I've been on the lookout for a wood-handled CGA in decent shape for a few months now. Cooker, not a looker. They seem to be few and far between compared to kettles, Smokey Joes, and even WSMs.
Found this one yesterday, though it's not in the best shape. I'm on the fence about it. I know I could get 3rd party replacement wood handles, and new grates from Weber. But at that point I might as well get a NOS wood-handled CGA from eBay, or settle for one of the brand new plastic handled CGAs.
What do you guys think? I'll be at a meeting about 15 minutes from the seller tomorrow.
Does it look like there's corrosion/missing paint on that inside back corner to you all?
And if anyone else in my area reads this, please be cool and don't poach it from me.
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Go get it, and I'll mail you a NOS replacement grate.
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I don't understand the questions. It looks solid. You should already have plans to get it.
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Just buy it and refinish the handles.
Throw Charlie's grate in and start cooking.
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If I was in STL I would get it. Even if it is rusty the handles can be reused and the GA can be a cooker or a carry case.
Good GAs do not come along as often. If they do they are usually $40ish with plastic handles. I actually bought a new wood handle GA on eBay for $70ish I think. I figured after buying a new one plus wood handles I would be in the same ballpark.
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Doesn't look like missing porcelain on the inside back corner. To me it looks like built up grease and crud from grilling. It will probably easily clean up with steel wool and Dawn soap. That cooking grate doesn't look to be in that bad of shape either. If you don't go with Charlie's offer, it could probably be cleaned up by wire brushing and then buffing with steel wool. The handles can be lightly sanded, stained and varnished.
Rescue, Restore, Respect - WKC mantra
Buy it!
Cool thanks for the insights guys! And thanks so much for the offer, MrCPho!
I tend to be indecisive, and this will be my first "rescue", so I was a bit unsure, particularly about that left corner inside. I actually have been in contact with the seller since yesterday afternoon, so I'm definitely planning to pick it up.
MrCPho, I'll get in touch with you once I see the condition of the grates in person. Thanks again for the offer!
Those handles look pretty good to me, I paid 25 for mine with plastic handles and 20 for wood Marlboro handles to go back on it.
That one look like it would clean up nicely. Very fun to cook on.
Grab it! If the handles are in bad shape, I might be able to help you out. I'm in StL, as well....
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Sooo, did ya' get it yet?
I'd be all over that! Use mine to cook almost weekly at the dock when I'm just cooking for me or one other.
Score! Picked it up at lunch today.
It's got a few dings in the enamel on the exterior corners. The wood handles are in much nicer condition than I thought from the first pic I saw. I think they may have been dusty in that pic. And Cellar2ful was right, the gray stuff inside was not corrosion, but rather ash stuck to grease.Is there hardware missing on the legs or the hanger pieces on the insides of the lid? Or is this how they're supposed to be? Overall I think I did alright for $10. Should clean up pretty well.
As I said earlier this is my first rescue, so I need to figure out what I do and don't need to clean it up a bit. I prefer to use common, cheap, low toxicity chemicals for cleaning, like isopropyl alcohol, hydrogen peroxide, baking soda, white vinegar. Will any of those be helpful in cleaning this up? If not I'll just refer to the restoration guide.
Should be a fun little project while I'm off between Christmas and New Years.
Your Dog approves what do you need from us LOL, can't tell for sure but you should have a washer between each leg and the vent adjustments just can't tell from the pics if all 4 are there. You did well. baking soda and vinegar does work, but dawn and 0000 steel wool works wonders and is non caustic as well, and it smells good like when you're doing dishes
Good patina- I like it!!
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Oh thats a definite go anywhere. Got a few dings here and there so just keep it rolling as a work horse
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Grate pick up for $10, clean it up, can't wait to see you fire it up too!
That is a great find!
That thing is a perfect GA pickup in my book. It's a well seasoned cooker that looks really nice and there isn't much worry about roughing it up a little when traveling. Also any Weber that has a decent wood handle selling for $10 is worth picking up. In fact almost any Weber for $10 is worth it. Congrats and enjoy cooking on it.
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1) Diassemble to the degree necessary.
2)Razer scraper for all the really nasty stuff.
3) Water/Dawn and scrubbing with 0000 steel wool to get it really clean of the rust, grime, and corrosion.
4) Evaporust bath to remove remaining rust. Clean it after.
5) Sanding and polishing the aluminum bits as described on the website tutorial for aluminum legs and ash pan.
6) Reassembly with stainless hardware where possible.
OPTIONAL
Soak the grates in water/Dawn and clean as best as you can by scraping (be careful if it is plated as it can chip off), brushing, and steel wool. A wire brush on a drill can do wonders on a Charcoal grate but can be too rough for a plated top grate. If still rusty and it bothers you they can also get an evapo rust bath. I call this optional because a lot of times the grates are in pretty crap condition when you find them.
That is my basic clean up plan. It only differs for more complicated stuff like Performers and etc.
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Are you going to use it? If so I would scrape with the razor, maybe steel wool and dawn, lightly sand and refinish the handles. If you get it too clean, then you wont want to use it lol.
And like
@foshizzle said, its hard to turn down a 10 dollar weber, and I could tell from the pic that the wood was good. 9/10 wkc members would have grabbed that thing.
I agree. If I'm cooking with it then it won't get polished up. Just razor scrape and a hot burn out fire. These are great little cookers. Also, Craycort makes a CI grate for these and IMO it's a worthy upgrade.
https://www.cast-iron-grate.com/go-anywhere-grate-1.html
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These are so much better than a Smokey joe for a small portable grill. 10x better imo. The gas version takes a minute to heat up but it rocks as well.
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Quote from: KevinInStL on December 19, 2019, 09:07:21 AM
And if anyone else in my area reads this, please be cool and don't poach it from me.
Congrats on the pickup! The handles look like they should clean up very nicely! You don't have to worry about any of the active StL members knowingly poaching you, we're all aware of the unwritten rules and kettle karma and just wouldn't do that. If you don't want anyone sniping you, you might want to wait to post until you have it in the car, there are thousands of nonactive members on the forums that might not care about the unwritten rules and karma.
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Quote from: Lowbrass on December 21, 2019, 09:43:38 AM
Quote from: KevinInStL on December 19, 2019, 09:07:21 AM
And if anyone else in my area reads this, please be cool and don't poach it from me.
Congrats on the pickup! The handles look like they should clean up very nicely! You don't have to worry about any of the active StL members knowingly poaching you, we're all aware of the unwritten rules and kettle karma and just wouldn't do that. If you don't want anyone sniping you, you might want to wait to post until you have it in the car, there are thousands of nonactive members on the forums that might not care about the unwritten rules and karma.
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Thanks! Yeah I'm pretty excited to clean it up and get cooking on it. With all the stuff on my Xmas to-do list that will have to wait a few more days. Best $10 I've spent in awhile though!
Yeahhh that's what I was thinking right after I posted it, lol. I was trying to figure out how to delete a post but couldn't find a way. Luckily I had already been in conversation with the seller before I posted here. So if anyone else did contact her, she was also cool about it and reserved it for me. Lesson learned for the future though, and fortunately it wasn't learned the hard way.
Thanks again to everyone here for the advice and just making me aware of the CGA and it's many advantages over the far more common SJ. If it weren't for this place I probably wouldn't have even heard of the CGA. I wonder why Weber sells the SJ in practically every hardware, home improvement, and big box store in the country; while the CGA is a low volume niche market grill that's only sold online?
Anyway Cheers, Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays everyone!
P.s. nice limes, lowbrass!
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