How to remove the little caster wheels


 

Stefan H

TVWBB Guru
I have another grill where the the caster wheels are are shot. The little office chair wheels on the left side. How can these be removed? Also are there some 3rd party alternatives?

Thanks
Stefan
 
You can buy Weber replacements, but you can also buy them from places like Menards or Home Depot. The Menards and home depot ones won't have the locks on them however, but I dont consider that a big deal.

The way I remove them is to get a WIDE screw driver or a dull chisle and place the blade pointing down towards the wheel right where the plastic meets the metal frame. Then pound it off, rotating sides a couple times if necessary. I have pulled many of them off and they usually have rust, but none ever gave me too much problem.

The originals almost always become bound up somehow and are impossible to turn. I have tried soaking them in hot soapy water and other stuff, but somehow, the become fused inside never to turn again. I think I pay about $5 or $6 a pair for them in the home improvement stores. You need to save the original plastic part that goes into the grill leg though, the ones in the store just come with the metal rod that goes into the plastic part. They don't come with the entire wheel and plastic insert.
 
Thanks Bruce. I will try that. Doesn't sound too difficult. And yes on both donor grills I have the wheels are ever locked up or one wheel is broken off.
 
Perfect. There you go. And yes, no real need to pull the plastic insert out of the leg. But it would allow you to clean it up if desired.

Hopefully they are available at your local HD. They are not at mine and In Store Pickup and home delivery are not even available. The closest store where they are in stock is over 70 miles away.
 
I've purchased the genuine Weber replacement wheels for $5 each before, and they come with the plastic insert. I'll have to check out the Home Depot ones, because that's a good price for a 2-pack.
 
When I bought these I saw no difference between them and the Webers even the underside is exact. No way Weber would not of sourced a part like that anyway. They work great and Bruce they did not carry them at my local store but luckily there was another not all that far away that had them in stock.

I would call your home depot and see if they can get them shipped to your local store, they have to make warehouse runs so not sure what the big deal would be.
 
Stefan those at Lowes are not locking casters you can save 40 cents I guess by not buying the HD ones but I am sure HD actually I know has non-locking also.
 
Yah, I can get the non-locking ones at my HD for $4.97 per pair, they just don't stock the locking ones for some reason. If they did, I would probably buy three or four sets since just about every Silver B or 1000 needs them and the locking ones are clearly preferred over the non-locking ones for grills.
 
Boy I've got to have locking wheels in the summer because it's lizard season. Our two big powerful pups will shove the grills all over the yard chasing those critters if there not locked. We just went out today and stood three gas bottles back up because the dogs chased the lizards and they ran into the holes on the base of the bottle. Whitney just takes a paw and pushes the bottle over full or empty.
 
Bruce, I would talk to the manager at your local HD and tell them what you want. I would be pretty surprised if they don't accommodate you yes you might have to wait awhile for them so make sure you plan ahead ordering multiple sets which might make it worth his while.
 
I will probably do just that. Thanks for the suggestion. I still have three or four weber ones that I got on a fire sale for about $2 each last year. But I need more.
 
The originals almost always become bound up somehow and are impossible to turn. I have tried soaking them in hot soapy water and other stuff, but somehow, the become fused inside never to turn again.

Maybe you should have used some "Caster" oil? :rolleyes:

Sorry, I couldn't resist...
 
You can buy Weber replacements, but you can also buy them from places like Menards or Home Depot. The Menards and home depot ones won't have the locks on them however, but I dont consider that a big deal. The way I remove them is to get a WIDE screw driver or a dull chisle and place the blade pointing down towards the wheel right where the plastic meets the metal frame. Then pound it off, rotating sides a couple times if necessary. I have pulled many of them off and they usually have rust, but none ever gave me too much problem. The originals almost always become bound up somehow and are impossible to turn. I have tried soaking them in hot soapy water and other stuff, but somehow, the become fused inside never to turn again. I think I pay about $5 or $6 a pair for them in the home improvement stores. You need to save the original plastic part that goes into the grill leg though, the ones in the store just come with the metal rod that goes into the plastic part. They don't come with the entire wheel and plastic insert.

This video shows how - did this yesterday to get a stubborn one off -
 
All - this is very helpful. Does anyone have a source for the bigger caster wheels that go on Genesis 3xx series grills like what is shown in the above video?
 
I think Amazon has ones that are the right size but don’t look at all like the OEM ones, even if probably that they work better. The last set I got I begged the Weber rep for a discount. Still pricey, though.
 

 

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