A New Family Member


 
G

GMcMaster

New member
In my first post in the forum introduction page I noted that I had put the word out to friends and family I was looking for a Smokey Joe for the WSM mini conversion. My buddy called me and told me his dad had a Weber he would let me have. He did not know what size or style. I got the coordinates and arranged a pick up time.

Much to my surprise when I pulled in the driveway and saw the grey 18.5 incher. I could hardly keep from jumping up and down with excitement. Not the SJ I was looking for, but given the free price and the classic look and color I am VERY pleased.

Definitely needs a good cleaning, new charcoal and cooking grates and overall TLC, but otherwise it still looks good. There is no rust on the bowl or lid and the vents and wheels need a dab of oil but otherwise in decent condition. I was not able to locate a letter code under the patent number -- which in my limited research dates it pre-1979.

Gray_Weber001.jpg



Any idea how I may be able to clean / remove the grease ring around the top vent? It's almost like oil got under the porcelain finish.

Gray_Weber002.jpg


Gray_Weber003.jpg


As I also noted in my introductory post this forum is quickly feeding my GAD -- "Grill Acquisition Disease"
 
My advice to get rid of that grease ring is to load it up with hot coals and put the cover on, other than that, a new cooking grate is cheap and easy to find.
 
Nice score. You may already have this info. If not, hope this helps:

1962 – 1968
In 1962, Weber upgraded the metal handle on the lid to a wooden one. The first wood handles were made from walnut. Vintage Weber Kettles from this range had metal thumbscrews that held the aluminum legs in their sockets. The wooden handles were held on with 2 small rivets.

1968-1970
In 1968, Weber designed a new leg socket and filed a patent for it. They started stamping the top vent with ‘patent pending.’ These new leg sockets stopped using the metal thumbscrews. The patent was filed for in November of 1968, and granted in November of 1970. It’s safe to assume any grill with Patent Pending on the vent is a late 68, a 69, or a 70. The wheels also switched over to an all-plastic design during this time.

1970
November 10th, 1970, the US Patent office issued Weber a patent number. Weber replaced the ‘patent pending’ stamp with the patent number. This patent (3538906) is for the redesigned leg sockets (still in use today).
 
Always good to see a Bar-B-Kettle get a new lease on life! I have a similar gray 18" and I probably use it most of all my grills.

After you get the bowl clean check the integrity of the leg pocket welds. Mine eventually rusted through and needed to be repaired.
 
yeah, i'm with mike on the oil ring... just fire it up and hope for the best.
who knows, that might be all it takes.
and if it doesn't go away, it ain't taking nothing away from cookin' on a great ol' grill!
Congratulations Greg!!
And Welcome to the forums!
 
Thanks for all the kudos and greetings -- never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined this landing in my lap.

Quick update: The grill is clean and ready for the inaugural "burn-off". The oil / grease ring around the top vent has diminished somewhat -- let's hope the high heat takes care of the rest -- if not I will have to cope. Ho hum...poor me.

Further updates with pix forthcoming.
 
From the pics, it looks like "Weber" is engraved in the vent. If so, this is probably from the mid 70s. This looks like a true gray kettle (not faded black). Either way, its a great score.
 
Dwain Pannell said:
Nice score. You may already have this info. If not, hope this helps:

1962 – 1968
In 1962, Weber upgraded the metal handle on the lid to a wooden one. The first wood handles were made from walnut. Vintage Weber Kettles from this range had metal thumbscrews that held the aluminum legs in their sockets. The wooden handles were held on with 2 small rivets.

1968-1970
In 1968, Weber designed a new leg socket and filed a patent for it. They started stamping the top vent with ‘patent pending.’ These new leg sockets stopped using the metal thumbscrews. The patent was filed for in November of 1968, and granted in November of 1970. It’s safe to assume any grill with Patent Pending on the vent is a late 68, a 69, or a 70. The wheels also switched over to an all-plastic design during this time.

1970
November 10th, 1970, the US Patent office issued Weber a patent number. Weber replaced the ‘patent pending’ stamp with the patent number. This patent (3538906) is for the redesigned leg sockets (still in use today).
Click to expand...

The top vent is stamped with the patent number 3568906 and has the plastic wheels and no thumb screws. Does this mean it is a 1970 model, or from the November 1970 date until the patent number later changed?

I did the burn-off with a heaping chimney of KBB. Glad I did because once the kettle got good and hot it definitely was burning off something. Given it was in the 20's most of the weekend and my hoses are put away for the season I took it to the coin auto wash and blasted it out with the warm soapy water and scrubbed with a Brillo as best I could while I had feeling in my fingers. The coin wash also did a nice job stripping the dirt and mold from the wooden handle.

I replaced the charcoal and cooking grates and used it Sunday for the overflow of wings for our Super Bowl gathering. It worked well and look forward to using it again -- maybe as early as this weekend -- even if only for a couple of burgers. Sorry I did not get updated pictures, but will as part of the next cook.

Protocol question -- would the Weber elite / purists / god's shun me for life if I were to add a thermometer to the lid? Once the hole is drilled there is no going back. Is there a way to monitor the temperature without spoiling the original look of this grill? Suggestions would be appreciated.
 
GMcMaster said:
I took it to the coin auto wash and blasted it out with the warm soapy water and scrubbed with a Brillo as best I could while I had feeling in my fingers. The coin wash also did a nice job stripping the dirt and mold from the wooden handle.
Click to expand...

Would have loved to have seen the look on the faces of people around you... lol

You could always drop a long thermometer through the lid vent opening or use a Maverick (et-732) as alternatives to drilling the lid.
Me, I just drilled my lid yesterday to install THIS thermometer. Granted, my lid is a 2010 so no one would think it's sacrilegious
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

 

Back
Top