Silver to Gold


 
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Has anyone turned a silver into a gold. Is it worth ordering the parts to do it. Or am I better off getting a gold and adding the dampner to the bottom. I would think that It would be better to drill to small holes in a silver for the bale/lidholder. Then to drill three or four holes for the dampner in a ash exposed area like the bottom. The parts may be more then picking up a silver and gold. Then interchanging parts.
 
I was able to get my gold off ebay a few months back for $89 including shipping - couple of other folks got them for around that, too. At that price, just buy the gold.

I'm not sure what you mean by adding the damper to the the bottom of a gold.

The gold is the same grill as the silver, except for the ash catcher ring, ash catcher and handle. If you had those three items, you could use a Dremmel cutting tool to make a slot in each leg holder to receive the tabs that hold the ash catcher ring on the grill and then you would have a gold.

As for the cost of parts, you could price the parts out with Weber customer service but my guess is you would be better trying to get a decent ebay deal or watch for a gold on CL.

Sometimes, however, you want to do something just for the sake of doing it. In that case, go for it and let us know how it turns out!

Pat
 
Pat

I was refering to the Smokey Joe silver and gold model. The silver has a bottom dampner and the gold two side ones the silver burns better from my understanding. I think I am goig to order a Gold and just add the silver bottom dampner. That was I get the two side ones too. Which will cure the problem of the silver going out with the lid on.
 
AHHHHHH Grasshopper - I got to the topic from the RSS feed and didn't even pay any attention to which forum the post was in.

My apologies!

I've done a couple of bottom vent modifications on Smokey Joe Platinums - the post are in here somewhere!

The one I did last was the one I liked the best. I put a bottom vent on the SJP using a vent cover from a defunct Smokey Joe Silver (you can get them from Weber, but this was in my dad's barn). I then put a handle on the vent cover by drilling through one of the vent tabs, bending it down and securing a carriage bolt through it with a two lock nuts.

Then, using a vise, I bent the legs down so that they would meet in a horizontal plane under the vent, and attached a stainless steel puppy bowl by drilling a hole in the bottom of it and securing it to the legs with a bolt and wing nut.

I use a metal pie pan inside the doggie bowl to catch the ashes, so then I can just remove the pie pan and dump the ashes without removing the bolt and the pan.

Maybe this link will work. Otherwise, it is the Smokey Joe Platinum Bottom Vent Mod thread.

Smokey Joe Bottom Vent Mod Pat Smith

Hope this help - sorry again that I got off on the wrong track!

Pat
 
Thanks Pat.

I am going to order a gold and then call weber to order the bottom dampner off of a Silver. This will solve the golds problem of not burning in center and solve the problem of the silver only burning in center and coals going out with lid on.
 
I agree - good luck with the mod. One thing I miss on my silver is the lid lock for transport. Your solution would solve that problem as well.

Pat
 
You know folks, I really think that Weber should have made the Gold basically as a miniature version of the One Touch Gold 18- or 22-incher; that is, with a bottom damper & lever, AND a removable aluminum ash can, just like the OTG has but scaled down. Those features PLUS the fantastic lid-securer would make for the best small grill in the world.

I haven't yet tried my SJG's performance by offsetting the coals and trying to create a convective current to see how the side vents respond to that, but will soon. In the meantime I keep wishing that Weber had taken a few cues from the bottom-venting, ash-can-equipped CharBroil grill - a cheap product I wouldn't buy, but one whose design sometimes seems more logical.
 
that would make them to expensive. i think they do great as they are.

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Paul A.B.:
You know folks, I really think that Weber should have made the Gold basically as a miniature version of the One Touch Gold 18- or 22-incher; that is, with a bottom damper & lever, AND a removable aluminum ash can, just like the OTG has but scaled down. Those features PLUS the fantastic lid-securer would make for the best small grill in the world.

I haven't yet tried my SJG's performance by offsetting the coals and trying to create a convective current to see how the side vents respond to that, but will soon. In the meantime I keep wishing that Weber had taken a few cues from the bottom-venting, ash-can-equipped CharBroil grill - a cheap product I wouldn't buy, but one whose design sometimes seems more logical. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
 
For those who have ordered the SJS bottom vent from Weber, how much did it cost? I'm trying to decide whether to go with new parts or salvage the Silver from craigslist.
 
Sorry to revive an old thread, but...

I am a newbie to this forum and to grilling in general. I recently purchased a SJS at a local Wal-Mart. It was cheaper than Amazon. After spending a little bit of time researching the Smokey Joe options, I decided to go with a Silver over a Gold. (Also, the local Wal-Mart only carries Silver anyways.) Based on my research, I read that the Silver can achieve higher temperatures and better vent locations, which I wanted. And I didn't necessarily need the Gold's portability.

It's really sad that Weber couldn't incorporate both grills' features into one grill.

In any case, I found this forum and thread after wanting to combine some portability and more vents into my Silver. Can anyone provide me some pointers about how to do this, without damaging my Silver? I found a website for spare Weber parts, so I can order the Gold's lid wire, lid lock support, and the damper for the vents. So it just looks like drilling four large vent holds (two on each side) and two smaller holes for the lid wire (one on each side).

I'm really nervous about drilling into a brand new grill. I'm anal about things like symmetry and aesthetics. Will the porcelain crack or chip off?
 
do some carefull measurements. tape off the area you want to drill, mark off the spot, lightly punch a small mark so that the drill will stay and drill. make sure you have a very sharp bit. you may get some chipping but thats the nature of the beast. to me the perfect setup for an sj is the old style that had the three vents on the sides between the legs.
this can be done with either model. if i can't find one of the originals i'm gonna take one of mine and do that mod.
 
also forgot to mention the can trick. almost a must for the silver. get a can 4" wide by 2" tall. one end open. on the side near the end that is closed, drill some small holes. these holes should have the same volume as the lower vent. when you put it over the lower vent holes it prevents the vent from plugging up with ash.
 
Thanks George.

I just grilled on my SJS for the first time tonight. The vents definitely clogged up and killed the air flow to my charcoal. The can trick is a simple enough "mod," so I'll try that first.

More vents and the portability mods are definitely next after that. Thanks again for the advice!
 
Do the can trick. I don't think you will benefit by adding additional vents to you SJS. It already has plenty of intake for its chamber volume as it is...
 
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