Door


 
That said if you get tired of playing with the old door, replace it with one of the stainless steel replacements from cajun bandit instead of getting another from Weber.
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I am with r benash on this one. I have had My 22.5" WSM for almost a year now, I read so much here of people having the same door issue (many worse), that I ordered the Cajun Bandit door before my WSM even arrived !... My original door looked just like yours, I think I got one smoke in before the new door arrived, and as others have noted, the door gaps had no real noticable affect on the actual cook!, but as being picky as I am, I know I could not have lived with the OE door just from its visual aspect. It would just bug me regardless!
The WSM is such a beautiful machine when assembled new, but an ill fitting door, even though it has little affect on good function, (IMHO) seems to take a little away from that thrill !...
 
Originally posted by r benash:
Like others mention gaps on the door really doesn't have any effect. The photo you posted, gaps really don't look all that bad to me
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I think mine was worse and I used it for several years and it really didn't affect my cooks IMHO. I did end up straightening mine though just because it bugged me.

That said if you get tired of playing with the old door, replace it with one of the stainless steel replacements from cajun bandit instead of getting another from Weber.

Have one on mine for over a year. They fit tight/tighter and are better built IMHO. The have the replacements for the 22 inch, pre and post 2009 18 inch models. Not priced so bad either.

Replacement Doors

Again, not a requirement per se - but a nice piece of WSM "jewelry"
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I haven't tried the Cajun Bandit, but I did see one post where it didn't properly fit the person's WSM and because it was SS, it couldn't be adjusted. Feel free to try (still not sure why) but realize you might have to send it back for a replacement.

Rich
 
What kills me is that they STILL have this issue.. it's like all the prototypes. They need to get a master model maker on it and properly make the tool to bang them out.

it's a compound radius. you have the lower portion which is basically stable, then the upper half has to flatten out a bit and match the final radius of the smoker when matching. it's a complex shape that needs a true model maker to create. not a computer....
 
i mean when match when it's latched.. drawn in by the knob's pawl... anyway, it's like they jsut gave up on it.
 
Doesn't it seem that most of the posted door fit problems involve the 22" WSM? On my 18" wsm, I didn't need to bend it by much and the fit is near perfect.

Like others have said, I like to use the vents for temp adjustment, and if I'm using lump, you can bet I'm gonna save what's left at the end of a cook instead of letting it burn.
 
You are 100% correct. The 18" door was tooled by a gentleman who sanded a piece of hardwood, made a few doors, checked fit, sanded, made a few, sanded... Until it fit correctly. That wasn't done on the 22".

Take a nice fitting 18 door and lay it next to a 22.. The stand them next to each other. You'll notice the subtleties of the 18. Sure an 18 door may get an odd bend that you can reform it over the edge of a smooth picnic table. The 22"? It'll never fit as well.
 
Mike, any idea why they changed the design of the door opening on the 22", replacing the square corners at the top with rounded corners? I've wondered if that's to address the poor fit of the door? If you can't make the door fit correctly at the top left/right corners of the opening, you just decrease the size of the opening in that area.

Regards,
Chris
 
After reading this thread and trying to fix my door one last time I gave in and ordered the new door from Cajun Bandit. It fits like a glove! I didn't realize how bad the fit was until I switched the door and saw no gap at all. Took all of two seconds to change the handle. Can't wait to try it out this weekend!
 
The primary reason for the radius in the corner would be to avoid having the metal tear in the corner.

A standard efficient way to fabricate this is to punch/cut the holes and square opening. Then the sheet is rolled into a cylinder. When rolling it and you get to that large opening, the long vertical edge wants to keep going straight. You can experiment at home with a soda can (don't cut yourself!)

So because those edges want to keep going straight while the metal above and below curve around, there is a tendency for the metal to rip in those sharp corners. That's alleviated by having a generous radius in the corners.

It's hard to describe all that, but that's it. I was going to sketch that if you like. I do better with a visual.

I would guess that a large radius, thus allowing the door to cover it, would just be a bonus. I just don't understand how they haven't continued to properly fit the door after all this time.
 
That said if you get tired of playing with the old door, replace it with one of the stainless steel replacements from cajun bandit instead of getting another from Weber.
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It appears from the photos that I've seen that the Cajun Bandit door doesn't seem to have the tabs at the bottom of the door that keep the door hanging onto the smoker.

On my 22", there was a little gap visible at the top corners, but the fit seemed to be pretty good around the door opening. For the first few uses, there was a lot of smoke coming from the center section/lid interface, despite a good fit, but I never noticed any smoke coming from the door. The interface between sections seem to be sealing up with use.
 
Update

I've contacted Weber customer service and they are sending out a replacement door. That is great of them to do. I'm afraid to over bend the current door and having it warped even worse. Hopefully the replacement door comes better, if not, I'll go all out in bending it. I've purchased foil tape as well. If the bending doesn't work completely for me, I'll foil some aluminum with this tape. Thanks for help.
 
I picked up a 2006 18.5" last night and that door seems to fit A LOT better, practically perfect. The hinge isn't great but it fits superb.
 
Originally posted by Mike Durso:
Hey Luis.. are you able to take nice pics comparing the 2? the profiles and the compound curves?
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Sure I'll get some pics of the 18.5"

Weber sent me out a replacement door. It came in minutes ago. I put it on and it fits nearly perfect. Good job of them for taking care of me.
 
Luis, I was looking for pics of the 18.5 and the 22 1/2 doors from the front and side and top and bottom so that everyone can see the two and their differences. I'd do it if i had a 22.5. Sure.. create a product that generates a ton of money for them and they couldn't get me a lousy smoker.
 
Originally posted by Mike Durso:
Luis, I was looking for pics of the 18.5 and the 22 1/2 doors from the front and side and top and bottom so that everyone can see the two and their differences. I'd do it if i had a 22.5. Sure.. create a product that generates a ton of money for them and they couldn't get me a lousy smoker.
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Hey Mike, I'll try to get these pics later this afternoon for you. However let me know exactly how? You just want the doors? The doors on the wsm or the doors by itself?
 
This is really for everyone else so they can see the differences. So front view, side view top view of the doors by themselves. you can really see the differences in the shape of the 18 and the 22.

thanks..
 
Originally posted by Luis L.:
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Mike Durso:
Hey Luis.. are you able to take nice pics comparing the 2? the profiles and the compound curves?
Click to expand...

Sure I'll get some pics of the 18.5"

Weber sent me out a replacement door. It came in minutes ago. I put it on and it fits nearly perfect. Good job of them for taking care of me. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

That's great, Luis. Do you think they custom bent one for you?
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I'll look forward to your pics -- it's just curiosity for me, but fun to know.

Rich
 
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