OTG legs don't fit right and are cheaply made!

Had an old Weber kettle for years, great quality! About a month ago someone stole it from my driveway. Not a big deal, just went to HD and bought a new OTG for around $140. All I can say is the quality is nothing compared to my old Weber grill, the new kettle is thin tin and sheet metal.

First the spot weld holding the handle to the dome broke the first time I used it. Weber replaced the dome no questions asked - no gripes about the service and spot welds do break.

Second problem and my biggest gripe is the legs fit loose into the kettle. Try moving a lit grill and having the front leg fall off, then try to hold a lit grill by yourself with food on it while you attempt to put the leg back into the kettle leg socket!! Definately not fun! Had the potential for a major catastrophy but I managed to get it back together without getting burned or damaging anything.

Immediately after that near disaster, I drilled the legs and kettle and attached the legs to the kettle leg sockets with sheet metal screws. The legs won't come out again! But even with the legs screwed on the whole kettle is wobbly because the legs just don't fit tight into the kettle leg sockets. I going to rectify this by making new legs from black gas pipe. Not a big deal but this is something that I shouldn't have to do, it should be made correctly from the get-go.

I called Weber about this problem, the girl I spoke to was very nice and understanding and said she never had any complaints about this type of problem before. She said the legs are supposed to fit tight into the sockets. She went on to say that since she didn't know what item was out of spec she said she would FedX me a new kettle and legs. Got the new stuff today and the legs fit just as poorely as with the first kettle. Absoultely no difference.

I like the cooking performance of Weber grills, I have no gripes about the quality of food you can make on Weber grills but the material quality and quality control of Weber products is VERY lacking.

I BBQ and grill year round and was considering purchasing a WSM this summer but after this I am now considering something else (Klose or Gator) because of how cheaply made the Weber stuff is getting to be. I know you guys will say that you can get a WSM for about $250 and a Klose or Gator will start around $1k before shipping. But is that any reason for making something so cheaply and poorly? I still think I should get reasonable quality for $250, granted not the same quality as something costing 4x as much but still something with a reasonable amount of quality. I hate to spend $250 on a WSM that is made from cheap sheet metal, is really flimsy, and be lucky if it lasts several years.

I hate to sound like an old windbag especially on my first post on this forum. Anyone else notice the quality of Weber products going down while the price keeps going up?

Jim, I agree that Weber's kettles are of a noticeably thinner guage than they were years ago, and I have had a similar experience with one set of legs for my 22.5" kettle (although the replacement legs sent by Weber CS seem to fit snugly enough).

However, I would urge you NOT to let this admittedly negative experience dissuade you from purchasing a WSM. The WSM's legs are attached with bolts, rather than inserted into a socket, so the wobbling you are experiencing with your new kettle will never be an issue with a WSM. Moreover, the smoker itself is much thicker metal, and the sections fit together very snugly. Compared to recent vintage kettles, the WSM is built like a tank.

Before you spend $1k (or more) on some other rig, why not at least take a drive to your local Ace Hardware and "kick the tires" on a WSM? You might find an opportunity to save yourself $800 . . .

Kevin, I hear what you're saying. I'll take a look at the WSM and see how it looks, I really hope it's better constructed than the 22.5" Weber OTG Kettle. When I spend my hard earned money I like to get some value and/or quality in the product.

Funny you should say that you've contacted Weber CS with the same problem that I experienced. When I spoke to the Weber CS rep she made me feel like the problem was something I did rather than a lousy and cheap design. She said that I was the first person that ever called Weber with a problem like this. She didn't hesitate to send me a new kettle and legs, she just had me doubting myself.

I'm tempted to write Weber a letter regarding this issue, I have a hunch that Weber's willingness to so quickly ship out items after a complaint isn't just good customer relations.