Weber smokey mountain or ProQ excel 20?

[Swindon_Ed]

Both will be fine, but if you're looking to cook for large numbers you'll want the extra space you get with the Excel (I take it when you're talking about the WSM you're talking about the 47cm version.) as i do find the smaller WSM a bit on the small side which limits what i'll cook on it.

For instance i find that the small WSM isn't big enough to fit a whole brisket in unless you fold the edges over whereas with the Excel it'll fit nicley. I also find that i can only fit 8 racks of ribs (that's using both grills & rib racks) whereas i can cook 12 racks quite comfortably using the same setup in the excel.

If you're talking about the big 57cm WSM that's a different story all together as it's huge, but they can be quite tricky to control.

The main downsides to the ProQ is the amount of fuel that they can use. My Excel i don't think is too bad but i borrowed a couple of them at a competition earlier in the year and they both needed filling 3 times to get through a 14hr cook which is shocking as with a WSM i only need to fill it once.

Also they don't like cooking at higher temp's, so if you're trying to cook at 275+ you'll struggle to do it with an Excel

[keith157]

Thanks for that Ed

[Braaivleis]

Thanks for your input Ed.
Could you explain what makes the 57cm WSM tricky to control?

[Steve]

The 22.5" is a bit less stable than the 18.5". It likes to spike after you have the lid off. I wouldn't call it tricky but you have to be a little more careful if you have the lid off for 5 mins or more.

This is in total contrast to my experience with excels (of which I owned two for several years) that like to drop temperature whenever they can.

I use forced draft these days and have very stable temps on both sizes of WSM but the 18.5" does behave better than the 22.5". Would still take either of these over a ProQ any day of the week, not to say the ProQ's are bad because they aren't, they're just not as good as the WSMs even with their extra bells and whistles.

[Swindon_Ed]

Thanks for your input Ed.
Could you explain what makes the 57cm WSM tricky to control?

I think it's down to how large the fire bowl is in the bottom of the large WSM so if you overshoot your target temp' it's really difficult to get the temp' back down as the fire gets too big, although i belive this problem mainly happens if you're using clay saucer in the water pan instead of water, so it could be better with water.

I've not had my large WSM that long and the only times i've cooked on it i've used my BBQ Guru with it so not had the problem myself.

[Braaivleis]

Thanks guys for all your input - I've decided to go with the 57cm WSM as it seems to tick the most boxes.

No doubt I'll be back once its been delivered to ask more questions!

[The Social Smokers]

We borrowed a WSM (think it was 57)at Grillstock and found it harder to control than the Pro Q Frontier that we were using. The temps in the WSM kept swinging and we struggled to keep it at a constant. They are well built though.

We're a big fan of the Pro Q bullet smokers. We have a Frontier and are looking to buy an Excel. The WSMs are v nice and also come with a cover for outdoor storage (the Pro Q's do not, you have to buy one separately). You can produce competition quality BBQ in both.