Rehab beyond my skills?


 
K

KennP

New member
A neighbor threw out an old gray kettle today and I rescued it for the time being so I could gather some intel on it. It is gray, as I said, with two nice metal handles (also gray) on the sides and a wooden handle on the lid. The vent rivet on the lid is installed in the lowercase b of Weber. Weber lettering is raised. The bottom has those daisy wheels (I can't budge them, but they look to be in good shape and might respond to some PB or other lubricant), and two of the three leg sockets are rusted and have pulled away from the bottom bowl. I don't weld, but I enjoy trying these restores. I welcome being talked into, or out of, restoring this one .... the leg sockets seem to be the toughest hurdles for me unless I'm overlooking an easy fix.





 
I'd look for a big steel washer, the kind they use for building support. Slide it up the leg and tack it to the BBQ, be it screwed in, JB weld on, or welded (which will damage the porcelain)
 
That's a MBH (metal bowl handle).
Riveted top handle (new ones are single screw)

It's worth rescuing.
There is enough there.
Just have to do the right things.

More info on the Kettle Club forum.
 
Yup, I would get some ss plate. Cut to fit. Drill holes in the leg socket tabs and drill holes into the plate that is positioned on the inside of the bowl. That will make it stronger than factory. As to the vents, if somethingblike pb bladter doesnt do it, just cut the rivets off with a dremel and replace with ss hardware. To make the nut stay on the bolt, just hammer the threads a bit. The nut will jam on. Works great. You will be surprised the satisfaction and pride you get from rescuing a weber like that.
 
Thanks for the good ideas and the tips to dig deeper into how I might do this. Now I feel reasonably confident that it can be done.
 
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