Weber Kettle Air leak


 
W

Werner

TVWBB Member
Hi everyone...

I have had my weber kettle for quite a few years and absolutely love it. While preparing for Hurricane Irene here in NH, I decided to move the kettle inside the garage so it doesnt blow around.

I was surprised to find that the kettle was still hot after last nights cook (a wonderful pork roast I might add).

I have noticed the last several weeks that I have lifted the lid to have less leftover charcoal than I would expect after shutting down the dampers. I tried cleaning it(scrape with plastic scraper) thinking it might be buildup. I recall when I first got the kettle it would kill the fire after 20 minutes or half hour or so.

I suspect an air leak somewhere. Any ideas how to find it?

Thanks in advance.

Werner
 
Werner,first of all,I hope you and your family are safe. I have family in NJ and ME,so I'm praying for everyone on the east coast.
Now to your problem. Take you lid and set it on a flat surface. If it doesn't sit flat,gently bear hug it to re-round it. If that's not the problem,do the same to the bottom of the kettle. If that doesn't do it,turn the bottom upside down and place a flashlight underneath. That will show if the one touch system is tight against the inside of the kettle.
I hope this helps and let us know what happens with the kettle and the storm.
 
Most likely one of the blades of the one touch is bent although my kettle will go out with just the top vent closed and the bottom vents open( my damper is seized)
 
Hi Phil,

Thanks on all fronts. Those are some really good ideas.

We have a ways to go here, but fortunately we are far enough inland that I dont think we will feel the full force of the storm. It is still pretty windy already and lots of rain.

Thanks again both for the well wishes and the tips. I will let you know how we fair.

PS ==> I should have mentioned in my original post that I wound up leaving the kettle outside. I moved it away from the house and secured it as best I could. I doubt that there would be fire from the remaining lit coals esp with all the rain but didnt want to take any chances. Also didnt want to have to worry about CO so I didnt bring it in the garage.
 
I have a Kettle where the lid has been out of shape since day one, WSM's too. NO Weber is going to be air tight and you wouldn't want them to anyways. It's just the nature of Weber's and it's not really a bad thing, unless you're trying to save charcoal!
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Hey Max...

I too have both the kettle and WSM. I completely expect the kettle to leak more than the WSM. The odd thing is that I have had this kettle for years and it has always extinguished the coals.

Im am a bit too frugal at times and I do actually save the charcoal. Sometimes I will put into a separate container and add to the top of my chimney, use solely partially spent charcoal for short cooks like hot dogs, or leave them in the bottom and poor fresh coal over the unlit partially spent ones.

Phil, we managed to escape the storm in good shape. Lots of wind and rain and lost power for about 10 hours. We have some friends in VT that were not as fortunate hoever. Fortunately no one was hurt, but, lots of property damage.
 
If I'm not mistaken from just recently assembling the OTS, the blade assembly just sits in the kettle and is not really bolted down. Perhaps a piece of crude is under the blades and keeping them from fully seating.
 
My OTS leak's still after 50+ cook's. The lid is not out of round nor is the kettle itself, Just it darn loose to fit right. Now i just put my old Bar b que kettle lid on it and the coals go out and i can reuse them the next day.
 
Light something really smokey and put the lid on. Where the smoke escapes is the locations you need to address.
 
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