When I first assembled my 18 WSM, if the top grate got bumped, it would sit on three of the four supports . This caused the grate to fall if not handled with lots of care. I contacted Weber and they first sent me a new set of grate supports, which did not resolve the issue. They then had me measure the top for roundness. It was 19 1/8" at the widest and 18 1/2" at the narrowest. They called the center section "out of round", and mailed out a new center section.
Today, I fired her up and went to put the new center section on the charcoal bowl. No dice. The bottom was so out of round, it wouldn't fit without a lot of force. I ended up getting the original center section back out, and put some extra washers behind the top of the grill straps. This worked to hold the grate. But if I don't position the top perfectly, the seam still leaks lots of out smoke. I've only cooked on it 6 times, so it may need more "gunk."
Nevertheless, while it was smoking along. I got back out the new center section and a measuring tape. Then I placed it on a rug and started working it until I got it within 1/8" round on the top and bottom. It would have been easier to do this to with the original center section, but I didn't want to taco it and end up with a dead smoker. Will this hold or will it spring back to the original shape?
Today, I fired her up and went to put the new center section on the charcoal bowl. No dice. The bottom was so out of round, it wouldn't fit without a lot of force. I ended up getting the original center section back out, and put some extra washers behind the top of the grill straps. This worked to hold the grate. But if I don't position the top perfectly, the seam still leaks lots of out smoke. I've only cooked on it 6 times, so it may need more "gunk."
Nevertheless, while it was smoking along. I got back out the new center section and a measuring tape. Then I placed it on a rug and started working it until I got it within 1/8" round on the top and bottom. It would have been easier to do this to with the original center section, but I didn't want to taco it and end up with a dead smoker. Will this hold or will it spring back to the original shape?