Bent midsection woes.

I just bought a brand new 22.5 WSM from a guy about an hour away. He buys bulk pallets of stuff, and had two 22.5" WSMs. One, he said appeared to be used once and returned. Nothing obvious was wrong with it. The other one (the one I have) he said was in the box, but the box had a slight bit of damage. He assembled it today and listed it online. I was too damn excited to be getting a brand new 22.5" WSM for $200 that I didn't think clearly.

Anyway, the one I have seems to have the midsection slightly bent....at least on the top of the midsection. The bottom of the midsection sets perfectly on the bottom coal burning section. The lid fits, but I have to apply a moderate amount of force to make it slip down in there....very UNlike my 14.5" WSM.

Is it possible to bend these things back? Is this something Weber would replace even though I didn't buy it from a big box type store and didn't pay full price?

Looks like a bear hug to the cook chamber or lid is in order.

You could try registering it with Weber & they may warrant the parts.

First, measure the diameter of the midsection in several directions to see how much it is out of round, and where. It may be slightly oval, in which case you can do the bear hug, gently pushing in on the long axis of the oval to bring it closer to a circle. Do this gently and gradually, checking the fit with the lid frequently. If it is the lid that is out of round, do the same thing to the lid. You can check the lid easily by tracing the circumference onto a piece of paper and then rotating the lid. Any variation in shape will be easy to spot.

As for warranty, I have a 22 inch kettle I bought from a similar source a few years ago. I called Weber to see if they knew of a high-temperature paint that was a good color match for the green lid, which had a few chips. They sent me a new lid instead (their idea, not mine). Of course, YMMV as they say.

Just because of the trouble of getting a new mid section and then what to do with the old one, I would try a little bending. Just go slow and do a little at a time. If it works, you've spent maybe a half hour and you got a great deal - done. If it was so far bent that it just won't go, then I'd call Weber. Your chances are pretty good they'll help you out. I had bought a second WSM and never used it. Stayed in the box for several years until a friend of mine expressed interest. I knew when I got it, it was not bent (inspected it). However, when I opened it up for my friend, the charcoal bowl was bent pretty badly. I told Weber that is was old, and that I did not know how it got bent and asked if they'd give me a good price on a replacement. Short story long, they sent me a new bowl - no charge.

Try to fix it and if it's too far gone, call Weber.

Jerry N. said:

Just because of the trouble of getting a new mid section and then what to do with the old one, I would try a little bending. Just go slow and do a little at a time. If it works, you've spent maybe a half hour and you got a great deal - done. If it was so far bent that it just won't go, then I'd call Weber. Your chances are pretty good they'll help you out. I had bought a second WSM and never used it. Stayed in the box for several years until a friend of mine expressed interest. I knew when I got it, it was not bent (inspected it). However, when I opened it up for my friend, the charcoal bowl was bent pretty badly. I told Weber that is was old, and that I did not know how it got bent and asked if they'd give me a good price on a replacement. Short story long, they sent me a new bowl - no charge.

Try to fix it and if it's too far gone, call Weber.

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Wow, that's awesome!