Lid Bale Install Questions


 
W

Webster

TVWBB Member
I have a lid bale inbound and will soon be drilling holes in my once OTS. For those with a factory bale, how far down from the lip are the nuts on the inside? Anyone have pictures they could share?

To those that have done this, any pointers? I have a step drill and have drilled holes for thermometers in kettles and WSMs before (blue tape, small pilot hole, measure twice drill once), more concerned about bale placement.

Any info appreciated. :cool:
 
The holes in my Performer at 1-1/32" from the top of the bowl to the center of the holes. They are about 18-1/4" apart minimum distance center to center. (Straight across from one hole to the other, not around the circumference of the bowl)
 
Hummmm. How bad is the lid angle normally?

I may play around with it a bit, but will not deviate too much and botch the job...
 
Steve Cleveland said:
I wonder if you could put them closer together and get the lid to stand up straighter? like the new performers.
Click to expand...

I believe if you go to the thread about the 2015 performer you will see it is farther away from the bowl which allows the lid to stand vertical. I mean that bring the ends closer together will make the C/L farther away from the bow, which will allow the lid to stand straighter more vertical.
 
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I wonder if the bale in the pictures is different/new parts or did they tweak the ends a bit to get the angles right with closer holes. Looks like it is 4" from the kettle at the apex.

My parts are due in today. I smell some experimenting coming my way this afternoon.
 
After reading the 2015 performer thread again, I'm thinking the bale parts are the same, the hols are just closer (17 1/8" apart). It also looks to be mounted higher.

Will know soon enough, come-on UPS man...
 
That was a pretty straight forward install.

1. Establish centerline
2. Mark where top holes should be
3. Measure, adjust, measure again
4. Drill top holes and temporally install bale
5. Hold back brace and mark where hole should be
6. Drill hole for back brace
7. Remove everything, spray paint inside of holes, let dry
8. Put together for good

For step 5, I just eyeballed the bale level, put some blue tape there, did it again and marked on the tape with a pencil. Ended up going 17.5" between the holes. The measurement from the kettle to the center of the bale wire ended up being just over 4 inches. It does have quite a bow in it, not following the radius of the kettle at all. I hope that makes sense. There was some bending involved.

I have never seen or used one of these things before, so I cannot compare how it ended up, but the lid is easy to place in there and remove. The lid is very stable in there, overall I think it looks pretty good.

MRQ1YKk.jpg

The kit as supplied. (already started tweaking it)

dm4k29L.jpg

The holes after a quick shot of spray paint to from the inside to ward off rust.

Tpc49N7.jpg

The lid in place. Not quite 90 degrees, but close.
 
How stable is the lid in that position? Looks kinda precarious in the photo but that can be misleading...

I sure wouldn't want it falling over if I wiggled the kettle while it was up...
 
I had read through this thread, then gave my Performer a hard look.
Decided if the holes were closer together, something has got to give, mainly the lid will have to sit higher.
It looks like that is the case, but don't know if it will be a problem.
Only Webster can tell. :)
Nice install by the way!
 
Forgot to mention that with the holes closer together, the back brace (I'm just making these terms up, don't know what else to call it) had to be straightened a bit to get the angle right where the bolt goes. There was some massaging going on, but it was easy to make it fit well.

As far as stability goes, the lid ain't goin' nowhere. If anything, the whole kettle wants to flip over backwards with all that weight up there. This, with it empty of course. Nothing a Craycort cast iron grate won't solve. :)
 
Webster said:
Forgot to mention that with the holes closer together, the back brace (I'm just making these terms up, don't know what else to call it) had to be straightened a bit to get the angle right where the bolt goes. There was some massaging going on, but it was easy to make it fit well.

As far as stability goes, the lid ain't goin' nowhere. If anything, the whole kettle wants to flip over backwards with all that weight up there. This, with it empty of course. Nothing a Craycort cast iron grate won't solve. :)
Click to expand...

Engineering as you go kind of fit, I like it.
 
Used it last night for the first time with the bale and paid particular attention to the stability issue. Had the lid opened and closed many times, jiggled the whole thing with the lid up and noticed no cause for concern. In fact, the lid was very easy to place in and remove from the bale. I like this thing a lot.
 
while it may not be the intended install, it sounds like it works. the new bail should be available soon so whoever has the old one now knows it can be used like this.

we use things in unintended ways all the time, it's invention and modification at it's finest.

so long as it works the way you want, that's awesome.
 
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