kempster, Sr. of Weber about the future of the WSM...apparently, he wasn't pulling my leg.

I wonder about the colors he mentioned? Maybe someday?

Regards,
Chris