Hinge for 26?


 
B

Bill W San Diego

TVWBB Super Fan
I ordered a 26 and now I'm wondering if one of those ss lid Hinges they put on a WSM and a 22" kettle would work well for the 26. Has anyone of you folks with a 26 used this mod and if so what do you think? If you have a 26 have you thought about applying the Hinge? My biggest fear is the Hinge would make my 26 to top heavy and it could fall over along with a hot load of charcoal and my dinner.

Thanks
Bill
 
I don't know if the curvature of the hinge will match that of the 26er, but the modern 26" kettle comes with a lid bale so you don't really need a hinge to hold the lid up.
 
Just email Jason at "Unknown BBQ" if he does not have one I bet you he will make one up for you.
He was great when I was working on my set up.
No financial interest in this just promoting the excellent service I got from them!
I needed to tweak mine just a bit but, it works smooth as glass!
OGlenn makes a good point though, if they have a bale now, there's not as much reason for the upgrade.
Of course......if you WANT to, why not!?
I did mine to fix a table design flaw, when I did my double kettle carriage I neglected to take lid care for the smaller one into consideration, simple oversight. I had not thought too much about how much the smaller one would get used when it's just my wife and I.
 
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Bill, I must have been unclear, the hinge installed this afternoon is on my 18.5, my 22 is stock fittings. Sorry for any confusion. (See profile picture)
If it's doable, Jason will fix you up. He has been very patient with a guy who has a hard time hitting the floor with a hammer.
As far as my set up, this thing is serious metal! Solid as Sears! I am ready to fire this rascal up, I have family coming in a few weeks and a big feast much be done! PM me and I can send pictures, via email, if you want.
 
Bill W San Diego said:
Thanks Timothy I'll sent Jason a email. Do you find your 26 top heavy and is it easy to tip?

Thanks
Bill
Click to expand...

I've got a 2009 26" kettle and it does feel kind of top heavy overall. I've never tipped it over, but it does feel wobbly and that's why some guys are retrofitting 26" kettles to the Ranch kettle leg structure. That project is a little overkill/ambitious for me, but it looks cool.
 
Thanks for the input Chris. A project like retrofitting the 26 is way out of my league, like Timothy, I can't hit the floor with a hammer either.
Bill
 
I actually ordered the 22" kettle hinge for my 22 WSM accidentally. Instead of sending it back, I flattened out the bottom 22 Kettle hinge by pushing on in on concrete and mounted it perfectly yesterday on my 26.
( I also installed the correct hinge on my 22 WSM)

Matt
 
Thanks Enrico for taking the time to respond. To answerer your question, I don't need a lid hinge and your correct there is a perfect support, but and there's always a but, I'm just looking for information. Having never owned a 26 I'm sure there is some sort of learning curve I will go through and with the help from folks like you and others, that curve will be a short one.

Thanks again
Bill
 
The downside, for me, would be losing the ability to turn the lid to reposition the vent, or to cock the lid open, if so desired.
 
Thanks Bob and Jerry for your input. Great point, counter point. As Bob said the lid for the 26 is a beast and for an old guy it's somewhat difficult to handle. Jerry I noticed on your YouTube vid the hinge worked very well and would make handling the beast much easier. Thanks again to both of you.

Bill
 
I just used the newly installed hinge last night, it was pretty windy. I had a little concern about that but, it didn't end up any trouble after all. If it was really windy I might need to hang on a little.
 
I know that they (Unknown BBQ) have a hinge that fits the 26 Kettle - if you look at the videos for the FireButler, they have it installed on theirs.

When I build my cart, I will be using a hinge because I will be dropping the Kettle into a 24" round cutout. With the quick release, there no reason not to.





BD
 
Thanks to all who replied to my post. I ordered a Hinge for my 26 from Jason at Unknown BBQ and installed it Monday. The installation is straight forward and simple to do. YouTube has a good vid on the installation. After cooking on the 26 for the last three nights I'm very happy with the 26 and the Hinge. The Hinge eliminates the weight of the lid making handling the beast easy. I hope this helps someone thinking of doing this mod.

Bill
 
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