Who would have ever thought Tom Petty would be so on topic?
https://youtu.be/uMyCa35_mOg
For those who haven't guessed, I found something that MIGHT be interesting.
Ok? Is it that you are "waiting" on a status update for a grill? Or that it might potentially be Tom Petty's old BBQ?
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Sometime yesterday or late the night before, I noticed an ad for an estate sale that was already over a week old, but I skimmed through the pics & nothing was of interest. I looked at the text of the ad and noticed they mentioned a Weber grill, so I messaged them.
Often, I only bother to ask the color, but recently started asking (fairly often anyway) if they can send a pic (you never know, it might reveal a black w/triangular ashpan, DEMO on top, or whatever. Plus, then you don't have to ask the follow up question if it is gas or charcoal. Some time later, they mention that they will be over there later & take some pics for me as the Weber grill had not sold.
Some time passes & I receive to pics along with "$15". Without even enlarging the pics, I recognize the handle as a Happy Cooker, not a Weber. So, I immediately go to the pic with the lid off & zoom right in to see if the ashpan is there. It is, but you can see a hole in it. Also, the handle on the front of the kettle is completely missing.
So, I zoom out & start replying "Thank you for your time, but I'm looking for something in better condition (or whatever), yada, yada, yada". (I always figure if they go through the effort & I don't buy it, the least I can do is thank them for taking the time). I'm about to send the email, but something made me stop. I go back & look at the pics again and notice a little something next to the HC, deleted that email, & asked "how much for the yellow one next to it"?
I actually cropped the photos a bit, just at the tops & bottoms, because otherwise they were coming out sideways when I posted. These were what I actually got, but reduced slightly in file size to fit the boards limits.
So.... congrats? Hopefully you secured the Yachtsman, looks like the HC is wearing the twist on ash pan. Might as well take the HC/ash pan while you're there.
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In any event, as soon as I noticed it was a Happy Cooker, I was son intent on the internal ash pan, that I didn't even notice that flash of yellow next to it.
After messaging her, I waited, and waited, and waited. Then I waited some more. Started wondering if they might ask if I had any for sale, or something.
Finally, I get a response. Something like, "$7, but it is missing a leg". So, immediately send her a message that I'll buy it & that I'd like to look at any more bbq items, including cookbooks, if there is any tomorrow. Also mentioned, I'd take a look at whatever is left. So, now I'm like OMG (I don't have a yellow yet & for $7, I'd probably buy it regardless of it's shape).
Then I wait, I wait, I wait, & I wait some more. Finally she says, message me tomorrow what time you want to come by. Stopped by today picked it up. While I was there, I picked up a hand tool, a door threshold thing, a flowered tablecloth that looked like it is from the same era as when Weber had some flowered kettle covers. I did notice the external ashpan was on the HC (see pics) while I was there & I found what may be the original grate in the basement (it was a heavier quality).
Then I wait, wait, wait, wait & start wondering if maybe I shouldn't have posted the OMG on the board. What happens if someone sees it on the board & then combs through stuff & finds the same breadcrumbs as I did? On the plus side, it was located in a minority nieghborhood on the southside, but a relatively decent working class neighborhood. Since many Caucasians don't know the difference, I figured that might keep it safe from poachers even if someone else found it during the intervening time.
Since this morning, it's been sitting in the back of my SUV. The lid is sitting on top of the grates & ashpan inside a garbage bag. Kettle is inside a different garbage bag (fair amount of caked on ash there). Triangle, 2 legs & wheels didn't get that treatment. It had the early plastic wheels '73-'76 (before they said "WEBER". I'll post better pics later.
"Seller" was a friend of the family helping them out because she is retired & can meet people during the day when everyone else is at work. She still tried selling me that HC.
THANK YOU. The Yachtsman is safe & secure. It has been in the back of my vehicle since this morning. The HC ash pan was rusted through, blew up the pics right away to look and didn't even notice the Yachtsman because I was so intent of the ash pan.
Good eye regarding the HC wearing the Yachtsman's ash pan. I noticed it while I was there & mentioned it went with the yellow grill. Would have been bummed if I'd left it behind.
It's got some blemishes, but is in pretty nice shape & will clean up nicely. For $7, I can't imagine what shape it would have had to have been in for me to say "nah".
It is my first yellow, so I'm tickled pink.
Quote from: Mr.CPHo on March 19, 2019, 02:02:08 PM
So.... congrats? Hopefully you secured the Yachtsman, looks like the HC is wearing the twist on ash pan. Might as well take the HC/ash pan while you're there.
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Awesome score. Can't wait to see the reveal pictures. I've noticed in the last few months while driving I'm looking in side yards and back yards more and more. Just to see what kind of grills/smokers people have and if maybe, just maybe you stumble upon a treasure waiting to be had.
Thank you! I do the same thing, checking out what I see in backyards as I'm driving around.
Quote from: FarmerQue on March 19, 2019, 02:25:31 PM
Awesome score. Can't wait to see the reveal pictures. I've noticed in the last few months while driving I'm looking in side yards and back yards more and more. Just to see what kind of grills/smokers people have and if maybe, just maybe you stumble upon a treasure waiting to be had.
Good eye, great score!
Thanks. When I noticed it, I didn't want to be over eager, so I just asked how much it was. Then after she didn't answer, I messaged again & said that it looked like it was in better shape. Then, I was worried that the second message was too soon & might start her wondering why I was so eager for the one that was barely in the pic. It took several hours for her to get back to me and I imagined all sorts of scenarios. That is when the Tom Petty song started going through my head.
2 of 3 bottom vents are fairly bent. I might wind up drilling out the rivets, try bending/pounding them back into shape & then re-riveting.
The first two photos are the top & bottom still in the cheap garbage bags that I like to use for pickups. There was plenty of ashes caked inside.
Third pic is the top vent, with a patent number. It has the early completely plastic wheels circa 73-76.
Fourth pic is a round tablecloth that I bought right off a table inside the house for $1. It looks like something of the same era & I thought would look good on a table next to this grill.
A couple more pics. As mentioned before, one leg is missing, so I propped it on the chair. I do have the ashpan, but didn't put it on for the pics (the third leg is missing anyway, so it wouldn't work). In the last pic, you can see all of the 4 pretty good size chips in the lid. Also, some rim rash.
Two of the 3 bottom vents are pretty bent. I'm thinking about drilling them off, trying to pound them back into reasonable shape, & then riveting back on the bowl. 4
I'll wind up searching on here to see if others have done it (for any tips) & to see if anyone has found rivets similar to what Weber uses. I think the ones I have are aluminum, but Weber's rivets seem to rust.
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Again, congrats.
I would not drill out the rivets. Sometimes there's a bunch of greasy ashes that build up between the bowl and vents and no amount of bending will fix that. The vents are pretty pliable and can be formed back into shape while still attached. Clean out the area underneath the vents and see if you can bend them back into shape afterwards.
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Thanks for the tip. I'm pretty excited because I don't have a yellow & am looking forward to seeing the color change during a cook in person. While there are quite a few prettier yellows around here, for $7, I'm just thrilled.
Quote from: Mr.CPHo on March 20, 2019, 09:14:08 AM
Again, congrats.
I would not drill out the rivets. Sometimes there’s a bunch of greasy ashes that build up between the bowl and vents and no amount of bending will fix that. The vents are pretty pliable and can be formed back into shape while still attached. Clean out the area underneath the vents and see if you can bend them back into shape afterwards.
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Strangely, this is the second kettle I bought that was missing a front leg.
The first was a black steel wheel where the pictures were just awful & you couldn't even tell the front leg was missing (and it wasn't mentioned in the ad). What I did see in the bad pics was a small portion of a steel wheel, so I jumped on it. I don't think it was mentioned in the ad, but he claimed it had never been used & had been sitting in a basement for a long time. I was skeptical (at first), but when I got it home I looked at it very carefully & did not see any evidence it had been cooked on, but there was a some dirt, dust, grime, but not from a cook. It was listed for only $20 and I just doubt anyone would have done WKC cleanup/restore job on it, plus throw in new grates, just to sell it for so little.
I actually barely started cleaning her up a bit. Just started on the bowl last night, but wound up getting interrupted. (Wife & 2 small kids). I tried the spay on a mix of liquid Tide & water first, but it doesn't quite come off as easily as some experience (some were able to "hose" it off, but maybe they were working on one that had been cleaned in the last several decades).
But, it does seem to be coming off ok with the razor blade. I'm actually using a NOS vintage MADE in the USA one that I picked up somewhere still in it's sealed package with 5 MADE in the USA razor blades. Cracked it open for this because I didn't remember where my other one is.
I'll take some pics when done. I'll even try using a better camera & steady the camera better.
Quote from: PotsieWeber on March 20, 2019, 08:47:45 AM
Third pic is the top vent, with a patent number. It has the early completely plastic wheels circa 73-76.
I am thinking that the small tabs on the bowl indicate that it was born in '74.
@Craig ? Am I correct with the year?
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Thanks for pointing that out
@Lowbrass.
I forgot the tabs on the bowl bottom narrow it down further because the large ones started in 75. I skipped that part when trying to figure out it's age. So I think that narrows it down to a '73 or '74, but I don't think the exact year can be figured out necessarily. I'll take a look again at the guide again.
Yes, it looks like that narrows it down to either a 73 or 74 as it has the patent number on the top vent and has those all plastic wheels that also started in 73. It age guide doesn't appear to indicate any known differences between 1973 and 1974 kettles.
I got most of the gunk out of the bowl fairly quickly last night using a razor blade after giving it the liquid Tide treatment someone had mentioned. While it did not hose off, as another mentioned, it certainly did scrap off a lot easier with a razor blade than when I started doing that on my red mist SSP a while back (without the pre-treatment) and said "to hell with this, I'm just going to cook on it anyway."
The wife came upon me cleaning it in the washtub sort of sink in the laundry room and neither complained nor said "don't we already have too many of these damn grills already?"