Adding Latches To Weber Smokers - Chris Allingham - The Virtual Weber Bullet

I recently published an article on the various ways people add latches to their Weber Smokey Mountain Cookers and why they do it. Check it out using the links below:
ADDING LATCHES TO THE COOKING SECTION & CHARCOAL BOWL
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The Virtual Weber Bullet is your best source for Weber Smokey Mountain Cooker information and discussion on the Web. Popular with competition barbecue teams, the WSM is an easy-to-use water smoker that's equally at home in the backyard. See the WSM and its component parts; get recipes, usage tips, and modification ideas; check-out BBQ-related resources; and discuss the WSM with owners and enthusiasts in our online forums.
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[@frederickvanpelt6393]

I love my WSM, and my other Weber grills. The late Phil in Florence was the king of mods, check out his posts.

[@keithh7477]

Thanks for all you do Chris.

[@razorpit]

My WSM is completely stock with the exception of replacing the grates a while back with Killa Grilla grates. Hands down the best grates of all time. They’ll outlast my next 10 WSM replacements. 😄
Never understood the need for latches, wheels, hinges, reinforced doors, etc., smoke has to vent somewhere after all, but I’m glad all that is out there because that means the WSM is an established platform to support all the effort a lot of companies have to invest to make those products.
That said I wish Weber would install handles on the mid section. It would make briquette adjustments so much easier. I may be visiting that mod on your site soon. Keep up the good work Chris!

[@TheVirtualWeberBullet]

Yes, handles would be a nice addition by Weber. It's my understanding that handles were not included to discourage removing the middle section during cooking, but if people are going to do it anyway, handles would make it safer, I think.
For those interested, here's a link to the article showing several approaches that owners have used to add handles...attempt at your own risk! www.virtualweberbullet.com/adding-handles-cooking-section/

[@roger80465]

Love my WSM! My biggest complaint is that the barrel section fits inside the bottom and the top section fits inside the barrel. If it rains, the water ends up in the bottom, making a mess. I wish they all fit outside the next section to prevent that. A simple change that would make the WSM so much better.

[@razorpit]

Never understood that decision. I’m guessing there is some kind of mechanical advantage of everything staying together in a strong crosswind? I can’t think of any other reason other than Weber intentionally creating a mess for us to clean-up when it rains. 😆

[@TheVirtualWeberBullet]

The conventional wisdom about this design is that it keeps the moisture and grease that develops during low & slow cooking inside the cooker. If the lid were to fit outside the middle section, moisture and grease would run down the outside of the cooker.
Having said that, it's also true that in 1981, the WSM was built on a shoestring budget by reusing as many existing parts from other grills as possible--the lid, bowl, and water pan-- and creating as few new parts as possible--the middle section, charcoal chamber, door, legs, and grill straps. To get good lid height, they reused a charcoal bowl turned upside down, with its rolled edge instead of the flared edge like on kettle grills. Perhaps things might have been different if Weber had been willing to retool a charcoal bowl as a lid with a flared edge like kettle grills, but they didn't do that.
To solve the "rain in the cooker" problem, when you store the WSM, just flip the middle section upside down. Now the lid fits over the outside of the middle section and rain won't enter the cooker. Or you can place a large yard waste bag over the 14.5/18.5 WSM or a small tarp over the 22.5 WSM secured with a bungee cord to keep things nice and dry.

[@razorpit]

@@TheVirtualWeberBullet That makes a lot of sense. When you put it that way I’d much rather clean the bottom of the cooker out than have all that accumulated gunk on the ground around the smoker.