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Sand in the water pan?


Jason Batters

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Hi Jason

The water/sand tray in the bullet smoker is predominantly there for temperature control. It helps smooth out any heat spikes from the fire before it reaches the food in the cooking chamber. I use water if I am smoking at about 110 C but I use sand if I am cooking hotter so as to avoid refilling. To be honest though I don't notice any difference in the end result for the food when using water or sand.

If you are smoking something for a longtime that will drip fat or juices then sand is the cleaner option. Meat juices in the water pan when it dries out can make a real mess in the bowl. If you are using sand then you can just throw the top layer out and replace it with clean sand next time.

If using sand you do need to make sure that you are using a washed sand as some of the builders sands can have quite a strong smell. Something like play pit sand or kiln dried sand are ideal.

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Thanks wade. I figured the water didn't really add any moisture to a cook.

Do you think sand or water helps keep the temp down best? I had sand in the other day and was struggling to get temp up to where I needed, so took the tray out and it leapt 40F immediately at the cooking surface level. Had the other problem then of closing all the vents down to keep temp low. 

Fire/temp management is fun!

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Hi Jason

The water/sand bowl is not really about keeping the temperature down - the air control over the coals does this. It is more about evening out the heat that is produced by the fire before it reaches the cooking chamber. The sand acts like the bricks in a storage heater - absorbing heat from underneath and then radiating it back out again. The water will actually absorb some of the heat though as it turns from water into water vapour giving additional stability which is why I use water when I am cooking at the lower temperatures.

As well as acting as a heat buffer the water bowl will also act as a baffle reflecting a lot of the direct heat from the coals. This leaves the circulating hot air to heat the cooking chamber. When you take out the water bowl you will then get the radiating heat from the coals reaching the cooking grate directly and so it is not surprising that you saw the 40 F rise.

Yes learning the quirks of temperature management in your different smokers can be a challenge at first. Patience is important though when bringing it up to temperature and it is important to resist the temptation to keep opening up the lid. One thing to remember is that it is easier to raise the temperature than it is to lower it again after it has overshot.

:5980a344e6cd3_ThumbsUp:

Wade

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One of the by products of the combustion of the fuel is water and so there is already a lot of moisture in the form of water vapour passing through the cooking chamber with the smoke. I have tried cooking with and without water in the water pan and have noticed no real difference. I guess it could depend on what you are cooking and how it is being cooked. Larger slabs of meat I will usually foil after about 3 hours so the moisture content in the smoker is not really an issue.

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I will tell everyone to ditch the water pan every time. 
Get a 2-3 mm steel disc to replace. I will never go back to a water pan in my wsm.. in fact I have just ordered a disc for my newly acquired callow.

 I honestly don’t think a water pan adds anything but trouble to a smoker.

A thick disc is a very reliable heat sink and keeps temps incredibly stable, ok it takes a while to heat up but can be assisted via blow torch or even cooker ring if you’re in such a rush.( need good gloves ) Doesn’t need cleaning either 😉 unless you wanna preheat on your cooker I guess, never done it myself.

Today I cooked 2 brisket joints of around £12 each size on my wsm .. took around 9 hours but as a last minute thing I cooked some cheese and chilli stuffed mushrooms with barely any charcoal left due to the disc holding it’s heat.

Cooked great.

 I add fluid via sprays and brush on sauces, never let me down yet!!

I think a lot of this water pan stuff is an American over the top thing as I’ve not found any reason to need it in quit a few years of bbq’ ing.

It’s all about learning your equipment and doing what works for you!!!

 

But then I’m an idiot that knows nothing but cooks great bbq for me and mine multiple times a week 😉

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Im using a 1.5 mm stainless steel baffle across the bottom of my offset, varying the gaps , it held heat well and the variation from left to right was only 5'f  which is the best so far. 

And our £7.0 brisket came out ok, only used 3 chimneys full of bricket/lumpwood mix over 8hours 

And the temp dropped a lot slower than without the baffle plates👍

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12 minutes ago, Gaza the Instructor said:

first cook tomorrow with a heat shield on the WSM also insulated door and top.

Most of all using a Tip Top Temp jobbie let you know. 

Why the insulation? Just curious..

I have the mid sized WSM and have changed nothing other than the heat sink (disc) today’s cook used just over half a bag of heat beads approx 2-2.5 kilo.

Hear a lot of problems regarding door but mine seems fine as is 🤷‍♂️

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  • 3 years later...
On 7/11/2020 at 7:30 PM, Sluggy said:

I will tell everyone to ditch the water pan every time. 
Get a 2-3 mm steel disc to replace. I will never go back to a water pan in my wsm.. in fact I have just ordered a disc for my newly acquired callow.

 I honestly don’t think a water pan adds anything but trouble to a smoker.

A thick disc is a very reliable heat sink and keeps temps incredibly stable, ok it takes a while to heat up but can be assisted via blow torch or even cooker ring if you’re in such a rush.( need good gloves ) Doesn’t need cleaning either 😉 unless you wanna preheat on your cooker I guess, never done it myself.

Today I cooked 2 brisket joints of around £12 each size on my wsm .. took around 9 hours but as a last minute thing I cooked some cheese and chilli stuffed mushrooms with barely any charcoal left due to the disc holding it’s heat.

Cooked great.

 I add fluid via sprays and brush on sauces, never let me down yet!!

I think a lot of this water pan stuff is an American over the top thing as I’ve not found any reason to need it in quit a few years of bbq’ ing.

It’s all about learning your equipment and doing what works for you!!!

 

But then I’m an idiot that knows nothing but cooks great bbq for me and mine multiple times a week 😉

I've some how missed this post, I'm liking the sound of the steel disc, I've been using sand (clean dried play pit sand) in the pan for a while and it works well but I have had a couple of issues with the sand picking up moisture leaving it smelling bad once it's gotten hot, which has tainted the meat. 

A disc sounds like a great idea, much easier to keep cleaned and if it has the same effect as the sand that would be great. 

Has anyone else used this method?

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 7/27/2023 at 1:06 PM, valve90210 said:

Has anyone else used this method?

Yep. Been using a 3mm stainless steel disc that sits on the water pan tabs for a number of years. That greasy mess which is the waterpan was a PITB! I put a foil tray on the disc to catch any drippings. It's a no-brainer imo.

It also allowed me to use an extended charcoal ring for longer cooks. Having to re-fuel is not even on my radar.

  IMG_1043.jpg.      IMG_1051.jpg

 

Edit: I also found a titanium camping grill on Amazon that was the exact size of the OEM charcoal grate. I attached with 4 x stainless steel zip ties to the charcoal basket and it makes it a breeze to sift out the ash, and any unburnt briqs gets re-used on the next cook.

image.thumb.jpeg.cfc5f5f908e3eeae7503a8d9920354da.jpeg

Edited by OrbandBullet
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As I'm getting myself setup for the summer and dusting off my bbqs, I remembered about getting a steel disc for my callow to replace my aging and rusty water pan and was wondering what steel to get, do I need stainless steel or would mild steel be ok? 

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Mild steel will be fine if no food will come into contact and would/should be cheaper, however stainless would last alot longer.

If you decide to with stainless steel and its going to be sat on the coals and get extremely hot then try to get a "cheap" grade of stainless steel to reduce warping. If it needs to be food safe make sure its 304 grade stainless steel (316 is even safer but much more expensive)

Hope this helps👍

Out of curiosity, what size and thickness would you require?

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That's kind of what I figured. It'll be sat in place of the water pan, so directly above the coals but not on them. The photo above from Orbandbullet shows where the disc would be but my colas would be a bit lower as I don't run an extended charcoal basket like he has. 

No food would be on the disc, I'd just have a foil tray there to catch drips. 

I think I'd probably be looking at 2mm and from the top of my head I think it'd be something like a 32cm diameter I'd need. 

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