performer lid bail modification


 
S

Scott M.

TVWBB Fan
performer lid bale modification

I ordered a deluxe, and it is waiting for pick up at store as I write this. (Green shot up $55 in price at amazon- still $399 at HD) I have read a few posts here about the plastic rollers on the lid bale melting to the outside of the kettle. Can anyone recommend a modification in assembly and or usage before I assemble my new toy that might mitigate that risk? I have seen mention about use of different washers as well as someone who replaced the plastic with wooden spools. Any thoughts?

*that's lid
 
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Scott M. said:
I ordered a deluxe, and it is waiting for pick up at store as I write this. (Green shot up $55 in price at amazon- still $399 at HD) I have read a few posts here about the plastic rollers on the lid bale melting to the outside of the kettle. Can anyone recommend a modification in assembly and or usage before I assemble my new toy that might mitigate that risk? I have seen mention about use of different washers as well as someone who replaced the plastic with wooden spools. Any thoughts?

*that's lid
Click to expand...
An extra washer should protect them. Other options: use charcoal baskets to keep coals off the charcoal bowl, or simply dont bank large amounts of lit coals near the rollers.

Ive had a few kettles with bales and never had any issues with roller melting but i have never done super high heat either.
 
Thanks, Charlie. I have never used those baskets, but I looked at them in the store. they don't look as though they hold a lot of fuel. how often do you have to refill them during a long cook?
I will try the extra washer idea also.
I am eating my heart out- I have had it for a few days, but had to work from Friday AM until tonight. I can't wait to put this thing together and fire it up!
 
I use the baskets for almost everything in my new performer (i'm probably too overprotective but so be it). They make indirect two zone cooking a breeze: The baskets concentrate the heat and they get the coal right up by the grate making them perfect for a sear zone. It easy to move them around the grate mid cook and reload with the flip up grates.

As for long cooks, by bunching the coal together they get less air flow so they burn slower. I used them for was turkey on thanksgiving. I refilled them once during a three hour cook as directed by the recipe i was using but the remaining unburned coal left at the end of cook was equal or greater to the amount i refilled so i likely could have lived without the refill all together.

Most of my other long cooks aren't high heat so the melt issue wouldn't usually be concern there.
 
I use the baskets for indirect where you have a lot of heat next to the bowl. For direct I just dump the baskets in the middle of the grate after lighting them or use a chimney.
Soon I will be converting my oldest performer into a kettle pizza oven, so I too am interested in finding a solution to the roller problem.
 
I haven't had an issue with mine, even while using the pizza kettle with temps over 900 degrees.
 
I bought a somewhat abused Performer off Craigslist and replaced a missing plastic roller with a wooden thread spool. It has been a good long time with LOTS of use and no problems whatsoever. If my remaining plastic roller melts, then it's another wooden thread spool for me.

FWIW
Dale53
 
Scott
I've removed the whole assembly from my Performer about two years ago to give me an extra inch in the garage when I store them, and have yet to regret it. My Performer is eleven years old now, and I just didn't like the lid holder at all. I filled the holes with two quarter twenty screws and nuts.
ry%3D480

Since this picture I've given my boy the 18, so this weekend I'm replacing it with another 22.5, so I'm going to have to re-think my layout.
 
I've had my old school one for probably twenty years (or close to it) and have rivaled the sun for BTU output and not had an issue with the rollers. The wooden spool idea is great, finding old spools is getting harder to do but, they are out there.

I use the baskets almost all the time, pretty much the same style as Rich does. The make the "second firing" of charcoal much easier.

The only trouble I have had is with the replacement lid after a sixty MPH wind took out part of my walnut tree and dropped it on the grill! They sent a generic lid (DD) and the hook is on the wrong side, not that miserable but, a bit irksome.

Has anyone had any experience with a hinge on an 18 1/2? My new arrangement was not thought through quite fully and I failed to allow a suitable "elegant" spot for lid positioning. I like the idea of the hinge for it. Any opinions?
 
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