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.
(http://pics.weberkettleclub.com/images/2016/10/11/DSC02296.md.jpg)
(http://pics.weberkettleclub.com/images/2016/10/11/DSC02298.md.jpg)
(http://pics.weberkettleclub.com/images/2016/10/11/DSC02300.md.jpg)
(http://pics.weberkettleclub.com/images/2016/10/11/DSC02299.md.jpg)
(http://pics.weberkettleclub.com/images/2016/10/11/DSC02301.md.jpg)
Very nice pick up! Absolutely love that shade of blue. Congrats!
@Cellar2ful. That's a beautiful blue. I wouldn't think $70 is anywhere near outrageous. Like you said, how often do we see this come up?! I can't believe she was on the chopping block. Can't wait to see her back in shape. Great story, Jim. Tfs
YAY!! I'm so glad this happened!!
Kudos and shoutout to Larry Beercan Fischer.
Jeeez yes. Who is this Larry beerevilcanunicorn killer?
Great job!! And a beauty of a kettle!!
You are one lucky ba$tard! Larry Beercan Fisher loves cutting up kettles more than I do!!
nice sore and good save... I love the blue
Nice save!! My Grail. Congratulations!
$70 is nothing compared to the enjoyment you'll get out of it. Very very cool
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Cool story, great find, nice save. Can't wait to see Baby Blue in action.
Dammit, does this mean I need to sign up for Facebook to search for more Webers?
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Quote from: Mr.CPHo on October 12, 2016, 05:45:53 AM
Dammit, does this mean I need to sign up for Facebook to search for more Webers?
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Well.... It helps... :)
Picked up my latest off of FB market place, thanks to
@Bob BQ for pointing me in that particular direction... :)
Quote from: jeffrackmo on October 12, 2016, 05:59:40 AM
Quote from: Mr.CPHo on October 12, 2016, 05:45:53 AM
Dammit, does this mean I need to sign up for Facebook to search for more Webers?
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Well.... It helps... :)
Picked up my latest off of FB market place, thanks to @Bob BQ for pointing me in that particular direction... :)
Speaking of which, there's a blue 18 on FB Marketplace/Jefferson City, MO that needs to be rescued... wondering if
@haeffb might be interested.....
nice save! it's a beauty.
Congrats. Glad to see it isn't getting chopped, it's a great color!
Nice score!
@haeffb was interested and set up a meet to pick up the 18" blue and a 22" black MBH on Friday.
Posting the pic because I'm not too scared of someone stealing them out from under me because of their condition. And I'm about worn out from RRR this summer... :)
(http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20161012/c7821b0236f813e013891fa63530f37b.jpg)
Jim can't wait to swing by your house and check the rest of your growing collection.
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(http://i1104.photobucket.com/albums/h339/njb1954/Mobile%20Uploads/2016-10/CDE5D445-3ED5-4926-A9EF-83BEC932852E_zpsjtnuvn5i.png) (http://s1104.photobucket.com/user/njb1954/media/Mobile%20Uploads/2016-10/CDE5D445-3ED5-4926-A9EF-83BEC932852E_zpsjtnuvn5i.png.html)
I can't get it because my wife will kill me
whew ! that was close , a heart warming rescue .
Quote from: Lemans on October 12, 2016, 04:33:38 PM
(http://i1104.photobucket.com/albums/h339/njb1954/Mobile%20Uploads/2016-10/CDE5D445-3ED5-4926-A9EF-83BEC932852E_zpsjtnuvn5i.png) (http://s1104.photobucket.com/user/njb1954/media/Mobile%20Uploads/2016-10/CDE5D445-3ED5-4926-A9EF-83BEC932852E_zpsjtnuvn5i.png.html)
I can't get it because my wife will kill me
@Lemans, please agent for me!
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Congratulations on scoring a beautiful lil' blue MBH! Welcome to the B code blue club! I love mine too!
Well, it has almost been a year since I acquired Baby Blue. I was embarrassed seeing how long this kettle sat untouched, being ignored. I forced myself to find the time to restore and get it standing again.
Two legs sockets had rusted through the bowl at the weld points. Although the sockets were not loose, I drilled and reattached them, sealing the holes with SS screws and washers.
(http://pics.weberkettleclub.com/images/2017/09/23/DSC04635.md.jpg) (http://pics.weberkettleclub.com/images/2017/09/23/DSC04639.md.jpg)
There were no vents on the bowl when I received it. Sourced some old, period correct vents and reattached them also with SS hardware. I ordered some new ones from Weber but was not happy with the quality or look of the new ones.
This was a photo posted on Facebook by Larry Beercan Fisher which originally got my attention to try and save it.
(http://pics.weberkettleclub.com/images/2017/09/23/13932982_1163515620389781_1584072331_n.md.jpg)
And now.
(http://pics.weberkettleclub.com/images/2017/09/23/DSC04670.md.jpg)
Thank you to
@Scott Zee for providing the correct ash pan. Might look a little different now Scott. I hate cleaning ash pans but they shore look pretty shined up. 5 hours cleaning and polishing this one.
(http://pics.weberkettleclub.com/images/2017/09/23/DSC04652.md.jpg)
Baby blue is now standing proudly on it's own three legs.
(http://pics.weberkettleclub.com/images/2017/09/23/DSC04653.md.jpg)(http://pics.weberkettleclub.com/images/2017/09/22/20170922_162341.jpg)
Thank you
@Travis for motivating me.
Quote from: Travis on September 04, 2017, 01:11:46 PM
Quote from: Cellar2ful on September 04, 2017, 07:59:03 AM
@Mr.CPHo - I promise. Just have to make the time to restore them both. I am embarrassed to admit this but "Baby Blue" is still sitting in my garage in the same condition it was shipped to me in October of 2016. Your request hopefully will motivate me to prioritize both of their restorations.
Get off your ass, brother, and clean and post those damn blues!
Rescue, respect, restore...
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Wow that looks amazing! Great restore.
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Jim, oh man....what a great story. You really brought that baby back from the dead. 5 hrs. on the pan, I'd be afraid to use it now, LOL. It looks great and I'm happy I could be a part of the restore. 8)
Wow, looks incredible!
Nice restore!
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That is an awesome blue. I missed it probably, but what years was that available?
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Beautiful. What else can you say.
@blksabbath - Dark blue and dark green were introduced in 1978 ( sourced from the WKC 1978 Grill History thread). The blue and green MBH were available until 1981, when Weber introduced the wooden bowl handles. The blue and green was still produced in 1981 but the blue MBH's were only available for a 3 year run. That is what makes the blue and green MBH's so rare.
Can't tell from the pics, but must have painted a few spots?
Bravo sir...BRAVO!
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@ABROB - No paint used in the restoration. The lid had no missing porcelain. The bowl had porcelain pops at the grate straps and small porecelain acne. It is an interesting pattern, almost like from a shotgun pellet blast. It is down low on the bowl and does not show much. I will take a picture and post it when I return home.
That's awesome - just realized I was looking at haeffb's pic on page 2 of the post, not yours. :)