How old is your WSM?


 
R

Russell McNeely

TVWBB Wizard
Just curious to know what the typical life span of the WSM is? I have an 18.5" that I bought in 2010. How old is yours? How long does one go before replacing it?
 
My 18 is a 2002 model. Its seen a lot of cooks and its still goin strong, there's no reason to replace it. My only problem with it is a couple of my bottom vents have loosened.
 
Think I got mine in 2009 and it sits out side year around with no cover in the blazing heat of Central California and looks and runs just like new.
 
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Dang Russell, it's about time you checked back in here! :)
My 18" was purchased used in 2009, it's a 2001 model, and still in great shape after 17 years of life.
 
Bob Correll said:
Dang Russell, it's about time you checked back in here! :)
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Hey Bob its great to hear from you! I've been missing this place :). I think mine just needs a little cleaning. Hasn't been used in several months. I've mostly just been grilling on the kettle. Thinking about firing it up for "smoke day" though. I've let my water pan get pretty nasty due to just not cleaning it after use. May just replace it with the Brinkman pan.

A couple weeks ago I drove through St. Louis on the way to an out-of-state school trip with my kids and it made me think of you. Hope all is well.
 
Russell McNeely said:
A couple weeks ago I drove through St. Louis on the way to an out-of-state school trip with my kids and it made me think of you. Hope all is well.
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Wish I would have known, you could've made a rest stop here.
All good with us, hope the same for you and yours.
Hoping you join us on smoke day!
 
My WSM 14.5 is about 5 years old. My kettle is from 1979. I expect both of them will outlive me.
 
08. No grommet or Weber hood thermo and no deeper water bowl.
The bottom vents are trashed, but it still runs like a champ at 275, and I can shut it down and still save fuel for the next go around.:wsm:

Tim
 
Bought mine in 2005. But in 2008, I built a 13' high covered back porch that it lives under. Prior to that I kept it under the Weber cover. With no weather affecting it under the porch, it may last longer than me!!!!!
 
I'd say mine is 15-17 years old. I've been on this forum since 2000 but I was cooking on a highly modified Brinkmann when I first joined. I had an 18" Weber kettle that was over 30 years old when I scrapped it due to a rusted-out leg socket.
 
Reading these posts, makes me wonder how I read this forum for so long without registering to post :)

I bought my WSM in late 2002, because of this site. Just always been a lurker.
 
Bought mine in 2002, original grates and rusty bolts. Mods include a notch for the thermometer and a Cajun Bandit door and latch. Occasionally a 22” kettle lid on top when its raining here—
 
Mine is from 2007 and sits outdoors, with the original fitted cover (which is starting to get a bit crackly / brittle) in Wisconsin - where we probably have some of the largest extreme temperature swings of anywhere on the globe.

The GRATES were starting to rust and had crud-buildup that was sticking to the rust - so, I replaced 'em with the Stainless Grates last year.

Cut a small slot in the mid section for probes for my relatively new Thermoworks Smoke dual-probe and the small amount of grease-buildup around the slot is protecting the metal. (Mine was from the "Pre-Grommet" era)

Might have to get a new cover or make a cart with casters, so that I can roll it into the garage when not using it, but not an immediate concern.

Everything else is still fine / works great - I expect it to last for MANY more years (which is why "invested" in a WSM instead of an ECB...)
 
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I have an 18" 2006 that I bought a month ago. I would like to replace the grates. Where can I find the stainless top and bottom grates? Also, is the coal grate the same size as the newer models? Thanks!

It works great and I have already replaced the door with the cajun door, and added a thermo at top grate level.

Any help with the previous questions is appreciated.
 
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