Anyone NOT have the urge to cook on a daisy wheel?

[Troy]

3 wheelers aren't worth the hassle.

bending down and using tongs to adjust vents.
too hot, close some vents
not hot enough, open the vents
oops, vents are clogged up with ash, better poke around or tap tap tap to get some air in there

more precision air control, yes - but minimal.
more exercise in the form of bend down, poke and tap, walking laps around the kettle... it sucks

and i'm a big fan of re-using charcoal. i extinguish coals when I'm done cooking, and when I'm cooking again the next day I add new lit coals to the old unlit.
All of my grills have a solid bed of leftover coals just waiting to be re-used. This makes emptying the ash out of a 3-wheeler a total pain.

[ramsfan]

Three wheel daisy kettles are completely dead for me. They are wonderful to look at and admire, but to use it as a modern day grilling tool in 2014, it's just too much aggravation and work to cook on one. The three wheel kettles have gone the way of the rotary dial house phone, the 8-track tape player, the VCR, etc.

In fact, I have gone even further and have given up on using 3 legged kettles all together! Unless it's a Performer with a OTG sweep, a lid bale, a built in thermometer, electronic ignition, and a built in work table mounted on a four wheel swivel cart, I won't even bother.   

[OoPEZoO]

F-it, I'm going back to gas 

[Ted B]

Honestly I prefer the ease of one touch over the daisy wheels. Love the old kettles but don't have some big desire to cook on one just because it's a daisy wheel.

[AnakiMana]

I honestly don't get how a daisy wheel kettle can be so aggravating and so much work. I've cooked on my newly acquired one four times now, after having my new Performer since last year, and had awesome results and no frustration. The most work I did was to tip it over a bucket after the 3rd cook and set it back down. Took me like 10 seconds. Am I missing something? I'm a BBQ noob, so maybe I don't know when to be aggravated? J/K

Sent via smoke signals from my Weber kettle

[Craig]

WSM hand held shovel and a 3 wheeler go hand in hand. The temp control on the 3 wheelers wins out for me, then coming into an internal ash catcher seals the deal.  When I'm in a hurry or not feeling super vintage, or needing to go portable, I break out a OT.

[Craig]

The most work I did was to tip it over a bucket after the 3rd cook and set it back down. Took me like 10 seconds. Am I missing something? I'm a BBQ noob, so maybe I don't know when to be aggravated? J/K

I've done that too if not my shovel. I always keep a large ash bucket on the patio.   

[G$]

All things being equal, I like cooking on an  OTG more than using wheel vents.  (one can achieve just as much draft control with OT manipulation as with daisy wheel manipulation.  I never frankly understood the 'more control' claim, but I digress).  Plus, if there is  breeze, my default is the enclosed ash pan by habit.

But.

I also like cooking on three wheelers.  Period. It is fun, different, and not "hard".  I can re-use coal just fine a time or two with them, and i do not mind moving a grate with some speent coal around.  I will say, these two things make 3 wheeler cooking more enjoyable:   
An internal HC ash pan
Using a fireplace or similar brush for clean up.

In order of preference, OTG> 3 wheeler with internal pan > OTS.

[Craig]

Oooooooh!!!      



http://youtu.be/LfMZPMSA2As

[ramsfan]

Oooooooh!!!      



http://youtu.be/LfMZPMSA2As

According to that TV commercial, one touch was around as far back as 1983? I didn't think the one touch system was that old? I thought it came about in the late 80's/early 90's? Thanks for posting that.

[Craig]

Oooooooh!!!      



http://youtu.be/LfMZPMSA2As

According to that TV commercial, one touch was around as far back as 1983? I didn't think the one touch system was that old? I thought it came about in the late 80's/early 90's? Thanks for posting that.

Oh yeah....  In 1983, the One Touch was the new "premium model". The oldest known OT's at this time are "E" code... two of our members each own or have owned a 1983 Chocolate 22.5 OT... Zavod44 and Maxbobcat.

[pbe gummi bear]

Oooooooh!!!      



http://youtu.be/LfMZPMSA2As

According to that TV commercial, one touch was around as far back as 1983? I didn't think the one touch system was that old? I thought it came about in the late 80's/early 90's? Thanks for posting that.

I think that there were a few provisionals filed but the two most prominent ones are patent #CA (Canada) 413907 filed on Oct 21, 1982 and Patent US4416248 a- a continuation-in-part of U.S. Ser. No. 222,125, filed Jan. 22, 1981: http://www.google.com/patents/US4416248

"A barbecue kettle has radially aligned slots in the hemispheroidal bottom thereof. A discis mounted immediately above the center of the bottomfor rotation about a vertical axis and has threearms secured thereto. A handle below the bottom issecured to the disc. The arms are generallytriangular in cross-section and have distal edgesfitting closely to the bottom. In one position, thearms cover the bowl openings, but may be rotated backand forth to push ash along the bottom of the bowlto the openings where it will fall out. The disc,arms and handle are designed to be assembled withoutusing any tools."

There's also a patent filed in 1999 for the 7444 style ash sweep.

[ramsfan]

Three wheel daisy kettles are completely dead for me. They are wonderful to look at and admire, but to use it as a modern day grilling tool in 2014, it's just too much aggravation and work to cook on one. The three wheel kettles have gone the way of the rotary dial house phone, the 8-track tape player, the VCR, etc.

In fact, I have gone even further and have given up on using 3 legged kettles all together! Unless it's a Performer with a OTG sweep, a lid bale, a built in thermometer, electronic ignition, and a built in work table mounted on a four wheel swivel cart, I won't even bother.

I think I may have struck a raw nerve by using the words "aggravation" and "work" when describing a 3-wheel kettle. Allow me to elaborate...  I enjoy the grilling experience, smelling the smoke, hearing the sizzle of the food, tending to the food, etc. I do not enjoy fiddling up underneath the kettle adjusting the individual hot air vents by opening and closing them repeatedly, trying to get it just right. I do not enjoy having to work at getting the fire started. I do not enjoy having to hang my lid down low on that small hook inside the lid and burning the inside of my forearm every time I want to take a peek at the food. I don't enjoy having to get out additional tools like a shovel and brush to clean the bowl afterwards, etc. I must emphasize that this is just me and I know everyone is different. To me, it is work and I don't want any part of my grilling experience to resemble work.

Anything that eliminates these steps and allows me to spend more grilling time drinking beer, relaxing, talking to my neighbor over the back fence and all those parts of the grilling experience that I enjoy is truly a plus - a tremendous plus. If the three wheel design was truly superior, then the one touch system should have failed years ago and Weber would have discontinued making them? I must emphasize that what is work to one is a labor of love to another.

[Hogsy]

Oh yeah....  In 1983, the One Touch was the new "premium model". The oldest known OT's at this time are "E" code... two of our members each own or have owned a 1983 Chocolate 22.5 OT... Zavod44 and Maxbobcat.

That's cool I picked one up on the side of the road the other day

Was gonna flip it but I might keep it for nostalgia's sake

[Duke]

I honestly don't get how a daisy wheel kettle can be so aggravating and so much work. I've cooked on my newly acquired one four times now, after having my new Performer since last year, and had awesome results and no frustration. The most work I did was to tip it over a bucket after the 3rd cook and set it back down. Took me like 10 seconds. Am I missing something? I'm a BBQ noob, so maybe I don't know when to be aggravated? J/K

Sent via smoke signals from my Weber kettle

Same here, in fact I can't stand OT's. Don't get me started on all of those extra parts either. I hate how the only way to keep the temp down is to barely crack the bottom vent. With my three wheeler I do about twenty cooks before I dump the ash into a bucket. Then I just brush it out and put it back to work. No ash pan whatsoever needed either. When cooking I only use one of the front vents and leave the rest of them closed all of the time. A grill doesn't need that much air. No more air than one bottom vent can deliver anyways. I'm really shocked in fact my eyes are bleeding as I read about how you guys feel about the three wheelers. Please allow me relieve you all of the burden by having you to send them over here to me where they can be appreciated.

A solution to all of these issues would be for Weber to start using the ranch kettle top vents as bottom vents. They will last forever, one vent rather than those goofy blades, and never rust. The hole would be big enough for you to just sweep it out easily by hand when you are preparing to use it.