Possible to modify Louisiana/Pit Boss Series 7?

[jrapps]

I have a Louisiana Grills 7 series vertical smoker from Costco. I like it, but the way my patio is arranged, the door is backwards from how I want it. Has anyone ever modified one of these to have the door swing the other way? I assume all I have to do is drill holes and move the hinges to the opposite side. I also assume this will void any warranty?

 

[Chris_in_SoCal]

I have one as well and if that is what you need to keep on smoking I wouldn't worry about the warranty. The hinges and door locks are pretty basic so switching them over should not be that hard.

 

[mike243]

Pull 1 of the screws and see if its a sheet metal screw or a machine , if a machine screw you will have to buy some new self tapping and then tape the door shut with 1 of the hinges off in order to mark where to put it. good luck and its doable .

 

[dward51]

They are attached via machine screws into a rivet nut. I do not think a sheet metal screw would hold under the weight and motion of the door. Rivet nuts can be had on Amazon, but if you don't have a higher power rivet tool, they can be tough to install as they are thicker than normal rivets. I used them on my MES SS modifications, but I have a manual/hydraulic rivet gun which made them a breeze. Here is a photo of a stainless rivet nut before and after it's crushed by the rivet gun (the inside is threaded - comes in different thread sizes & pitches).

 

[jrapps]

This makes sense and does seem promising. I will have to research rivet nuts.

 

[JWFokker]

You don't have to use rivet nuts. Regular nuts work fine. Just hit them with some threadlocker so they don't loosen from thermal flux.