Smokey joe gold bowl expanded ??????


 

Andy Ly

TVWBB Fan
I've turned my SMG into a Mini WSM and have only used it twice as a smoker. But since I've gotten my Jumbo Joe I haven't used it in 3 months. Well last night I pulled it out to grill some ABT and what the hell? the bowl has gotten wider! So the grate moves around the lip and falls through! What the!!!

I called Weber and they're mailing out a new bowl, but I was wondering if you guys have had this issue?

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didja measure it ? right grate ? how you using it as a smoker ? interesting for sure as metal just don't change like that. if the lid still fits then it has to be a grate issue
 
Its definitely the bowl. I tried two grates since I purchased extra grates for the smoker tamale pot. Yes the bowl and the lid are still uniform. I'll see how it goes once I get the replacement.
 
Interesting, never have seen or heard of this. It can't be because of drastic temperature changes, you live in Socal?
 
So the tamale pot now sits too loose...
And the lid also fits loosely on the tamale pot..
Or did the tamale pot expand as we'll...??
 
I know on my older SJP the original cooking grate is a bit wider than a standard 18.5" grate, I don't recall if any of the older SJG had that same set-up...

Tim
 
does the SJG lid still fit properly?

I don't believe the bowl's tip and lid are affected. When covered, the lid has a lot of give to begin with, so it's not a good indicator to me; but I am starting to wonder of the weight of the tamale pot and ceramic diffuser caused the housing to sag apart under heat. When smoking, I also added aluminum foil to seal the heat.

Once I get home from work this evening, I'll try the tamale pot again to see if the fit has changed significantly.

As a side note, it's been sitting on my balcony in a clear white trash bag and gets about 4 hours of direct sunlight each day. I highly doubt that would have an affect on it.
 
take some measurements when youre home and post them here. im curious how much it expanded. doesnt sound like youve done anything extraordinary to cause it to fail.
 
Just got a chance to take some photos. If you guys have the SJG, can you take measurements too? It is quite apparent by looking at the photos that the grate is smaller than the lip. I tried 3 different grates and none of them fit. So I think the weight of the tamale pot and ceramic bowl may have weighed down on the the housing lip enough to reshape it a bit. Plausible??

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Could please give an idea of your exact set-up.
How many grates, is your tamale steamer the same one everyone else's builds are?
Is your design any different than the norm?
This is strange, others have had these mini WSM setups and completed many cooks.
Haven't seen anything like this.
 
If there were that much expansion to that degree the porcelain would have developed cracks all around the perimeter.

Just an 1/8" increase in kettle diameter, for instance, would require its circumference to stretch by almost 1/2", which seems highly unlikely.

I think there are other factors in play here and there's absolutely nothing wrong with the kettle.
 
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Lets hope this isn't something the steamer pot sitting inside the kettle has caused.
That's why its important to know Andy's exact Mini WSM set-up, how many grates, additional mods ect..
 
When I placed the tamale pot onto the bowl, it fits perfectly. No give at all.

The tamale pot has 3 grates.
1. The very bottom, with the ceramic dish sitting on it
2. Grate near the middle of the pot
3. Grate near the top of the pot
And thermometer.

When the pot was stored for the first month, it had the tamale pot along with all the mentioned items on top of the bowl. I think once I receive the new pot, it will be perfectly clear what the ultimate cause was.
 
my setup hasn't stretched anything. i just don't see it. and the pics show that its still 14" and the bends and such are the strongest part.
 
I looked at both my SJ Silver and Gold and their grates are somewhat "loose" fitting too, and not a solid, secure fit. They've always been that way.
I'm willing to bet all my smokers and grills that there's absolutely nothing wrong with the kettle.
 
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just went out and measured the gold that i use regularly. it measures exactly as above. 14". the grate i have is an old grate. it fits almost perfectly. so the only thing i can say is that it must be a grate thing. that bowl did not expand.
 
Is the grate a 7440? Because I belive the 7440 is smaller than the original 7431 that they come with.

I don't have a 7440 to measure, but I think it slips thru the steamer ring to actually rest the heat deffuser on the bottom of the pot by just cutting part of the grate like brian did.

http://tvwbb.com/showthread.php?40019-Ribinator-2000!&p=408608&viewfull=1#post408608

I tried doing it to my 7431 but it would not fit. I even cut the opposing side with no luck.
 

 

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