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View Full Version : Drilled a hole in the kettle


griller27
05-22-2016, 08:38 AM
Special thanks to smoker. He has an old thread with pics that show how he used a conduit connector for getting probe wires out of the way of the lid. I was nervous about drilling in my kettle but I started small and worked my way up. I love the results!

krex1010
05-22-2016, 08:50 AM
Aren't most of those conduit fittings made of galvanized steel? (I may be wrong) I get wanting to keep the probe wires out of the way but I'd avoid anything galvanized in a cooker. I know it's not much galvanized but you might be able to make some regular steel fittings work.

mchar69
05-22-2016, 12:24 PM
I think it looks pretty sharp.

wormy
05-22-2016, 12:45 PM
Nice...did it mess with any of the porcelain enamel around the drill spot?

Smoke Dawg
05-22-2016, 01:16 PM
Aren't most of those conduit fittings made of galvanized steel? (I may be wrong) I get wanting to keep the probe wires out of the way but I'd avoid anything galvanized in a cooker. I know it's not much galvanized but you might be able to make some regular steel fittings work.

Many are aluminum these days

JohnnyB
05-22-2016, 02:15 PM
Unless you incinerate it with a welding arc, the galvi is no problem. 3-400* isn't enough to do anything whatsoever to it.

Joe Black
05-22-2016, 02:36 PM
That's the way mine are done and I think they are zinc plated. However, they are not anywhere near the meat. The one in the kettle is below the grate and the one in the offset is next to the exhaust stack. Go for it.

griller27
05-22-2016, 02:44 PM
Porcelain coating was fine. I used painters tape to cover the spot I was drilling on. Started very small with the drill bits and slowly worked my way up. Everything went great!

Evil-g
05-23-2016, 10:21 AM
Great mod, can you point me to the link?

airedale
05-23-2016, 11:02 AM
Porcelain coating was fine. I used painters tape to cover the spot I was drilling on. Started very small with the drill bits and slowly worked my way up. Everything went great!


Don't worry about the zinc.
You have damaged the porcelain by exposing the edges of the steel as you cut the hole. No way around that. I suggest taking the fitting off and re-installing with some of the red hi-temp gasket goo. Use lacquer thinner or other aggressive solvent to degrease the area first. Try to make sure that the goo completely protects the exposed steel edge after you reinstall the fitting. If rust starts there, it will crawl under the porcelain. That's why you sometimes see big rusty splotches on Webers. They start with a pinhole or some other compromise of the porcelain.