New WSM 22.5 lid won't sit correctly


 
Jeff - Canada

Jeff - Canada

New member
Just unboxed and assembled my 22.5 WSM Christmas gift and all went smoothly until the last step to place the top lid on the middle section. Would not sit even with some force and there's about an 1/8-1/4 inch overlap on one section of the lid.

I, and my two sons, have been using a measuring stick and tape to check the roundness of the center section and lid. The center section sits in the charcoal bowl very easily, but even when the top of the center piece measures true round, the lid section cannot even be forced in by us three big guys...

I also brought in the lid from my 22.5 Weber kettle and it fits perfectly over the top lip of the center section so it appears the issue rests with the top lid not fitting into the top of the center section.

I'm sitting here disgusted as I have my new Lavalock gasket kit, Unknown BBQ Hinge, Home Depot 7" Side Handles, extra Weber charcoal grate, four custom-made vent handles and three casters ready to get everything set up and get a few practice runs in before New Year's Eve's Prime Rib Roast.

I ordered the unit at my local Home Depot and it was shipped to the store by UPS. I closely looked at the box when I picked it up two weeks ago and not a blemish to indicate any serious drop to cause the trueness issue. Looks like the SN points to an Oct manufacture time and wondering if anyone else has had a similar issue with a newer 22.5 model.

Just called Weber Support (Canada) and they are closed until the 27th. I want to try Weber contact first as I was waiting for weeks for the 22.5 to become available at HD and would hope that a new lid could be shipped quicker than having to box up and return the full unit back to HD and wait for a new unit to be shipped.

I've read some postings regarding the need to "barrel hug" the section and bring it back true, but this does not seem to be working even in very small increments. Any other thoughts while I wait for support to open? I was even thinking of trying a little oil/margarine, but wanted to keep the rim clean for applying the gasket seal.

Any thoughts or comments greatly appreciated.

Merry Christmas!

Jeff
 
First off, Merry Christmas! I'm sorry you're having this problem.

I think you've diagnosed it correctly, it sounds like the middle cooking section is fine and your lid is out of specs. A replacement should fix the problem. I think a new lid should arrive faster than a whole new cooker.

I wouldn't try to jam it into place, you might have a hard time getting it out! It's up to you whether you cook on it before you receive a replacement part, you could use some foil to create a gasket to fill the gap, but maybe you should just wait and enjoy the cooker working correctly in all its glory with a properly fitting lid.

Good luck!
Chris
 
Yea my WSM's got knocked over a few times and the lids got slightly out of round.
Your kettle lid sits over the mid section compared to the WSM lid sliding in so that's not a good way to determine true round.
Put your WSM lid over the kettle bowl and find the high spot.
Don't try to bear hug it, but turn it sideways on a piece of wood or carpet and push down on the high spot.
Go slow and check it after every adjustment.
 
Yup it bends EASY.
Drop it...its out of round.

You can hold lid up with one hand by handle....strike high side hard with hand....will bend it. I usually just hold it by handle and swing against wood post of deck railing
 
Trace the lid onto some paper or cardboard or even chalk on sidewalk. Easy to see how out of round it may be. Test the other sections too. You may be able to squeeze the lid into shape but...
First test to see which pieces are perfect and which are not. I think you know already.
 
Thanks for all the great tips...

I did the paper trace and the two rings overlapped almost perfectly so no way I could see the lid fitting inside the center section. At the end of the day, I returned the 22.5 to HD and purchased the 18.5 which they stock in store. Having to wait another 2-3 weeks for shipping was too much as we have a family cook planned for New Year's Day for the Canada-Russia Junior Hockey game. Two hometown guys (Mercer and Newhook) playing and very excited.

Got all my mods done and I let the gasket install sit for 24 hours. I fired it up 4 hours ago with 1/2 basket of Kingsford and 18 pre-lit using the Minion method and it's been sitting between 225 and 250 since the first half hour. No meat cooking as we are heading out for the night, but going to let it ride to see the iGrill graph in the morning.

Still very happy with the purchase and actually thinking the 18.5 temperature might be easier to control especially here in the North Atlantic during Newfoundland's windy winters.

Been reading postings on the TVWBB forums for months and read all I can about techniques and recipes. Great site Chris and thanks for putting in all the time and hard work to make starting off easier for rookie BBQ guys like me.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year all...

Jeff
 
Glad it is working out for you. I have the 18 and the size is perfect for the size of my smokes. 2-4 pork butts, or 4 racks of ribs, or a turkey. Easy to control the temp and uses less fuel than the bigger one. I also have a 14.5 so I can have lots of options.
 
You're going to love that 18.5. Living where you do it might be a good idea to build a wind break for your smoker. The wind can play havoc with the WSM of any size and you get some wind up there. NAS Argentia is my reference point for that.
 
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