On May 23, 3:30*pm, John Kuthe > wrote:
> On May 23, 12:55*pm, (Steve Pope) wrote:
>
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>
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> > John Kuthe > wrote:
>
> > >We cleaned up and fired up an old Weber charcoal grill last evening,
> > >but found that the bottom louver controls were rusted off, leaving the
> > >bottom louvers open and uncontrollable. I looked on the Weber website
> > >and here's a pic of what should be in the bottom of this Weber kettle:
>
> > >http://www.weber.com/assets/en-us/fe...d18_diff_2.jpg
>
> > >I searched the Weber site for repair parts but found nada.
>
> > >Anyone have experience repairing such a problem? What approach did you
> > >use (besides buying a whole new Weber kettle) and where did you get
> > >parts?
>
> > That's a tough one -- the bottom vent is the failure point you
> > may not be able to do anything about. *But if it is stuck in the open
> > position, you can still use the grill, the main drawback being
> > it will waste charcoal by continuing to burn when you're finished
> > grilling.
>
> Yeah, it's the three bladed adjustable louver shown he
>
> http://www.weber.com/assets/en-us/fe...d18_diff_2.jpg
>
> All three blades (inside the grill) have rusted off, and the mechanism
> of adjustment from the outside is rusted solid anyway. The grill has
> been sitting outside for several years. And with all three blades
> rusted off, the vent louvers are wide open which makes the charcoal
> burn like a raging inferno! That's my mail problem, I had a slab of
> ribs on there yesterday and I had to move each rib segment to the
> outside/periphery of the grill to keep them from getting incinerated!
>
> The louver adjustment is not only for shutting off and extinguishing
> the charcoal, they are also for adjusting the burn rate and
> consequently the temperature of grilling. I know how to use a Weber
> kettle, as a buddy of mine has one.
>
You have had excellent chicken, BBQed on a Weber that was completely
rusted through on the bottom, and had the rusted through holes clogged
with lava rocks. Oh, and the legs were rusted off too, and it was
sitting on concrete blocks. One can use lid placement and application
of water to adjust burn rate, and you've seen it done. There was beer
involved. It was Schlafly Oatmeal Stout, and a few other types. It
was afternoon, and took place next door to here sometime about 7-9
years ago. That old Weber Kettle was taken camping and left at the
campsite we're going to this weekend, the bottom buried most of the
way in the sand. More than likely, some yokel dug it out and got a
few more years out of it, as it was gone next time we went out there.
>
> John Kuthe...

--Bryan