A little bitter sweet on the WSM, so far anyways. BUT, I have yet to cook on it, and that is ultimately what matters.
So I get home and commence to put the WSM 22" together. Easy stuff. BUT, the mid section was way out of spec. The lid was perfectly round. I fooled around with it for hours making sure the Mid section was as close to 'perfectly' round as possible. Tape measure, yard sticks and all. It appears the lip that accepts the lid is not stamped at the correct angle. Before I do anything drastic, I call Weber. Without hesitation, "Mary" in customer service says "We'll get a new mid section out ASAP, probably about a week, due to current backorder. We'll ship next day priority"
So now, I figure "what the heck, new one on the way" and start modifying the lip angle with a pair of padded pliers. I start slow, and about every half inch, all the way around, I start to pry the lip outward. So i'm moving it out about a 1/16th of inch outward each 'pry'. Still a NO GO. I go around again, whamo, lid slides in, but it is now FUSED to the mid section. I manage to pry the lid off, the commence another go around, Gently prying around the perimeter one more time, the lid fits in with a solid "whoosh" sound. During all this, I can see porcelain dust falling from the lip of the mid section. No chunks or chips, just a fine dust. But the lip feels rough to the touch, the lid is nice and snug.
So bottom line. Weber made it right. New mid section on the way. I have a dinged up "new' smoker after about 2.5 hours if fiddlin' around. I just figure for $400, they should make sure the pieces fit. The proof will be when I fire this bad boy up. Stay tuned for initial launch sequence this weekend.
Thanks all for letting me vent.
So I get home and commence to put the WSM 22" together. Easy stuff. BUT, the mid section was way out of spec. The lid was perfectly round. I fooled around with it for hours making sure the Mid section was as close to 'perfectly' round as possible. Tape measure, yard sticks and all. It appears the lip that accepts the lid is not stamped at the correct angle. Before I do anything drastic, I call Weber. Without hesitation, "Mary" in customer service says "We'll get a new mid section out ASAP, probably about a week, due to current backorder. We'll ship next day priority"
So now, I figure "what the heck, new one on the way" and start modifying the lip angle with a pair of padded pliers. I start slow, and about every half inch, all the way around, I start to pry the lip outward. So i'm moving it out about a 1/16th of inch outward each 'pry'. Still a NO GO. I go around again, whamo, lid slides in, but it is now FUSED to the mid section. I manage to pry the lid off, the commence another go around, Gently prying around the perimeter one more time, the lid fits in with a solid "whoosh" sound. During all this, I can see porcelain dust falling from the lip of the mid section. No chunks or chips, just a fine dust. But the lip feels rough to the touch, the lid is nice and snug.
So bottom line. Weber made it right. New mid section on the way. I have a dinged up "new' smoker after about 2.5 hours if fiddlin' around. I just figure for $400, they should make sure the pieces fit. The proof will be when I fire this bad boy up. Stay tuned for initial launch sequence this weekend.
Thanks all for letting me vent.
