When you are assembling a brand new grill ...

[HankB]

When you are assembling a brand new grill do you do anything above and beyond to keep it looking better and/or working better of the lifetime of the unit? Here is what I'm thinking:

• Silicone based automotive polish on aluminum parts like legs and vent covers to prevent or postpone corrosion. Maybe a touch of polishing compound to shine them up first. 
• A shot of Pam (spray canola oil) around spots where rust typically shows up later in life. This includes welded joints such handles as well as bolted parts and where the legs slide into the sockets.
• Antiseize on all fasteners including those parts assembled at the factory. I have Nuclear Grade Never-Seez that purports to be good to 2400°F. I think it would be particularly helpful on the One Touch ash sweeper which can be nearly impossible to disassemble after years of use.

I wonder if I should put something on the lid holder as found on the older MTs and newer 26ers. ISTR someone doing something about that to protect the lid but I cannot recall what they did.

Any other ideas on extra measures to insure longer service life?

[MartyG]

Goes without saying, but SS fasteners - especially those exposed to the interior of the kettle - are an easy upgrade. If I can find them, I'll use SS acorn cap nuts to further avoid gunk working it's way into the threads and making it much easier down the road to disassemble things. I use these on the Performers for the lid bale and burner tube bracket. Just be sure the SS hex bolt is not too long so the nut does not bottom out.

[HankB]

Goes without saying, but SS fasteners ...

Thanks for the suggestions. Nothing goes without saying in this thread! I was thinking about SS fasteners but didn't think about substituting acorn nuts. Where fasteners are too long for that, the angle grinder comes into play.

[pbe gummi bear]

I don't usually buy grills brand new but I have used SS fasteners and anti seize compound. The most important one imo is the nut at the bottom of a 7409 sweep.  Break one once and you'll never want to do it again. Especially because they are discontinued.

[MartyG]

The most important one imo is the nut at the bottom of a 7409 sweep.

Ditto! Replace the thumbscrew with an allen-head cap screw or hex-head bolt - anything to give you an edge when it comes time to take it apart. I try to remember to work the screw out from time to time, adding a little lube of some kind (whatever is close at hand) when I do. I need to get some anti-sieze.

[G$]

When you are assembling a brand new grill do you do anything above and beyond to keep it looking better and/or working better of the lifetime of the unit?

Like Lawrence... I have never bought a new kettle!  When replacing things, I definitely opt for stainless.

I try to remember to work the screw out from time to time

This is key. 

I may be the exception, but I don't really like adding anti seize stuff to the internals of the cooker. 

[AZ_MIKEY]

I may be the exception, but I don't really like adding anti seize stuff to the internals of the cooker.
[/quote]


If worried about automotive or industrial lubricants to cookers there is always food grade ones available for purchase.When wworking as a fabricator building and modifying cheese processing equipment in some of the nations largest cheese plants we had to lubricate all stainless hardware with an anti seize that was food grade. They also make food grade grease and silicone spray. Just some food grade lubricants for thought! 

Also I recommend that if you use stainless hardware that you lubricate it as stainless does have tendencies to gall up after time especially if being tightened and loosened a lot over and over and as in a cooker heated and cooled down a lot.

As far as using acron nuts I wouldn't do it unless you want the look. They are used in food processing plants to keep bacteria out in areas where it is hard to get to when cleaning otherwise they use regular nuts as that way if they do seize you can get penetrating lubricant into the threads. Acron nuts also give you the possibility of bottoming out the fastener making it harder to remove after it has heated and cooled down a lot. And if bottomed out severely the not allowing it and the fastner bolt to expand properly and putting extra clamping force on what it is holding up against.
. ie the porcelain finish. This is all things that are something that might or might not happen just something that from building a lot of stuff out of stainless in factories and having engineers explain that I have learned and seen fro. Time to time. Also a lot of stainless on the fire trucks that I work on for a living. Anyways that is my 2 cents worth. Now to be honest I am using stainless hardware on my performer rebuild and acron nuts so take it for what it is worth.

[dazzo]

1. Just put your new kettle together (for additional help, search on puckerbutt).

2. Use it.

3. Use it as often as you can.

4. Use it some more.

Forty seven years from now, when a newbie is looking for a classic kettle, they'll pickup your kettle for a steal, see that it was well used, and will only be able to imagine some of the stories and memories it helped create.

They will then experience the joy and satisfaction that only comes from asking lots of questions on which way to burn a snake, WTF is MBH-SS-MT-SJP, trying to track down old parts, ABTs!!, and cleaning a piece of Americana, trying to restore it to its glory, and reusing it to create new memories, and respecting the icon that IS a Weber Kettle.

Of all the kettles I have/had, we've only purchased one brand new Weber kettle. It was black, and it was back in 1978. It's patched together some, but now it's my Old Grey that I cook on today. My son even commented last night, "I'm glad you didn't get rid of that one."

sniff sniff

That's my boy!

[Pioneer]

Bravo Dazzo!

[HankB]

Of all the kettles I have/had, we've only purchased one brand new Weber kettle. It was black, and it was back in 1978.

My first kettle, a '74, was a wedding gift and I still use it. It's still very serviceable but I wish I had put some thought into keeping it nice a little longer. My next kettle was an SJ that I also got new. Then I bought the red MT new. And then a new 18 WSM. I've bought a few new ones over the years. Just this week I acquired a new 14 WSM and traded my '85 26 for a new 26. I've also got some that I acquired used but I guess the bulk of my collection has been new or very nearly so. (The '85 26 had not been used before I got it and my 22 WSM was virtually new.)

Not that I disagree with your sentiments, I just think that a little extra effort up front could keep these looking new a little longer.

Oh yeah, the CGA I acquired at our meetup was also NIB.

[HankB]

I may be the exception, but I don't really like adding anti seize stuff to the internals of the cooker.

Good point. I wonder if the little bit I would use would matter. It's not in contact with food but is exposed to heat and could vaporize the carrier.

... Also a lot of stainless on the fire trucks that I work on for a living.

Manufacturing? Maintenance? Some of our training videos cam from Phoenix (when I was POC with our local department.)

[dazzo]

Not that I disagree with your sentiments, I just think that a little extra effort up front could keep these looking new a little longer.

I totally agree. I wish I had done more with my Old Grey. I've learned my lesson.

[pbe gummi bear]

I think a cover and keeping it out of the elements also goes a long way. It keeps your grills lookin' like Jeff's and Harris92's

[AZ_MIKEY]

... Also a lot of stainless on the fire trucks that I work on for a living.

Manufacturing? Maintenance? Some of our training videos cam from Phoenix (when I was POC with our local department.)
[/quote]

I work for a privatized fire/ems provider company. We do light fab on our ambos and trucks. We do however build our own utility and brush trucks on stripped chassis trucks and refurb update all of our equipment to up to date codes and standards.  As far a manufacturing I worked as a welder/machinist/millwright for some years doing primarily food processing/production equipment that was one off speciality equipment and tanks and piping. Putting together my skill sets as a master automotive/diesel/equipment mechanic/ technician and the fabrication experience I have worked doing what am currently employed doing and previously building all out drag cars from the ground up. Also building IMCA modifieds and late models and prepping and modifing cars for a popular race school based here in Arizona. Current job have been here for almost 6 years. All my work experience I believe helps me out in my new obession with buying used kettles and bringing them back to life.

[G$]

You're hired.