Red Kettle Restore


 
K

KennP

New member
I almost passed, but I felt it was my duty as a sworn bbq brother to rescue this red kettle today, but, truth be told, I don't know where to begin. Based on the N on the lid, it's a 1991.

Obvious problems include that the outside of the kettle lid was painted, including the vent. There is no bottom vent, just open holes. And what's remaining of the bottom vent apparatus looks like it will be impossible to remove in order to try to replace (rusted on). From 20 feet, the kettle looks pretty nice, and it also photographs well. New handles, etc., are easy, but I hope people here have some advice about making the bottom vent functional again and then some general advice on rehabbing this guy. If I look for a donor kettle, the donor kettle may be in better shape than this one. ... I guess I really wanted a red kettle.





 
The good news is you can get new "sweeper, parts of they are really toast and they aren't that expensive or hard to replace. At worst you may need to drill the old pivot out, if it's really rusted you might just need to carefully break the nut off and the handle will fall into the bucket you will replace the ash catcher with.
Try some WD-40 first, it may free up, maybe.
 
You'll have to remove the lower vent handle in order to replace the ash sweeper. Usually that thumbscrew that holds it in place is rusted and will unfortunately break off when you try to remove it, but give it a try first as sometimes I've been lucky. If that fails, you will need to cut of the handle flush on both sides of the large nut. You can use a hacksaw, a dremel or angle grinder with a cutoff wheel to cutoff both ends. The nut will then pass through the washer and out of the bowl. The new ash sweep is part 7444, a different design but same function as your sweep, which I believe is a 7409 (no longer in production).
 
Thank you for that advice. I hope to tackle the removal of the ash sweep system tomorrow. Today, I spent some time cleaning the lid. You can't really tell from the first three photos I posted, but there was some paint or heavy gook on the lid, concentrated on the very top of the lid, near the handle. The rest of the lid cleaned well with 0000 steel wool, but I don't know if steel wool is enough to finish the rest. Tell me, would a different grade of steel wool help? And would it still be safe on the lid? Does anybody have experience with that?

If I really can't get the rest off, are there any other solutions? Maybe I could tape off a perfect oval and spray-paint with engine red high heat paint and maybe it would look decorative or two-toned on purpose. Any ideas?

Thanks,
KP

 
After replacing the ash sweeper (thanks for the how-to), a happy ending:



Last question on this: I know Weber makes replacement handles and I've seen custom-made replacement wood handles, but does anyone make basic replacement wood handles for a good price?
 
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