DaWeber code M gets a rehab

[bluewhisper]

In some recent warm weather, I took some time to overhaul the 22-inch I rescued last year. I found it abandoned among a yard full of junk when the neighbors were moving out. I don't know how long it had been sitting with the lid off, next to a soggy half-bag of charcoal, but there was a circle of dead grass under the lid. I gave the rack a quick cleaning and ran a fire to burn out any Evil Spirits, spiderwebs, bedbugs and Russian hackers. I cooked on it a few times and it was OK but still needing love.

I began with the wooden handles, which looked like they were part of an old barn. I took them off and sanded them with 60, 100, and 320-grit sandpaper. The outer gray layers of wood were crumbly but I was able to get down to solid wood. Then I rubbed them generously with "cutting board oil" so they have a nice luster again. The top handle still has a little bit of darkness on one end, and I'll just consider that to be Character.

I polished the lid with a cloth and Bar Keeper's Friend and rinsed it with water from the rain barrel (pure rain water, Mandrake). Based on a youtube video from a member of this board, I used a safety razor paint scraper to remove a lot of Unspecified Dark Material from the inside of the lid, since I didn't want it falling on my food. The vent was in good working order but it looked better after I scoured it.

The bottom vents were stuck partly open, and after a bit of trying them I found out they were STUCK with crust. At first I tried tapping on the tabs with a hammer but I quickly realized that was just bending the tabs. So I used locking pliers to hold the tabs, and tapped on the pliers. There was a lot of resistance, and i resorted to using spray grease to free them up so they could turn freely. Then I used engine starting spray to purge out the grease.

I pulled out the legs and used a stainless steel scouring pad to polish them and the shelf. The shelf hook had come out of the front leg, but with some bending and persuasion I got it to stay in snugly, but I could still pop it out if I wanted - I want to be able to take the legs off to transport the kettle. I scraped out the inside of the bottom, as I had with the lid.

The charcoal grate's wires were spaced wide enough apart to let briquettes fall through. I tried to replace it with another round grate I had on hand, but it was just barely too small to rest on the tabs. So I simply laid it over the original, at a right angle, problem solved.

Then I used the steel pad to scour the cooking grate. I didn't bother to take it all the way down to the chrome finish; I just made it smooth to the touch. There was no rust.

And that was it. Later I made a small fire of scrap wood in it, just to cook out any of the grease in the bottom vents. Now it's looking new and pretty and good to go.


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[JEBIV]

nice rescue and restore

[bluewhisper]

Thanks! I left out the pic of the charcoal grate.


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[Firemunkee]

Nice!! Thanks for sharing all the details. I have some handles I've been meaning to restore (only sanded so far) but never thought to use my cutting board oil. I'm going to give that shot.

[jcnaz]

Very nice work!

[Lowbrass]

Very nice restore! Loved reading the step by steps!


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[Darko]

I always love seeing how dirty old kettles look almost like new after a good cleaning. It really is a statement to Weber's quality.

[Firemunkee]

I have an M and J code kettles and neither of them have the daisy vents on the bowl. Was the one touch system an upgrade on the kettles these age?

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[Larry The BBQ Guy]

Nice restoration. Thanks for the great images. You can use some cooking spray on the bottom vents now that you have purged the bad stuff. That will help protect the raw metal around the vent screw holes.

[Dh Jam1]

Very nice, i will be sanding my handles down now

[Grillagin]

Great job!  Nice to see it found a loving home, and a new life. 

[bluewhisper]

OK one more step taken, I got a rubber foot for the front leg so it won't bang on the pavement when I move the kettle. It was sold as a crutch tip at a medical supply store, to fit on a 1-inch shaft and it cost only $1.49. It fit perfectly.

Funny side note: When I went to that store and explained what I wanted, the clerk was also a Weber owner and he knew exactly what I was talking about.

But this still isn't what I want because now the leg grabs at the ground. The problem is, as I'm sure you know, when rolling the kettle it's easy to let the front leg hit the ground. I need to get some kind of furniture glide, like a giant thumbtack, that can slide. That should be easy.

[Cellar2ful]

OK one more step taken, I got a rubber foot for the front leg so it won't bang on the pavement when I move the kettle. It was sold as a crutch tip at a medical supply store, to fit on a 1-inch shaft and it cost only $1.49. It fit perfectly.

But this still isn't what I want because now the leg grabs at the ground. The problem is, as I'm sure you know, when rolling the kettle it's easy to let the front leg hit the ground. I need to get some kind of furniture glide, like a giant thumbtack, that can slide. That should be easy.

Ace hardware carries the leg caps.  Part# 56920. They slide rather than grab like a crutch end cap.  Crutch tips are designed to grab and are made of rubber. The Ace leg caps are hard plastic.

http://www.acehardware.com/product/index.jsp?productId=1286863

[mhiszem]

Nice cleanup


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[bluewhisper]

Thanks for the tips tip.

I'll find some of those but I think I'll keep the rubber tip for another project. I think I'll get some 1-inch steel conduit and cut it to length for a lowrider version for camping trips. But if I do that' I'll start another thread.