Help Identifying

[Mark.Hollingsworth]

Hello, I picked this up over the weekend for $5. Based on the damper design, I believe it to be a 1978 model but I cannot figure out if this is a black kettle that has faded or if it some other color. It does not seem to match any of the known listed colors for the 1978 year. Any thoughts would be appreciated. Thank you.

Screenshot_20191116-115207 by Mark Hollingsworth, on Flickr

IMG_20191116_101102 by Mark Hollingsworth, on Flickr

IMG_20191118_074329 by Mark Hollingsworth, on Flickr

 

[Richard in NS]

Mark, not sure about the original color but here is a link to a video by Kevin Koleman at Weber saying his is faded and it looks like yours.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VfdPcOSmZmw

This link to the Weber Kettle Club might help verify the year even more.

http://weberkettleclub.com/determine-age-of-old-grill/

Hope this helps. Richard.

 

[Jon Tofte]

I believe you have a nicely faded black kettle. If you “wax” it with Pam spray it might surprise you how much darker it will look. Of course, that will only last a while and you Kettle will feel a little greasy! Actually, I think the natural fade has its own beauty.

Our Weber Kettle Club people have a nickname for these I don’t remember. Something like “faded warrior.”

 

[Bill - MO]

You have a weathered warrior aka faded black kettle. I believe I have been told that they never made a metal bowl handle (MBH) grey/gray kettle. It is a solid pick up for $5 even if it was just for parts alone. I would personally clean it, use it, and if necessary take parts from it. Evaporust will work wonders on the triangle. It also works great on the kettle, but Evaporust is expensive to where it might not be worth it. I would scrape all the gunk off, clean it with dish soap and 0000 steel wool, and use some cooking oil on the bare metal prior to lighting it up to season the metal.

Sometimes the weathered warriors can be a cool looking kettle depending on how it fades over the years.

 

[Timothy F. Lewis]

Great find! Five bucks is a steal! I had one of those until I got my (pre)performer. At that point I gave it to my wife’s niece, they used it for ten years until her husband got a performer! The handles failed, at some point, but, it made a lot of people many feasts! Clean it up and use it!

 

[Mark.Hollingsworth]

Thanks for the input from everyone. I plan to clean it up and use it. The faded black look has really grown on me. Between this and a 1971 Coleman lantern I picked up at a thrift store, it looks like my winter projects are lining up.

 

[Stefan H]

I found one of these faded ones too. With an old pallet, some gas grill parts and some left over corrugated steel I converted that one into a "ratrod" style kettle: