i have both an 18 and a 22 the difference in fuel use comes down to how much meat you have i nthe unit. empty they run about the same on ehte same amount of fuel. since i dont use water or any other heatsink the only variable for me between my 18 and my 22 is the amount of meat in the cooker. my 22 and my 18 use the same amount of fuel cooking a 12lb brisket.

the BIG difference would be whether you use water claypots or sand for heat sinks. the 22 has a MUCH larger pan so more heatsink can be inserted in the unit and taht will make you use a LOT more fuel to cook the same amount of meat as a 18.

i use the 22 for just about everything and the 18 is pretty much rretired atm. it sits in my bbq shed until a need arises. the extra space is really sweet to have as i dont have to go through gymnastics to cook larger amounts and i have more choices as to where and how i want to arrange the food on the grates. more space means you dont have the edges of things hanging past the pan on the grates and singing the edges as much.

anyway good luck whichever you pick they are both excellent units.

the 18" does exactly what i want it to do, the 22" for me would be overkill. I smoke meat for around 4 people most of the time but have had 15 over for bbq's before, just had to adapt to the situation. Plus i have a quirk about having tons of leftovers lol...

My new 18.5 arrived yesterday afternoon from Amazon. I haven't opened it up yet but I'm looking forward to Mr. Brown this weekend. Thanks to everyone for chiming in. I'm really happy with the choice I made and as I said earlier, I used the difference in price to buy a new Thermapen.

Hey Joe T... Don't forget to post some pics and your experience with your WSM. I know you will be happy. As for me, my immediate family; four grown kids and their spouses plus 5 grandkids (3 teenagers) amounts to 15! And they are over every holiday and they all love bbq plus they all expect some leftovers. I managed for 8 months with the 18" but it got to be a logistic hassle when trying to do several kinds of meats. Several times I "interrupted" long brisket cooks with a 12 lb turkey and that that caused me all kinds of probs with the managing the temp. Now with the 22" in the stable, I can dedicate one for a long slow overnight cook and the other for a shorter cook. Just a matter of convenience on my part... Enjoy your 18" JT!

joe

Joe Tucker,

I too was faced with this dilemma, standard or jumbo. Ultimately I decided on the 22 inch model. I own a Performer and like the fiscal size of the cooking grates and felt it would be a good size for briskets, large turkeys and full size ribs. As Larry illustrated, you can cook quite a bit on the 18 inch…so I think you purchased the right unit for your application. Now I'm in search for a used 18 inch model so I will have the best of both worlds. Good luck with you new toy.

Mark