My new mutant Weber 22"

[jmusser]

Never a dull moment. Driving to work in rain and saw a Weber at end of a driveway for free. Looked decent. Not a ton of rust. Threw in truck in dark and checked later. Turned out a little dirtier (by far). Lid was horrifically dirty! I have a gas grill and had been trying to talk wife into getting a charcoal too.
After some scraping and powerwashing.

Neighbor had an old red of the same out back in rough shape with a lot of rust and broken down wood. I was able to mix and match parts to get the best grates, swap lids and handles, etc. She ain't pretty but she didn't cost a dime!

One problem, the one touch cleaner thing handle was broke off as soon as I touched it. The wheels/arms spin freely. I haven't really used this type of grill much. I hope to use for grilling but also try some smoking on it. It is $18 for a new one. Is this something that needs adjusting often or can I just set it in a place, 1/2 open? Description looked more like for ashes, but I assume this effects grill temp too.

Still have some more cleaning to do and need to looks up any easy mods. Always fun to have something to mess around with. Spring break and staying home. Hope to put this Frankenstein to work soon. Thanks, Jarod

 

[Smoking Allowed]

I would replace the wiper for better temp control. I have one of mine marked in 1/8 increments to control temp and have found that half open is about equivalent to fully open. I typically run mine almost completely closed (just a sliver open) and the exhaust vent fully open to get a cooking grate temp around 275℉-300℉.

And as far as those old Webers are concerned, they are easily repaired and the really old ones, pre 2010, are sought after.

 

[yankee2bbq]

Can’t beat it for free. I would go ahead and order that lower vent. You’ll need it to close that vent all the way down plus it cleans the ashes out too.

 

[cmayna]

Nice acquisition. Weber's are wonderful. Doing a chuck roast burnt ends on my Weber tomorrow.

 

[Fueling Around]

I got my 90's vintage kettle from kicked to the curb as well. Not a hint of rust. It is the older style with the 3 daisy wheels for air control.
The one touch have much bigger vents. Spend the $20 for the repair kit.

 

[Winterrider]

Looks like a pretty nice find to me

 

[mlk18]

Congrats! Every friggen' day I type "weber" into all of the local for sale and rummage sites looking for something like that. When I do get a match they want brand new pricing on a well used kettle. I may start posing as a county home inspector and start snooping behind people garages and sheds.

 

[chopsaw]

I'll just say it again , buy the vent . You need it for the grill to function . Depending on whats broke you may be able to fix it and do some cooks before you buy parts . My guess is you're gonna love it
.

 

[gmc2003]

I'll just say it again , buy the vent . You need it for the grill to function . Depending on whats broke you may be able to fix it and do some cooks before you buy parts . My guess is you're gonna love it
.

Totally agree with this ^^^^. I would also suggest doing a massive burn-out. You never know what was in the kettle prior to your finding it.

Nice find
Chris

 

[jmusser]

Congrats! Every friggen' day I type "weber" into all of the local for sale and rummage sites looking for something like that. When I do get a match they want brand new pricing on a well used kettle. I may start posing as a county home inspector and start snooping behind people garages and sheds.

Thanks. I have been doing the same thing for months! Always looking for an upgrade at the right price.

 

[jmusser]

Totally agree with this ^^^^. I would also suggest doing a massive burn-out. You never know what was in the kettle prior to your finding it.

Nice find
Chris

For sure! Great point. This thing had some cardboard remnants in the bottom. Who knows what had been in this thing. The lid was so gross.

 

[jmusser]

Thanks for the comments and likes. I am super excited to learn how to cook on this thing and getting it or free makes my cheap butt happier. Hahaha.. thanks all.!

 

[chopsaw]

. The lid was so gross.

Was it just greasy ? Or beat up ?

 

[jmusser]

Was it just greasy ? Or beat up ?

1/2 inch black soot. All around vent too. That's why I have the red lid now. To be honest, IDK. The power washer didn't touch it. Still have it. Will definitely need some elbow grease.

 

[chopsaw]

Thats what I figured . Start scraping . That comes from a couple things . Like using the top vent to control temp . Greasy food and low fire temp , bad air flow .