Shorty 18"

[Cellar2ful]

I have several Outriders and after using them numerous times, find they just don't reach as high a temp as a standard 18" kettle. Cooking indirect, I use the same amount of briquettes and apple wood using both types of kettles and find my cooking times are extended by 10-15 minutes when using the Outrider.  Also, the skin on my chicken just does not come out as crispy when using the Outrider. My guess is it has to do with the side vents being on the side and higher than the bottom vents of a standard 18" kettle.  May have to do with why they were discontinued by Weber.   

Last week a snagged a free AA Code 18" off CL.  It was used maybe a couple of times and kept in a garage.  Perfect candidate for a shorty 18" mod.  The locking metal carry handle and lid handle were from a thrashed Outrider I had sitting in the scrap pile.  Added a new enclosed ash bucket and cut some 12" legs from a aluminum shower rod from Home Depot.  Thanks to @LiquidOcelot  for his recent post on making his. It gave me the motivation to get off my ass and get mine done.

 

[bamakettles]

Love that!  Looks fun to cook on....


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[WeberKell11]

This is awesome.

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[dazzo]

Nice Jim

Love the 18's

I don't think it's tall enough though

[LiquidOcelot]

I've pretty much been using my every time since I did it. It's just tall enough that i can hang a tool from the handle and it not drag on the ground

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[Mike Huff]

That's a slick mod!

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[jcnaz]

That is sweet!
I built a stubby 18" custom a while back. I need to dig it out of the shed and put it in the rotation.

[sorokalaw]

How do you accommodate the carry handle on top of the wood handle?  Is there a clip?


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[JEBIV]

Very cool, and useful

[Cellar2ful]

How do you accommodate the carry handle on top of the wood handle?  Is there a clip?

First off, welcome to the Forum.  The older Outrider handles were made of wood and had a groove in the middle that that the handle snapped into. 



New reproduction wood handles with the groove can be purchased through this site:

https://grillhandle.com/

[sorokalaw]

Thx!


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[jhagestad]

That's really cool looking! Nice work!

[michaelmilitello]

Beautiful.  If the Traveller from the 60s had continued to evolve, it would look like that!


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[Hell Fire Grill]

That is a pretty handy travel mod. I like it.

If you have an extra fire place / kettle handle in your scrap pile you could bolt it onto the back of the kettle to make carrying it a little easier.

[jacko1962]

Did the same to a curb find. Having the ash catcher is the best, Use mine all the time. A friend is making me an arte flame knock off for the 18 and my 22.