WSM mods

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Finn,

Did you drill an additional hole for your Guru? Can't they be installed in one of the vent holes or do you have to drill the hole for it?
 
Bruce B said:
Finn,

Did you drill an additional hole for your Guru? Can't they be installed in one of the vent holes or do you have to drill the hole for it?

Yeah, I drilled a hole for it. You can mount it at one of the dampers, which I did on the old one (I've since drilled a new hole in that one too), but that makes that damper to where it can only be either closed or essentially 1/3 open. I don't use the Guru for every cook... Not even 1/2 my cooks. This way I have all the vent dampers useable for my non-Guru cooks.

I talked with BBQ Fred before I did it, and he thought it was a good idea for me to do it. Said that the reason they tell people to use the damper is they didn't want to make people drill holes in their WSMs.
 
Bruce B said:
How big of a hole did you have to drill for the Guru?
3/4" dia :!: That was the largest size on my step drill. I could have gone to 1", but 3/4" is much larger than the exsisting damper hole.


Drilling a hole in the kettle soon to mount a Guru adapter on it. Great for long indirect cooks.
 
Jeff E said:
Nice post Finney. I like the idea of drilling a hole for the Guru so the original dampers are all still functional. I may have to do that myself.
Where are you going to drill the hole in your kettle for the Guru adapter?
Also, I'm glad to hear that you haven't actually cooked with the WSM in the pictures. It's much shinier than mine. :D

Well I talked with Fred about that and he said that as long as the adapter was mounted above the charcoal grate, it could go almost anywhere. My plan is to mount it on one of the sides, probably the same side that has lever for the ash catcher. Not exactly sure yet, that's why I didn't do it when I did the WSM.
 
Uhmmmm, am I to assume the Chris finally bought a digital camera???? I liked your mods Chris, especially the handles added to the sides of the mid section.
 
The tape does help. I tape both the inside and outside surfaces. Actually, I tape the outside and mark the location. Then I drill my pilot hole and tape the inside location using the hole to located it.

The step drill 'cuts' pretty clean. I have to get out the pliers to pull a little sliver of metal off the hole when I drill the big ones, but the coating on the WSM is fine.

And I told you guys wrong before... the Guru adapter hole is 7/8", not 3/4".
 
Nick Prochilo said:
Uhmmmm, am I to assume the Chris finally bought a digital camera???? I liked your mods Chris, especially the handles added to the sides of the mid section.

You would be correct in that assumption, Mr Prochilo. :!:

Thanks, the handles are for sale in my online catalog. (just kidding) 8-[
 
brian j said:
looks good chris. the only mods i've made to my wsm are adding a lid thermometer and putting in one eyelet bought from the guru. did you use guru eyelets or make your own?

I used the Guru eyelets, but added a stainless washer to each side of the WSM metal to take up some of the thickness because I didn't put the eyelets through the cooking grate brkts. I could have just done it inside, but I liked the way it looked on the outside.
 
Finney said:
Jeff E said:
Nice post Finney. I like the idea of drilling a hole for the Guru so the original dampers are all still functional. I may have to do that myself.
Where are you going to drill the hole in your kettle for the Guru adapter?
Also, I'm glad to hear that you haven't actually cooked with the WSM in the pictures. It's much shinier than mine. :D

Well I talked with Fred about that and he said that as long as the adapter was mounted above the charcoal grate, it could go almost anywhere. My plan is to mount it on one of the sides, probably the same side that has lever for the ash catcher. Not exactly sure yet, that's why I didn't do it when I did the WSM.
Chris, I'm curious about the "above the charcoal grate" reference Fred made ~ Can you elaborate?

Tks, Bill
 
The Joker said:
Finney said:
[quote="Jeff E":1aquwh5a]Nice post Finney. I like the idea of drilling a hole for the Guru so the original dampers are all still functional. I may have to do that myself.
Where are you going to drill the hole in your kettle for the Guru adapter?
Also, I'm glad to hear that you haven't actually cooked with the WSM in the pictures. It's much shinier than mine. :D

Well I talked with Fred about that and he said that as long as the adapter was mounted above the charcoal grate, it could go almost anywhere. My plan is to mount it on one of the sides, probably the same side that has lever for the ash catcher. Not exactly sure yet, that's why I didn't do it when I did the WSM.
Chris, I'm curious about the "above the charcoal grate" reference Fred made ~ Can you elaborate?

Tks, Bill[/quote:1aquwh5a]
Well, I’m guessing it’s because the grate and/or charcoal on the grate would help disperse the airflow from the adapter thus creating air currents throughout the kettle but since I can’t get the answer here, which doesn’t surprise me in the least, I’ll call Fred or Bob at the BBQ Guru tomorrow morning to get the details.

Thanks anyway…
 
The Joker said:
[quote="The Joker":a487kj5c]
Finney said:
[quote="Jeff E":a487kj5c]Nice post Finney. I like the idea of drilling a hole for the Guru so the original dampers are all still functional. I may have to do that myself.
Where are you going to drill the hole in your kettle for the Guru adapter?
Also, I'm glad to hear that you haven't actually cooked with the WSM in the pictures. It's much shinier than mine. :D

Well I talked with Fred about that and he said that as long as the adapter was mounted above the charcoal grate, it could go almost anywhere. My plan is to mount it on one of the sides, probably the same side that has lever for the ash catcher. Not exactly sure yet, that's why I didn't do it when I did the WSM.
Chris, I'm curious about the "above the charcoal grate" reference Fred made ~ Can you elaborate?

Tks, Bill[/quote:a487kj5c]
Well, I’m guessing it’s because the grate and/or charcoal on the grate would help disperse the airflow from the adapter thus creating air currents throughout the kettle but since I can’t get the answer here, which doesn’t surprise me in the least, I’ll call Fred or Bob at the BBQ Guru tomorrow morning to get the details.

Thanks anyway…[/quote:a487kj5c]
What do you mean you can't get the answer here :eek:
The amount of info I have learned here is amazing :!:
Maybe you should dig a little deeper :)
 
Puff said:
The Joker said:
[quote="The Joker":t7ulemr8]
Finney said:
[quote="Jeff E":t7ulemr8]Nice post Finney. I like the idea of drilling a hole for the Guru so the original dampers are all still functional. I may have to do that myself.
Where are you going to drill the hole in your kettle for the Guru adapter?
Also, I'm glad to hear that you haven't actually cooked with the WSM in the pictures. It's much shinier than mine. :D

Well I talked with Fred about that and he said that as long as the adapter was mounted above the charcoal grate, it could go almost anywhere. My plan is to mount it on one of the sides, probably the same side that has lever for the ash catcher. Not exactly sure yet, that's why I didn't do it when I did the WSM.
Chris, I'm curious about the "above the charcoal grate" reference Fred made ~ Can you elaborate?

Tks, Bill
Well, I’m guessing it’s because the grate and/or charcoal on the grate would help disperse the airflow from the adapter thus creating air currents throughout the kettle but since I can’t get the answer here, which doesn’t surprise me in the least, I’ll call Fred or Bob at the BBQ Guru tomorrow morning to get the details.

Thanks anyway…[/quote:t7ulemr8]
What do you mean you can't get the answer here :eek:
The amount of info I have learned here is amazing :!:
Maybe you should dig a little deeper :)[/quote:t7ulemr8]

And deeper & deeper &..........
 
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