ProQ E20 vs WSM

[Swindon_Ed]

I've seen loads of questions in the past from new members asking which is better between the ProQ E20 & the WSM.
Now i own and use both cookers at home and in competition and when i was at The Big Feastival I was talking to Adie about my thoughts on both cookers and what i thought the difference between them and he suggested I post it on here to share with all you guys.

I use both cookers with clay saucer and I just want to point out that this is my experience and I’m not saying this is a definitive answer on the matter but someone’s view who’s got a bit of experience with them both.

The WSM works well but I find that it runs hot. With the WSM using clay, the lowest I can get it set is 250f but then it also has a tendency of rising quickly and it can take a while to get the temp’s stable and even long overnight cooks that it will have been quite happy sitting at 250f for a few hours it will run up and within seconds it’s up at 290f+ and then I’ve got to work on getting the temp’s back down by closing it off and the once it’s cooled, open the vent again to reset the temp’.

The ProQ is easy to get up to temp’ and with the clay saucer any time I open or close the vents it responds instantly. It’ll hold temp’ for hours. On overnight cooks the temps will drop after a while but I prefer this as it’s only a quick twist of the dial and then back to sleep.

In summary for any newbies looking to get started there is very little in it. My preference is the ProQ as I believe it’s a bit more forgiving and you’ll be able to get great results from it. I know a lot of people talk about the WSM being more fuel efficient which it is, but when slow smoking a brisket I would rather use a cooker that won’t over shoot my target temp’.

[All Weather Griller]

Great Post Ed, I have been at the suckers end of the spike at last July's competition.

Cheers

Adie

[Mike_P_in_Tucson]

Very good post.

I have only cooked a couple of times on a WSM. Never noticed any problem with temperature spikes, but I was using water back then. After getting my Excel 20, I used water, then sand, now a clay saucer. I will never go back to water, or sand.

I prefer the flexibility of the Excel 20, with its removeable stackers and thermometer probe holes at every level. With the WSM, it was a real pain having to lift off the top grate to access the meat on the bottom one. Doing that just leaves the lid off too long, which messes with cooking times and temperatures.

Since going with the clay saucer, I have noticed that being able to more easily control the temperature also helps with charcoal consumption. I find that, on a 12+ hour cook, I only need to refill the charcoal basket once. And I just got a BBQ Guru for it, which I think will help even more on that end.

[Mike_P_in_Tucson]

Hi Doc,

I have been around, mostly lurking, and an occasional post. We brought my parents (90 and 86) out to Arizona from North Carolina earlier this year and I have been pretty busy with them.

My Guru has a 4cfm fan which I think will do if I'm only using 1 or 2 stackers. I had the controller and fan left over from use on a previous unit, only had to buy the adapter. I will probably try it out next weekend (23rd/24th) I have 2 pork butts, 3 racks of baby backs and 2 racks of St. Louis spares cryovac'd in the freezer.

Anyone thinking of moving to Georgia, one word of advice -- go for a visit during the Summer to see if you can take the heat and humidity.

[LM600]

I only have the E20 so can't do a comparison...but...I am more than happy with it. It has always run consistent and turned out pretty good food.

Regarding GA....my idea of heaven is 90°C plus and 90% plus humidity

[Mike_P_in_Tucson]

Regarding GA....my idea of heaven is 90°C plus and 90% plus humidity

Whew! Are you sure you dind't mean 90 F instead of 90 C?. Or maybe you want to be a boiled lobster?

[LM600]

Ahhh...you spotted the deliberate mistake

Yep, 90°F!

[bencops]

The clay saucer is a reaction to not being able to get the proq up to temp at all!
Youll find on water the wsm is much more stable and comes to 250 and sticks there, as it was designed to do.

[Mike_P_in_Tucson]

I really never had a problem getting the Excel 20 up to temperature with water. The only problem with water is that you have to keep watching it and replenish it with hot water when it gets low. Because when the water is gone, you get a real temperature spike that is hard to bring back down. The same would be true in a WSM. The clay saucer would work equally as well in a WSM as it does in a ProQ.

[bencops]

The proqs ive seen on water have a vigorous boil going, which canes the water, charcoal and the owners nerves. Wsms have a still pan of steaming water. Just the way theyre built i think.