22"Second Gen Ash Sweeper Stuck in place


 
Well first of all welcome to the forum!
Without knowing what you been cooking it could be some stuck on drippings from whatever you been cooking or a piece of coal stuck under the vent.

Tim
 
Well first of all welcome to the forum!
Without knowing what you been cooking it could be some stuck on drippings from whatever you been cooking or a piece of coal stuck under the vent.

Tim

It's at least 15 years old. So needless to say a list would be out. I Grill Chicken. Pork, Fish, and Steak. I smoke Ribs, Butt, and Brisket.
 
Replace it.
It takes about seven minutes.
Well, once you empty it out and set up a place to work. It's really an easy R&R.
 
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I guess the question would be if you have moved it regularly or not. If not then it is just gunked in place. Take it apart and see if it just needs a good cleaning. If not then a new set will be needed.
 
My ash sweeper fins get gunked up from time to time and will stick. All I do is scrape them off carefully and they're good to go.
 
It's at least 15 years old. So needless to say a list would be out. I Grill Chicken. Pork, Fish, and Steak. I smoke Ribs, Butt, and Brisket.

Nah, I wasn't looking for a list, just wondering if you did anything recently with a sticky baste or glaze. I did an Eye of round last week using a brazilian steak marinade and the next day my sweepers were also stuck.
Seems the marinade drippings made what ash was leftover hard as concrete. Like George L I had to use a plastic scraper and a 5-1 tool to get down in it.

Tim
 
Forgot to put foil down when I did some marinated chicken. Mix marinade, ash and chicken grease, took me almost a half hour to bust the sweeper fins loose and another half hour to get the gunk off the bowl so they could move.
 
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That's usually what happens to me too Rich! "Doggone it, I forgot the blasted drip pan.....AGAIN!" Then 20 minutes fussing and I calm down, eat, have a beverage, shut up, wake up the next day and clean it.
 
I think it's safe to say I'm in love with my kettle. I thoroughly enjoy the set-up, the cooking (obviously), and I even take pride in the clean up.

After every cook I use my $1 plastic putty knife and gently clean the bowl. I will even use it to brush some of the ash up towards the four tabs that hold the cooking grate. I think it helps to absorb a bit of the the greasy gunk. I will also scrape the fins every few cooks or as needed.
 
FWIW...
I just ordered replacement One Touch parts for an 18". 20 bucks shipped. Why get crazy cleaning / fixing old stuff?
 
That's where I sorta' miss the old "Daisy-Wheel" type kettles:

I think that although cleaning the ash out was a more laborious process, they offered better / easier-to-control air/temperature management.
(Although I would bet that with the ash bowl open, and I remember hot embers falling / windy days could knock a few onto the ground - they would probably be considered "fire hazards" in some places, plus less "dummy-proof" / easier to accidentally burn yer fingies...)

Anyway, as others have said - First step would be to determine if it is just gunked-up, or if the shaft is seized / rusted where it goes through the bushing that is welded into the bottom of the bowl.
Try giving it a good cleaning first / you may be able to work a little vegetable oil into the shaft if you clean it out and flip it upside-down. Otherwise, you may need to get a replacement kit and then use a cutoff and punch to get the old shaft out.
 
It is interesting to me that folks can manage to go through grates and parts as fast as they seem to. I have replaced grates after twenty plus years, but, only one set of sweepers on the kettle at my sister-in-laws cottage which was somewhere around the first sweeper models. I don't keep mine spotless but, I do "de gunk" and sweep after every use. That's part of today's projects, I ran two kettles and the WSM Saturday. Get to work!
 
I got a 26er from a neighbor who was moving to Spain .. the ash sweep won't budge at all .. tried cleaning, WD40 etc .. no movement .. stuck solid .. only way seems to cut it down and put in a new one.
 
I got a 26er from a neighbor who was moving to Spain .. the ash sweep won't budge at all .. tried cleaning, WD40 etc .. no movement .. stuck solid .. only way seems to cut it down and put in a new one.
Try putting a bed of hot coals directly on top of the sweepers. That should soften things up.
 
Adam,
I enjoy restoring old, neglected kettles without spending alot of money. I believe the Weber replacement parts are too expensive after paying litttle to nothing for the grills I restore.
First, I would use a basic wire grill scraper on the ash sweepers/area and the hardware on the underside of the bowl. Second, I would use Easy Off oven cleaner in the bowl and ash sweepers. The easy off will corrode the sweepers but sand paper will shine then right up. Fourth, I would use Liquid Wrench on the hardware on the under side of the bowl. Let the Liquid Wrench set in over night. I have found the freeze-up has been associated with the connecting hardware and not the ash sweepers. You can see my restores on Flickr-Alaska Weber Kettle. Good luck.
 
Yea, I rehab and work with what I got. Even rusted grates come out nice with a wire wheel. Only one I had to replace the grate.
 

 

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