Weber Kettle Appreciation Society

sfbbqguy said:
Yeah, they're pretty easy to come by around here. I have to really hold myself back.

I think even Swamprb would be on Kettle overload if he lived down here.
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I started comming to this site about a year ago, looking for a better grilling experience. So naturaly I wanted to get my hands on a Webber Grill. I'm a little cheap on it because about 5 years ago I bought myself a Kenmore stainless gasser. Don't get me wrong, I love that grill but we all know nothing cooks like wood. So I've been searching high and low for about 6 months for a Webber Kettle high and low off of CL and yardsales around my neck of the woods. Nothing. Money's been tight and my wife wouldn't understand if I spent money on a new unit seeing how we have a nice grill.

I did find a small smokey Joe grill at a yard sale for 5 bucks, brand new. It's a start. This year will be my year.
 
I just picked up a brand new 22.5 one touch from a guy for $50.00 it was assembled but never cooked on. Its green... is this a decent deal?
 
Fmart322 said:
I started comming to this site about a year ago, looking for a better grilling experience. So naturaly I wanted to get my hands on a Webber Grill. I'm a little cheap on it because about 5 years ago I bought myself a Kenmore stainless gasser. Don't get me wrong, I love that grill but we all know nothing cooks like wood. So I've been searching high and low for about 6 months for a Webber Kettle high and low off of CL and yardsales around my neck of the woods. Nothing. Money's been tight and my wife wouldn't understand if I spent money on a new unit seeing how we have a nice grill.

I did find a small smokey Joe grill at a yard sale for 5 bucks, brand new. It's a start. This year will be my year.
Click to expand...
Keep searching CL and you will eventually find one. It took me quite a few months last year, but I eventually got a 22.5 OTS in great shape for $20. Make sure you use multiple search terms including misspellings like "Webber".
 
Fmart322 said:
I started comming to this site about a year ago, looking for a better grilling experience. So naturaly I wanted to get my hands on a Webber Grill. I'm a little cheap on it because about 5 years ago I bought myself a Kenmore stainless gasser. Don't get me wrong, I love that grill but we all know nothing cooks like wood. So I've been searching high and low for about 6 months for a Webber Kettle high and low off of CL and yardsales around my neck of the woods. Nothing. Money's been tight and my wife wouldn't understand if I spent money on a new unit seeing how we have a nice grill.

I did find a small smokey Joe grill at a yard sale for 5 bucks, brand new. It's a start. This year will be my year.
Click to expand...

Bob S said:
Keep searching CL and you will eventually find one. It took me quite a few months last year, but I eventually got a 22.5 OTS in great shape for $20. Make sure you use multiple search terms including misspellings like "Webber".
Click to expand...

I was going to say the same thing. Fmart, have you been searching CL only for "Webber"? The correct spelling is "Weber". However I must point out that I was looking for an older "Weber Performer" with the SS table. I found mine for $60, but only after I searched CL for "Webber".
 
Hey Brethren Brothers. Does anyone have a link, or know how to desipher what the date stamps mean on a kettle? IE, A=? ,B=? ,C=? Thanks!
 
A=1
U=2
T=3
H=4
O=5
R=6
I=7
Z=8
E=9
D=0
This is true for double charachter date codes.
Single letter codes start with an A for 1979, and go up to P or something.
 
That is a great link, and just what I was looking for. I happened to rescue an (N) Weber kettle from CL for $12 to use for my UDS. Decided that is is a pretty nice grill to just cut up, so will be refurbishing it for now. Thanks!
 
I've been using Webers since 1978 and am on my fourth 22.5", this one is a silver. I'd like some advice. It seems that as soon as I put the lid on, the charcoal starts to go out, usually just retaining one hot spot. Over the years I've learned how to work around it by rotating the food and/or leaving the lid off for a few minutes to let some of the charcoal reheat but this is not the optimum Weber experience. Any ideas what I might be doing wrong?

Vents top and bottom are wide open. Ashes completely cleaned out prior to burn. Doesn't matter if charcoal is completely covering the bottom or only partially. I use Kingston briquettes but have tried others. Placement of grill is in a patio area with walls on three sides so there is virtually no wind.

Appreciate any advice from the Brethren.
 
I have found the same thing, I try to take advantage of it. I have not found an answer to a uniform heat without going topless.
 
Ty_ said:
I've been using Webers since 1978 and am on my fourth 22.5", this one is a silver. I'd like some advice. It seems that as soon as I put the lid on, the charcoal starts to go out, usually just retaining one hot spot. Over the years I've learned how to work around it by rotating the food and/or leaving the lid off for a few minutes to let some of the charcoal reheat but this is not the optimum Weber experience. Any ideas what I might be doing wrong?

Vents top and bottom are wide open. Ashes completely cleaned out prior to burn. Doesn't matter if charcoal is completely covering the bottom or only partially. I use Kingston briquettes but have tried others. Placement of grill is in a patio area with walls on three sides so there is virtually no wind.

Appreciate any advice from the Brethren.
Click to expand...

I started cooking with a Weber around 1980. My Webers work similarly. Putting the lid on with all vents wide open will slow the coals down, but not to the point of creating only 1 hot spot except near the coals of course. I now have a Weber Performer with the standard thermometer. After lighting a full Weber charcoal chimney with regular Kingsford, the thermo reads around 400 F. It quickly drops to around 350 F and then very gradually drops from there. It will be between 300 and 325 F over an hour later. I am talking about indirect cooking here, and I don't open the lid until necessary. I also add a few chunks of dry wood to the coals for smoke. Also, I always put the top vents to the opposite side of the coals to draw the heat and smoke through the kettle. Are you doing this? You did not mention the quantity of charcoal you use to get going, Assuming you are using a full chimney starter like me, the only thing I can think of is this... When I lived in Chicago (19 years ago), the summers were very humid. I would sometimes leave the bag of charcoal under the kettle on the rack. I noticed if the bag was left outdoors for an extended period of time, the charcoal would absorb moisture from the humidity. Those coals never burned right after that. I found the coals would cool down to the point of being almost useless for indirect cooking. Now I always keep charcoal in the garage or basement. Don't know if this helps or not...
 
Bogus Chezz Hawg said:
I started cooking with a Weber around 1980. My Webers work similarly. Putting the lid on with all vents wide open will slow the coals down, but not to the point of creating only 1 hot spot except near the coals of course. I now have a Weber Performer with the standard thermometer. After lighting a full Weber charcoal chimney with regular Kingsford, the thermo reads around 400 F. It quickly drops to around 350 F and then very gradually drops from there. It will be between 300 and 325 F over an hour later. I am talking about indirect cooking here, and I don't open the lid until necessary. I also add a few chunks of dry wood to the coals for smoke. Also, I always put the top vents to the opposite side of the coals to draw the heat and smoke through the kettle. Are you doing this? You did not mention the quantity of charcoal you use to get going, Assuming you are using a full chimney starter like me, the only thing I can think of is this... When I lived in Chicago (19 years ago), the summers were very humid. I would sometimes leave the bag of charcoal under the kettle on the rack. I noticed if the bag was left outdoors for an extended period of time, the charcoal would absorb moisture from the humidity. Those coals never burned right after that. I found the coals would cool down to the point of being almost useless for indirect cooking. Now I always keep charcoal in the garage or basement. Don't know if this helps or not...
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Thanks, Chez. I'm basically doing direct cooking, burgers, steaks, etc. so I spread the charcoal evenly along the bottom grate. It's not a question of where to put the vent because the charcoal is all over. I even use the direct method for chicken because it very quickly becomes indirect when the charcoal dies. At that point, the chicken has browned a bit and I can move it around to the spots where the charcoal has died. I use my offset for ribs, pork, brisket. As I said, I use enough charcoal to cover the bottom one or two coals deep. It's hard to say how much because I always start out with the leftover burnt charcoal from the previous cook. I would say that a weber chimney starter would be about right. I do leave the charcoal outside but it's not nearly as humid here as the midwest. I'm going to bring it inside just to be sure.

Just today I made a basket that I can set in the bottom and cook indirectly. In fact, it's seasoning right now in the OTS. I'm going to start experimenting with it and will position the vent as you suggest. I'm also going to buy a thermometer for the lid so I will stop cooking by "feel", like I've done for years. Thanks again for the suggestions.
 
I rescued this one from my neighbor. FREE. He was glad to get rid of it I think he thinks I am a little nuts for asking for it. He just bought the house from an old couple, they left it behind. It needs a new ash catcher and one touch system. Ordered and on the way, will be here tommorow!
 

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If you dont like those old wooden handles, I wil trade you a set of brand new ones for them....seriously.
 
Ty_ said:
Thanks, Chez. I'm basically doing direct cooking, burgers, steaks, etc. so I spread the charcoal evenly along the bottom grate. It's not a question of where to put the vent because the charcoal is all over. I even use the direct method for chicken because it very quickly becomes indirect when the charcoal dies. At that point, the chicken has browned a bit and I can move it around to the spots where the charcoal has died. I use my offset for ribs, pork, brisket. As I said, I use enough charcoal to cover the bottom one or two coals deep. It's hard to say how much because I always start out with the leftover burnt charcoal from the previous cook. I would say that a weber chimney starter would be about right. I do leave the charcoal outside but it's not nearly as humid here as the midwest. I'm going to bring it inside just to be sure.

Just today I made a basket that I can set in the bottom and cook indirectly. In fact, it's seasoning right now in the OTS. I'm going to start experimenting with it and will position the vent as you suggest. I'm also going to buy a thermometer for the lid so I will stop cooking by "feel", like I've done for years. Thanks again for the suggestions.
Click to expand...

Your vvelcome! If I am cooking direct, for steaks or burgers, I will position the coals so that I leave about 1/4 - 1/3 of the cooking grate area over a spot with no coals. This will leave a cool area on the grill in case of flareups so I can move the meat to a safe spot. This also gives me a thicker bed of coals because I usually always start out with a full chimney of new coals and they are not spread out over the entire grill. The thicker the bed of coals, the hotter the heat will be and the coals will last longer. Starting with the old snuffed out coals combined with new coals spread all across the entire grill in a layer of 1 or 2 deep may be the problem. I suspect you are cooking for many because you are spreading the coals out across the entire grill. I would suggest starting with a full chimney of new charcoal. Once it's ready to be dumped, dump them on top of the old snuffed out coals. They will light quickly because they are almost burned out anyway. Cover the kettle and let the new coals settle down to a manageable cooking temp. This should only take about 5 - 7 minutes. Now your cooking with a good, thicker bed of coals that have cooled down a bit and will last awhile. Starting with old & new coals spread out thin, just isn't enough fuel. By the time the coals settle in there aren't enough to sustain the kind of heat you need. Also, I never do chicken direct, I always go indirect. I usually do only thighs on the Weber. Again 1 full chimney of new coals, poured into 2 piles on either side of a drip pan which is in the center. Chicken over the drip pan and the lid vents centered as well. A little wood for smoke. After 30 minutes flip the thighs. After 30 more minutes I sauce them on 1 side. After 10 minutes I flip them and sauce the other side. Wait 10 minutes and they are done, "perfect" every time! Total cook time is 1 hour and 20 minutes. When they are done the Weber is still around 300 F or so.
 
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