WSM "out of round"

When I first assembled my 18 WSM, if the top grate got bumped, it would sit on three of the four supports . This caused the grate to fall if not handled with lots of care. I contacted Weber and they first sent me a new set of grate supports, which did not resolve the issue. They then had me measure the top for roundness. It was 19 1/8" at the widest and 18 1/2" at the narrowest. They called the center section "out of round", and mailed out a new center section.

Today, I fired her up and went to put the new center section on the charcoal bowl. No dice. The bottom was so out of round, it wouldn't fit without a lot of force. I ended up getting the original center section back out, and put some extra washers behind the top of the grill straps. This worked to hold the grate. But if I don't position the top perfectly, the seam still leaks lots of out smoke. I've only cooked on it 6 times, so it may need more "gunk."

Nevertheless, while it was smoking along. I got back out the new center section and a measuring tape. Then I placed it on a rug and started working it until I got it within 1/8" round on the top and bottom. It would have been easier to do this to with the original center section, but I didn't want to taco it and end up with a dead smoker. Will this hold or will it spring back to the original shape?

I wonder if it's the barrel that's out of round?

I was referring to the barrel part, as the center section. They were both out of round.

You should measure the diameter of the bottom & top of your WSM too, from more than one angle.
It's possible the whole unit may be tweaked - not just the cooking chamber.
The bear hug works well on all three parts. Just keep gently working the parts from all directions.
You would be amazed at what a massage will do to correct things.

Robert-R said:

You should measure the diameter of the bottom & top of your WSM too, from more than one angle.
It's possible the whole unit may be tweaked - not just the cooking chamber.

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I think you can almost bank on that? if the original center section was that far out of round but yet the lid and base fit it fine then it stands to reason they would be equally out of round. I would measure them to verify and if so, I think I'd be back on the phone with Weber. I doubt the lid and base will be as easy to reshape and really, why should you have to with a brand new smoker? Just my $.02

Thanks for the advice. I'll check it out.

The bowl and lid are thankfully within 1/4" round.

Guys, we are talking about a piece of metal. Just take a tape measure and gently squeeze in the sides that measure longer than the others until it's all the same diameter. It's not rocket surgery.

I had same issue. If I'm paying 299$ for something, it better work and have good build quality.

Caesar Hatami said:

Guys, we are talking about a piece of metal. Just take a tape measure and gently squeeze in the sides that measure longer than the others until it's all the same diameter. It's not rocket surgery.

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^^^ Agreed. I had to tweak the center section of my WSM a little to get it almost perfectly round, and the top grate to get it closer to perfectly flat, and it probably took less time than it took to unbox the WSM and attach the legs. That was many years ago, and everything still fits together the way it should.

I'd call weber and get a new one