Neighbor knocked over the WSM - warped it....what can I do?


 
Christopher H

Christopher H

TVWBB Fan
So I have a little situation. I was out of town as well as my folks. I keep my smoker at their house since my apartment doesn't allow charcoal and I'm 2nd story. The smoker sits on a little brick paver area at the bottom of the deck stairs. While we were out of town my parents had the neighbor's kid come over and mow our lawn. Well....next time I went to use my WSM I noticed the door was rotated about 70 degrees from where it always is. When I went to use it I also noticed the lid has less of a circular shape and little ovular shape now.

Needless to say I am frustrated. When I went to use the lid I have to rotate it to a certain spot for it to fit "properly." It's almost like I have to "puzzle piece" it onto the mid section. It's not super warped but do I say something to the kids parents? Do I let it go? Do I leave the WSM as is or do I try to somehow bend it back? If so, how?

It hurts even more knowing I JUST purchased this brand new in May. Now it's 3 months old and damaged. I don't have pics and I don't think pics would do justice but I could try later tonight when I stop by there.

Help TVWBB!!
 
You know , as frustrating as it is , I don't think you do yourself any good if you complain about the damage. They are letting you keep your smoker there and you kind of just have to grin and bear it IMO
I bet if you study the lid you'll be able to figure out how to bend it round again....and now that I think on it....how much more likely is it that the middle section is what got egg shaped. The lid is much more rigid than the mid section. I would look at the middle parts and just bend it back into roundness. Just a thought..... It's actually fairly easy to do. I used to have to do it to my old brinkmann bullet occasionally .
once you figure out which way the egg shape goes you can just lay the middle on the grass or a smooth surface and just lean on it til it rounds out. Know what um sayin?
 
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Take a tape and measure across the open end of the lid and as Frank mentioned, also measure across both the top and bottom of the mid-section. Then just give the section(s) a gentle squeeze and measure again. Keep repeating until the measurements are the same. I had a similar problem - I put a towel on the ground and layed the mid-section with the long measurement vertical. Then pushed down and measured again. Start out with a gentle push and increase as needed.
 
Just bend it back.
I bought my 22.5" WSM last year, from Cabela's, as a damaged floor model. Looks like it was assembled, and then dropped from a shelf 4 ft up. I bent it back, and touched it up with some high-heat black paint. Good as new again.
 
Just don't squish it too hard. The porcelain can crack.

You don't have anything to gain by saying anything. Maybe just an assumption the kid did it, could be any number of reasons. But what's done it done.
 
The gentle hug method is the way to go on the lid. Measure first and just supply very gentle pressure. The lid to me seems flimsier than the body when mine was slightly out of round.

As far as the kid, I probably couldn't even talk to him without snapping. But there is no way to prove it was him.
 
I may be going against the flow here, but I think I might say something to the kid, or have your folks say something to the kids parents.

Of course, I'm coming at it from the perspective of a parent who wants to his kids to be honest and responsible etc. If it were my kid and she either knocked over the neighbor's grill/smoker or found it that way when she went to cut the grass and tried to set it back up, I would want her to tell the neighbor (or at least tell me) what happened and (if appropriate) apologize. Of course my kids aren't old enough to be in the yard while the lawn mower is running, much less operate it!

Really I suppose it depends on how old the neighbor's kid is. If they are young enough, this could be a good opportunity to teach her something (I say good, because it doesn't sound like too much damage was done and no one was hurt). Of course if they are that young, it might be better to say something to the parents then talk to the kid with them.

At the same time it depends on your relationship with the neighbor and their kid. If you don't know them at all (or even that well) but your folks do, then maybe they should be the ones to bring it up... especially since the WSM was on their property.

Just my $0.02! Good luck!

The other variable is timing. If it has been like a month since you were gone then maybe it's too late. But if you just got back Monday and found the warped WSM today, then maybe say something next time you see them. Heck the kid might have told the parents and they forgot to tell your folks.
 
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Use the tape measure. It bends really easy so be careful. Don't think I have ever gotten a new WSM that didn't need bending right out of the box.
 
Are we assuming the kid knocked it over or do we know for sure?

Maybe an animal did it, some other neighborhood kids goofing around sitting on the stairs having a cigarette because they know the owners are out of town, a prowler... I'm in a pretty quiet suburb of Chicago and some people LOCK UP their grills with heavy cables and padlocks. All that could happen in my neighborhood.

You mention it's on on pavers, is it even close to the grass being cut or lawn mower storage?

Since you say the kid did knock it over, how do you know that he did? Did he tell someone or did someone saw they saw him and pick it up? Or did they see him picking it up and assume he knocked it over?

But if he did tell someone, who did he tell and what was said? Did your parents tell him, "ok, no big deal," or anything else? Because at that point, they have signed off your right to say anything.

Maybe no one realized there was anything wrong with it, especially if there is nothing visually wrong with it. I bet if someone in my family knocked over my WSM, they wouldn't stop and think, wow... this may be out of round. For all they know, "that's how it's supposed to go together."
 
Christopher - can you update us on straightening your WSM? Have you done anything, what and how, etc..?

As far as the "blame game", does it really matter at this point? I cannot see anything good coming from it. Just straighten it out and move on. If it happens again, maybe you will need to find somewhere else to keep it.
 
jfortson said:
Christopher - can you update us on straightening your WSM? Have you done anything, what and how, etc..?

As far as the "blame game", does it really matter at this point? I cannot see anything good coming from it. Just straighten it out and move on. If it happens again, maybe you will need to find somewhere else to keep it.
Click to expand...

I haven't been able to get over there and try it yet unfortunately.
 
Yeah, a tape measure and a gentle bear hug to the center piece should get her back in round.

Oh, and as someone in another thread said, if it is used, don't try to give it the bear hug wearing a white t-shirt.
 
I put the mid section on it's side in the grass and gave it a little pressure and it looks like I'm back in mostly fitting business!
 
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