Rare Weber Kettle. Pre-1960?


 

AEverding

New member
I was referred to this site by a Weber enthusiast. I picked up a grill on the side of the road this week and I need some help identifying what I'm dealing with.
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The kettle is 22.5". It looks vintage so I started doing some research. The vent dampers don't have a date stamp code. The stamp doesn't say Arlington Heights or Palatine like most do, it say Wood Dale, IL. I tried googling for other people with grills manufactured in Wood Dale but didn't find any. I did find an article that said that Weber moved from Wood Dale to Arlington Heights after 1960, but I'm not sure how soon after: http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1993-02-14/news/9303181949_1_weber-bros-weber-grill-mr-stephen.
http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/703/photo15wp.jpg

The other thing about this grill that I thought was unique is the "demo' that is stamped on the lid. I don't know what to make of it but it definitely makes me more curious.
http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/839/photo16ow.jpg/

Can anyone share any knowledge about what I'm dealing with here? Is this grill rare or are there a number of these in circulation? Thanks!
 
I've never seen a Wood Dale era 22.5 with the vent off to the side of the lid handle. Most examples had them in front of the handle like the 18.5's. So many variations, so many new discoveries everyday.
 
I've never seen a Wood Dale era 22.5 with the vent off to the side of the lid handle. Most examples had them in front of the handle like the 18.5's. So many variations, so many new discoveries everyday.

Interesting. Maybe it was a "demo" unit that never made it into production. That could explain the vent being in a different spot then others you've seen from this era.
 
Back in the day, cooking demos were one of the key ways Weber promoted their products. They cooked in front of department stores, banks, hardware stores, you name it, to get the kettle in front of potential customers and to give them a tasty sample of what it could produce. I suspect the "Demo" stencil was applied for such a purpose, like "this unit is not for sale, it's for demo purposes only".

There are some really interesting demo stories on the Weber Nation "Weber Time Machine" page, written by Mike Kempster, Sr. Look for the "Weber Stories" as you scroll down the page...there are 5 stories.

Regards,
Chris
 
Just a quick update for those of you interested. I've been emailing with one of the VP's at Weber and he said it's from the late 50's. The "demo" stamp was put on the grills that they gave to dealers so that they would not be sold.
 
Back in the day, cooking demos were one of the key ways Weber promoted their products. They cooked in front of department stores, banks, hardware stores, you name it, to get the kettle in front of potential customers and to give them a tasty sample of what it could produce. I suspect the "Demo" stencil was applied for such a purpose, like "this unit is not for sale, it's for demo purposes only".

There are some really interesting demo stories on the Weber Nation "Weber Time Machine" page, written by Mike Kempster, Sr. Look for the "Weber Stories" as you scroll down the page...there are 5 stories.

Regards,
Chris

Thanks for sharing those stories. That definitely seems like the reason for the "demo" stamp. The history of this grill is really fascinating to me.
 
Never seen one with that demo stamp before. That definitely makes it special and unique. Good for you!

Regards,
Chris
 
Back in the day, cooking demos were one of the key ways Weber promoted their products. They cooked in front of department stores, banks, hardware stores, you name it, to get the kettle in front of potential customers and to give them a tasty sample of what it could produce. I suspect the "Demo" stencil was applied for such a purpose, like "this unit is not for sale, it's for demo purposes only".

There are some really interesting demo stories on the Weber Nation "Weber Time Machine" page, written by Mike Kempster, Sr. Look for the "Weber Stories" as you scroll down the page...there are 5 stories.

Regards,
Chris

I read a few of those stories last week. Pretty neat! My favorite is the story of the guy that sent George Stephen packing because his dept store was busy but promised to stop by his house with a riding mower and ended up working for him and became a demo guy. I would love to have a job like that now. Just cook, speak to the features and meet lots of new and interesting people. If this '50s kettle could talk.....the stories and places its been. I'd kill a day or 2 just to hear from these early employees.
 
I've never seen a Wood Dale era 22.5 with the vent off to the side of the lid handle. Most examples had them in front of the handle like the 18.5's. So many variations, so many new discoveries everyday.

How many wood dale's have you seen?
All 4 of the ones i've seen had the typical vent placement.
The older 22's with the vent to the side (that i've seen) didn't have wood dale or paletine on the vent, they simply had 'chicago'
 
How many wood dale's have you seen?
All 4 of the ones i've seen had the typical vent placement.
The older 22's with the vent to the side (that i've seen) didn't have wood dale or paletine on the vent, they simply had 'chicago'

The few (3 that I can remember) Wood Dale 22.5 kettles that I have seen had the vent placed in the same spot as the 18.5 kettles. I figured that Weber went to the current vent location on the 22.5's when they moved to Arlington Heights, but perhaps it was while still in Wood Dale.
 

 

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