Weber Ranch kettle off of Craigslist.


 
S.Six

S.Six

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n't believe I found a Ranch kettle on Craigslist, and I paid all of $150 for it! Don't get too excited about it, it needs a lot of work.

As you can see all the plastic parts are melted. It looks like the previous owner used it as a fire pit. Front wheels are missing. The charcoal grate is totally rusted($75 for a new one), and oh yeah no grill grate! That little sweet heart costs $250 bucks!
The lid is dented too, and out of round. that I think I can fix. Any advice on how to do that would help though. Now, I knew the cost on parts before jumping into this, so I knew what I was getting into. Still a good cost for a Ranch kettle. I'll have to keep you all updated on the restoration. Thanks for looking!
 
Nice find but like you said it needs work. You can do this!!!
Maybe fabricate a grill grate and charcoal grate?
 
Nice find, Six. You have some work ahead of you. Can't imagine what they were burning in that kettle to do that damage. Interesting how some people treat their investments. Good luck with the restore and I'll definitely be looking for your first cook on it!
 
It's crazy how people take a beautiful grill like that and beat the crap out of it. Great rescue, it's in a better place now!
 
Amazing fixer-upper find for only $150 + parts. Ya really gotta wonder about someone who'd treat a $1,300 grill like that.
 
Great find with lots of life left in it. That charcoal grate, turn it over and pound it back to flat, then clean the rust off.
You may want to reinforce the new expanded metal cooking grate. Nice find!
 
Whoa! That is a deal!!!

Personally, I would have a fabrication shop bend up some 1/2" stainless rings and then, like Clint posted, use expanded metal and tie it to the rings with wire, that way you could replace the expanded metal when needed.

Also I would replace the plastic parts with stainless turned on a lath, probably an hourly rate and they wouldn't take more than a couple of hours, I used lawn mower wheels from Ace Hardware on my Santa Maria, nice and sturdy and 1/2" shoulder bolts will work for the axles.

To straighten the out of round lid on my WSM I used a motor cycle tie down strap around the lip, I took the diameter of the lid and then measured and found the diameter larger than the actual diameter, cut a piece of wood the actual diameter, drive a nail in each end, turn and support the lid upside down, force the wood in the diameter smaller than actual and tighten the strap, my wasn't tweaked that much and this worked, if it doesn't work for you the first time try lengthening the wood of the actual diameter an 1/8" inch, ...for the large dent at the handle how about cutting a hole in a piece of wood just a little bigger than the diameter of the dent, nail a piece of wood on one side with a small hole drilled in it positioned in the center of the hole and use a all thread with a washer and nut to pull the dent out, the small dent you can probably hammer out with a hard rubber mallet, ...and with the money you can save with the expanded metal grates how about a stainless cap to hide the dent repair with WEBER cur in one one side and RANCH on the other.........., just my two cents. LOL

Can't wait to see you load it up!
 
Bob H. said:
Great find with lots of life left in it. That charcoal grate, turn it over and pound it back to flat, then clean the rust off.
You may want to reinforce the new expanded metal cooking grate. Nice find!
Click to expand...

+1 for this. I flip over the bowed charcoal grates, lay it on the sidewalk or driveway and just step on them to flatten them out again. Won't be perfectly round, but beats spending $75.

As for the lid, although I have never tried it on a ranch kettle, I've use the heel of my palm or the side of my fist to bang out the dents of a normal kettle lids. If necessary, a rubber mallet will work as well.
 
Nice find! Looks like they mistake it for a fire pit instead of a grill. For the money you saved. It wouldn't be a bad idea to get some customization going on.
 
OGlenn said:
+1 for this. I flip over the bowed charcoal grates, lay it on the sidewalk or driveway and just step on them to flatten them out again. Won't be perfectly round, but beats spending $75.
Click to expand...

I've done this too. Nice score, Six.
I can't wait to see that bad boy loaded for bear!
 
Bob H. said:
Great find with lots of life left in it. That charcoal grate, turn it over and pound it back to flat, then clean the rust off.
You may want to reinforce the new expanded metal cooking grate. Nice find!
Click to expand...
Take off the rust and there's nothing left!
 
I know of a ranch being used as a fire pit.

Here's a photo.

photo-121.jpg


The grill was too close to his garage and set his house on fire. No injuries, but, a pretty substantial loss. So he won't get rid of the grill and instead made it into this fire pit. He also has a wsm.
 
I have been wanting one of those since i joined this site. New they make a dent in the economy. But you can make that one shine. And i bet the custom grates is the way to go
 
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