Ash catcher

[Rich Dahl]

New guy here with a question.
I live in Arizona in the mountains near Prescott and we experienced a total tragedy yesterday when 19 hotshot firefighters were killed fighting a fire about twenty miles from here. We have been in a drought for many years and the whole area is tender dry.
This got me to thinking about my OTS and the hot ashes that drop out from underneath as I’m cooking and the very unpredictable winds we have here. I never use it if there are any winds but sometimes they come up unexpectedly.
So my question is can an OTG ash catcher be retrofitted to an OTS, I know it’s not a lot but it would make feel a whole lot safer if I could add one.Or if anyone has any other ideas.

Thanks

Rich

 

[Clark "Harbormaster" Hodgson]

You can retrofit it to a OTG if you can get the parts, and availability depends on the age of your OTS.
From what I understand, you can no longer get the mounting bracket for the older style sweep assembly (has the thumbscrew).
You can still do the retro, you just need to be creative.

 

[Don Fry]

I am actually going through this right now installing one of the new ash rings onto an older Performer but the same basic information applies. Here is a picture of the new style ring on the left and the old style ring on the right. The new style is what you will be mounting. As you can see, the three tabs are what mount into the legs where they come together with the bowl.

The newer grills (post 1999) aligned the legs so that the slots would line up with the tabs on the new style ring. The older legs such as on the Performer I am currently restoring may or may not line up. In my case, two of the three legs seem to be OK, but the third is not completely oriented as I need it. Therefore, I am going to have to do a little bit of bending and tinkering to get it to fit. I also plan to use hose clamps to hold them in place since the fit it not going to be 100%. I have seen write ups online where some people have had to cut a slot in the legs to get them to mount, but that is not necessary in my case. There is quite a bit of info and pictures available if you search around on this site and others. I only needed the ring and it currently costs $14.90 from Weber direct. Total price was $23.43 shipped.

 

[Rich Dahl]

You can retrofit it to a OTG if you can get the parts, and availability depends on the age of your OTS.
From what I understand, you can no longer get the mounting bracket for the older style sweep assembly (has the thumbscrew).
You can still do the retro, you just need to be creative.

Thanks for the reply, it’s odd I just bought this OTS and it has the old style sweep assembly so it’s going to be somewhat of a challenge.

I think I’ll just give this one to my son (he doesn’t live in a fire area) and buy a OTG, I figure by the time I hunt down the parts and pay for them and the shipping it will cost as much if not more than converting the other one. I got the OTS on CL new in the box for $40 so I’m not out that much. That will make my son very happy and me feel a lot safer.


Rich

 

[Don Fry]

Thanks for the reply, it’s odd I just bought this OTS and it has the old style sweep assembly so it’s going to be somewhat of a challenge.

I think I’ll just give this one to my son (he doesn’t live in a fire area) and buy a OTG, I figure by the time I hunt down the parts and pay for them and the shipping it will cost as much if not more than converting the other one. I got the OTS on CL new in the box for $40 so I’m not out that much. That will make my son very happy and me feel a lot safer.


Rich

Can't say that I disagree with your decision to not retrofit but want to make sure you know that the old style sweep assembly doesn't matter as far as conversion goes. The handle aligns with the slot on the new ring. The only time the old style assembly has an impact is if you have something like an older Performer that already had an ash pan installed since the old assembly included an additional bar that was added at the bottom to old the ash ring in place. This is the part that rusted out on mine. I am simply cutting off the ends of it and leaving it there until the sweepers need to be replaced in the future.

 

[Rich Dahl]

Can't say that I disagree with your decision to not retrofit but want to make sure you know that the old style sweep assembly doesn't matter as far as conversion goes. The handle aligns with the slot on the new ring. The only time the old style assembly has an impact is if you have something like an older Performer that already had an ash pan installed since the old assembly included an additional bar that was added at the bottom to old the ash ring in place. This is the part that rusted out on mine. I am simply cutting off the ends of it and leaving it there until the sweepers need to be replaced in the future.

Don,

Thanks for the information, now that I’ve been on the forum and snooping around a little I might try and find a used Performer and restore it, I like the idea of the work area and storage.
I really enjoyed rebuilding my 95 Genesis 1000 and it came out looking like new. I’ve seen some of the nice work the folks on here have done and being retired I’ve got time for the hunt.

Rich

 

[colin.p]

Uh-oh, you have been on here too long. You are now infected with KAD (kettle acquisition disorder). No amount of scrubbing can help you now.

 

[Rich Dahl]

Uh-oh, you have been on here too long. You are now infected with KAD (kettle acquisition disorder). No amount of scrubbing can help you now.

OMG I was hoping it wasn’t true! I have three Weber’s now and an empty cement patio slab big enough to park a semi. I’ve always been an EBay guy, now since I’ve been on this forum for the first time in my life I’m checking the Prescott and Phoenix Craig lists every day for WEBERS.
The more I learn about Weber’s the more of them I want

I just hope someday they find a cure.

But I’m sure my loving and understanding wife will hit me upside the head with a kettle top and bring me to my senses if I go too far.


Rich