Baby Blue arrived today on a cross country journey from Wisconsin to California. Here is the story how I acquired her. On a Facebook site, Weber Kettle Fans, there is a guy (Larry Beercan Fisher) who makes UDS's out of Weber kettles. Earlier this year, he posted a picture of a pile of kettles he planned to use for UDS projects. Baby blue being in that pile caused quite a bit of blow back from people on the site, begging him to save it and not cut it up for a UDS. I even saw
@Troy asking him not to destroy it. Fast forward to August 1, when he (Larry) re-posts the picture, trying to find someone local in Wisconsin that was willing to save Baby Blue. I PM'd him through Facebook and after two months of prodding, negotiating and sending him WKC instructions on how to ship a kettle, he finally agreed and shipped me Baby Blue.
The lid is in really good condition, the bowl did not age as well. The bowl vents are MIA and there are two very small holes in the bowl, near the leg sockets. I have to drill out the old vent rivets on the bowl vents and install vents from a donor kettle. It came with legs and triangle that I plan on reconditioning but it did not come with an ash pan. What would be the correct ash pan for a B Code 18"? Would it be a twist on rolled edge type? Anyone have one that would be age correct and they are willing to part with?
Am I crazy for paying $70 to ship this kettle? Maybe. But as rare as blue MBH's are, how many chances will I have to save or obtain another one. Isn't that what this club is all about, rescuing and restoring? I want to thank Larry Beercan Fisher for allowing me to save Baby Blue and go through the hassle of packaging and shipping it to me.
Thanks for looking and listening.