OTS


 
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KenA

TVWBB Member
Has anyone had a problem with the ash sweeper/bottom vent working loose over a few cooks? It seems that my sweepers keep loosening up over a few uses and stop sealing well enough to regulate temp properly, not to mention incomplete cleaning of the ashes.

I tightened up the assembly pretty damn firmly. Am I going to have to "gorilla" tighten them to keep it tight?

Thanks
 
I've never had a problem with one working loose. I have the opposite problem - after time, the thumbscrew starts to rust and I end up having to cut off the handle so I can replace the cleaning system. I've bought some stainless steel thumbscrews to see if that will help.

If your screw is loose - figuratively speaking - I guess you could try some lock-tite to see if that will help hold it in place.

When you installed the OT system, did you have to press down on the center of the blades to get the big nut below the bottom of the grill to where you could insert the cleaning rod? That tension seems to keep the blades flush tot he bottom of the grill.

I did have a piece of lump get under a blade once and it bent the blade upward so that it wouldn't clean, so I had to try to disassemble the OT system to bend the blade back but - you guessed it - the screw was rusted and I had to cut the cleaning rod off and replace the whole shebang.

Pat
 
The thumbscrew doesn't really effect the cleaning blades, it's just to hold the handle in place. The handle, in turn, keeps the cleaning blades tight. But Pat is correct, sometimes a bit of charcoal can get under a blade and bend it up a bit and the best way to deal with that is to disassemble the system, bend the blades back into shape and put it all back together.

Bill
 
Thanks for the replies.

You are right that the screw holds the handle only. It seems that maybe when I was cleaning or assemblimg, that a washer may have gone missing. It is almost like there is too much room between handle and kettle. Even with handle installed, it doesn't look to pull the blades down firmly.

I will do further cleaning and investigate better. Thanks all!

PS. This is a replacement for one of my earlier OTS. Bought around 2006 or so I think. Came with the cheaper grill grate.
 
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