Substitute for Performer burner retaining clip?

[Joshua Brown]

I have a red s/s table performer that I love.

{rambling about my restoration, skip if you'd like}
I just made a big order with weber for a new bowl, burner assembly, lid rest, ash sweeper, and catcher assemblies. A quick $150 will bring my old baby back to life. They don't make red anymore, and the brick red bowl was $130 by itself. I bought a black bowl because it was 80 bucks (50$ cheaper) and the performer obscures the bowl for the most part. I'll keep my color changing red lid, and hopefully it looks okay. If not, I can get a black lid everyday from a craigslist ots ad. Okay, onto my question, sorry.
{/ramble}

I got one freebie retaining clip and promptly lost it in the grass. After 20 minutes with a magnet, I gave up and called weber. Here's the rub, that little paperclip of metal costs $5 plus $7 shipping. I ordered two for 17$, which brings the price down to $8.50 a piece.

The same clip is used on my propane gas-n-go. I like to take the regulator off for storage and transport on that one, so more opportunities to loose the clip. I'm about ready to safety wire them to the grills.

I was hoping someone has experimented with c or e clips or has a cheap alternative that works well. I'd love to be able buy a 20 piece bag from mcmaster and never have to worry again.

Thanks for a long read, the pn is 890415

 

[Harold C]

I went to the hardware store and looked thru the drawers of c-clips and miscellaneous hardware. Never found anything that would work.

You could probably just take a length of metal wire and wrap it around the tube a few times.All you need is something to sit in the groove of the brass burner fitting and keep it from back off the tube. It's pretty solidly in the tube, even without a retaining clip.

 

[A Cleland]

Josh, get you a short piece (6 to 8 inches) of solid 14 gauge copper wire, and wrap it tightly around the brass fitting where the groove that the clip used to fit, leaving 2 long tag ends. Just use you hand, and twist the tag ends together a twist or two, and that wire will hold your burner tube in place until you need to remove it. There is little heat in that area, as the gas burns at the opposite end of the burner tube. That entire area is just open to allow the air to mix with the gas. Simple fix, simple solution.

 

[Joshua Brown]

Josh, get you a short piece (6 to 8 inches) of solid 14 gauge copper wire, and wrap it tightly around the brass fitting where the groove that the clip used to fit, leaving 2 long tag ends. Just use you hand, and twist the tag ends together a twist or two, and that wire will hold your burner tube in place until you need to remove it. There is little heat in that area, as the gas burns at the opposite end of the burner tube. That entire area is just open to allow the air to mix with the gas. Simple fix, simple solution.

I love it, thanks! Also I before I saw your reply, I went down to the hardware bins at Ace and found a stainless hitch pin clip size 5/32" x 2 5/16" that works pretty well, although much larger and can be bumped off unlike both A's suggestion. At $2.40 a piece at the Ace, it isn't badly priced as an emergency substitute, but the copper wire is even better I think. Pics coming.

 

[Joshua Brown]

Pics of the hitch pin, flat part holds one side, first indent on other size sits in other groove.

 

[BobH-SCW]

Does a paper clip work in a pinch, and is it safe? Seems like same type metal as that cotter pin -which I'm going to pick up anyway

 

[J Robb]

I got one freebie retaining clip and promptly lost it in the grass. After 20 minutes with a magnet, I gave up and called weber. Here's the rub, that little paperclip of metal costs $5 plus $7 shipping. I ordered two for 17$, which brings the price down to $8.50 a piece.

The exact same thing happened to me! Lost it in the grass and spent the next 15 minutes combing the grass with a rolling magnetic sweeper. They’re either made of brass and non-ferrous or it got really tangled up in the grass because i never found it.

 

[Dave in KC]

Here's the rub, that little paperclip of metal costs $5 plus $7 shipping.

$5 for the part is insulting, but $7 to ship that borders on criminal.

 

[KMartinK]

A 7/8" e-clip holds the regulator securely on a Go Anywhere grill. If you take the regulator off when transporting the grill, you could potentially go through a lot of the Weber clips since they seem easy to lose. The e-clip is kind of hard to remove (at least for me) without pliers or a screwdriver, and probably would be just as easy to lose.