On Apr 29, 7:06 am, JeffH wrote:
The WSM is very tempting. I don't like the height (I'm tall)
and capacity of the unit, but it is definitely a proven design. I
believe they sell (or you can fab) racks to hold the slabs of ribs
vertical in order to get more on the grill at once. Ribs would be the
only thing that I'd feel cramped on space for with that design.

I am 6'2 in bare feet, so with my work boots on, I know what you are
talking about. But I helped solve the problems of height by putting
my WSM on cinder blocks for smoking. The extra 8" make it a lot more
comfortable.
To use it as a grill, I put it on a metal table I picked up at a
garage sale.

The rib racks go a long way towards fixing that problem. Still, I
can't get more than three full racks in mine, and they are cut to
fit. Not a problem, since that gets more of the brown stuff on the
ends since you have more ends.

To give you an idea of capacity, on the top rack you can get about a
12# brisket in the WSM if it has a good shape, not one of those
bizarre cuts where the point tapers down to nothing. I have cooked a
16# piece in it when I cut the brisket in two, minding that the point
section and flat were done at different times.

I can easily get a well shaped 18# chuck roll in it and have room on
the rack over the pan for ribs, sausage, etc.

I have cooked a 13# and 14# turkey in it and had the bottom shelf open
as above.

I am still trying to cut back the amount of meat I cook since there is
now only two of us to cook for. I enjoy the leftovers, but nothing is
the same as "off the cooker" barbecue to me.

But even with their limitations in mind, I can easily cook for 20
people on the WSM and CGSP and have plenty to eat and plenty of
leftovers. Think about it this way; what piece of affordable
equipment could you buy out there that could cook a hunk of meat for
20 hours on a half bag of charcoal and a little wood? Would it still
be large enough to hold several racks of ribs? Do you always need to
cook a lot of meat?

Personally, I like the flexibility of having both cookers to make that
decision. After marinating chicken breasts for a day, it is nice to
be able to fire up about a 3/4 full chimney of charcoal/wood, throw it
in the firebox of the CG and do a pile of them quickly. Pull out the
drawer, put in the coals, wait about 10 minutes, and start. Pretty
easy.

I am blessed to live in an area where there is a lot of free wood (cut
by me!) available at any time. So fuel isn't really a problem when I
cook. But for those that use charcoal from the store like I do with
my WSM, I can see where you wouldn't want to fire up the pit just to
cook a little chicken, grill some fish or burgers. Bigger pits mean
more fuel, no matter how efficient they are. My buddy that has a
really nice (small!) Lyfetime pit uses about 5 lbs of charcoal just to
get the pit really warm and ready to cook. After the first couple of
hours, he adds fuel every hour or so.

10 pounds of charcoal gives about 6-8 hrs cook time on a modified CG,
and as many as 12 on the WSM.

Things to consider....

Robert