Weber Kettle Club Forums
Grill Talk => Weber Grill Forum (Grills, Accessories) => Topic started by: xring01 on November 23, 2015, 08:51:21 PM
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Well I picked this up the other day. Its an older model, age is unknown, alot of newer parts on it like the stand and wheels. No dents, the grates are in excellent condition. Overall I am very very happy, especially at the price I paid.
The leg pockets have been welded, which messed up the porcelain on the inside of the unit.
Its been rattle canned..
When I got it home, I took pressure washer to it, Then a grinding wire brush to the grates. Its cleaning up nice..
Now I need to figure out the best way to remove the paint on the exterior.. and Paint a few areas were the porcelain it damaged..
It doesnt have any date codes on the vents. And I cannot confirm that they are the original vents. I think they have been replaced over time.
Cant wait to get use it. One thing I love about this design, it will make a perfect fire pit, low to the ground.
I need to figure out what to do with the lid when I am using it.. Its big, very big.. you can set it on the ground, or on the ground and lean it on the kettle, but it still is taller than the kettle??? Got some thinking to do.
These are the pics after I cleaned it up...
(http://i1220.photobucket.com/albums/dd441/xring01/IMG_2567_zpsqbsgb8yw.jpg) (http://s1220.photobucket.com/user/xring01/media/IMG_2567_zpsqbsgb8yw.jpg.html)
(http://i1220.photobucket.com/albums/dd441/xring01/IMG_2566_zpsdjrdwqym.jpg) (http://s1220.photobucket.com/user/xring01/media/IMG_2566_zpsdjrdwqym.jpg.html)
This is an older pic of my offset smoker.. I love that thing, but If I need temps over 275, it just sucks up way to much fuel.. Below that, its good to go. This was another nice CL Find, but that was many years ago.
(http://i1220.photobucket.com/albums/dd441/xring01/image.jpg1_zps4lmyie7h.jpg) (http://s1220.photobucket.com/user/xring01/media/image.jpg1_zps4lmyie7h.jpg.html)
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Congrats!
Now I need to figure out the best way to remove the paint on the exterior..
Lacquer thinner. There are threads on how to remove paint… do a search using "painted" and "yellow"… should find several threads.
it will make a perfect fire pit
:o No!
I need to figure out what to do with the lid when I am using it.. Its big, very big.. you can set it on the ground, or on the ground and lean it on the kettle, but it still is taller than the kettle??? Got some thinking to do.
Here you go: http://weberkettleclub.com/forums/weber-kettles-accessories/ranch-mothership-slide-aside-lid-mod/
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Bob,
I was hoping to use a paint stripper, but do not know if it will damage anything..
Why cant it be used as a fire pit?
That link is exactly what i am looking for..
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it will make a perfect fire pit
:o No!
lol. If you do use it as a fire pit I highly recommend taking out the grates. The RK grates are $$$ and deform easily due to their size.
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Bob,
I was hoping to use a paint stripper, but do not know if it will damage anything..
Why cant it be used as a fire pit?
That link is exactly what i am looking for..
Try this out in a inconspicuous location: http://weberkettleclub.com/forums/weber-kettles-accessories/painted-over-yellow-resto-progress-and-questions/ http://weberkettleclub.com/forums/weber-kettles-accessories/yellow-painted-green-restore-part-4-final/
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Way, way aside from any restore that you may do - please don't turn that into some Weber zombie firepit. You have acquired a scarce resource that should be cooking some good grub. I get it, it's a train wreck. But not the kind of wreck that won't make great food. If nothing else, clean it up and cook on it.
Even if it turn out that ugly scars are revealed beneath the flat black, that is a cooker. I can see that from a hundred plus miles north of you. With all the flaws considered, you got a good deal on a unique food game changing grill. It probably won't ever be a showpiece, but that thing really looks like a great cooker.
And I would pay you for it now. (That damned work thing, why do we have to do that?) I just haven't had time to travel or I would have driven down there and bought it and bragged about it, rather than posting it here.
@xring01
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Great score, look forward to seeing it restored and fired up
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Why cant it be used as a fire pit?
@xring01 , obviously, you can use it for whatever you want. What you'll find here, as a at least one comment has already stated, is that this community is all about the Three R's... Rescue (you've already accomplished this), Restore (you've started and are well on your way), Respect (it was made for cooking, dammit! ;D).
Again, congratulations on your pickup! Please continue to post pics of the restore, and we'd love to see pics of the first cook. :D
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Awesome score!
It was black to begin with, so I'm wondering why someone would spray bomb it? I'm thinking you may not like what you see when you get all that paint off. If it starts heading that direction you may want to grab a quart of the Rust-Oleum high heat paint at Lowes. I just used it on a project and it's way more satin than flat (even though they call it flat). I would think spray bombing would be a pain on something that big. You just apply with a foam roller.
http://www.lowes.com/ProductDisplay?partNumber=183928-90-7778502&langId=-1&storeId=10151&productId=3052391&catalogId=10051&cmRelshp=req&rel=nofollow&cId=PDIO1
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First off great find!
A few things... On the mothership ranch kettles the leg socket welds are generally quite rough looking so I bet it's all original :) Its almost like they over-welded them to give it the additional strength needed to hold so much weight...
As for stripping the paint - I would highly recommend against paint stripper. Stripper is a nasty chemical that could have an effect on the original porcelain finish. Personally I would actually try dry scraping it off with a razor blade before creating a huge wet mess with paint thinner or similar. Especially if the paint has seen a lot of sun exposure - I bet it nearly flakes right off. If not then perhaps consider something a little more aggressive (Maybe thinner and some #0000 steel wool). Honestly, at first glance it appears to be pretty solid to me. If you spend the time cleaning her up you might be surprised what you are left with.
and yes, PLEASE don't use it as a fire pit! 8) or if you do rig up an aftermarket grate to hold the wood because as others have mentioned the stock ones are worth their weight in gold.
Congrats and welcome to the site!
Matt
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Just had another look and you can tell just by the shape and smoothness to the finish that its in nice shape under there! Cleaned up and a couple new wood handles and I think you'll have a very sought after kettle on your hands!
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Just hope it was not sanded to get the paint to stick to it!!!!
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Sweet find, please don't use it as a fire pit...
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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Bob,
I was hoping to use a paint stripper, but do not know if it will damage anything..
Congrats on an awesome score!!!
I just finished doing a resto on a yellow 22" that had baked on paint/primer (seller said he bought it that way & cooked on it for 8yrs). From the look of your pics, the paint looks relatively fresh. Hopefully the seller sprayed it just before listing it. Not gonna lie to you, if it's baked on, it will be a long & tedious task removing it (well worth it though).
I would start on an inconspicuous spot on the bottom of the bowl. Lacquer thinner and #1 steel wool will work w/o damaging porcelain. You could use razor blades to scrape the paint off, then go lacquer thinner & steel wool. Be careful, because if the black is faded, the porcelain is "tender" & will scratch easily with a blade. I did use a heat gun to make the paint more brittle & easier to scrape on my yellow, since the paint/primer was already baked on.
Here was my nightmare:
(http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/11/24/9f62af0a30c1477aca81cb346a8dfecd.jpg)
Good luck.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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Screw it. Leave it flat black and throw 50 steaks on it. You got a cheap RK. Abuse that bastard! ..but not as a firepit.
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MOTHERSHIP TO BASE ....MOTHERSHIP TO BASE !...require immediate evac ! repeat immediate evac landed in hostile territory... intercepted terrifying transcript.....going to turned into ..into..a FIREPIT ! NEED HELP IMMEDIATLY..
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MOTHERSHIP TO BASE ....MOTHERSHIP TO BASE !...require immediate evac ! repeat immediate evac landed in hostile territory... intercepted terrifying transcript.....going to turned into ..into..a FIREPIT ! NEED HELP IMMEDIATLY..
Great first post Johnny ;D
Welcome to the club!
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Really,
I never said it would be a full time fire pit...
Maybe a couple of times a year.. Its very easy for me to break out the mig welder and build a fire pit grate.. Thinking a smore night for the kids.. Entire friends and family gathering around the kettle after a smoked brisket/ rib dinner, making smores for the kids dessert.
Please tell me how thats nothing but respect.
My offset smoker cant do that!
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Really,
I never said it would be a full time fire pit...
Maybe a couple of times a year.. Its very easy for me to break out the mig welder and build a fire pit grate.. Thinking a smore night for the kids.. Entire friends and family gathering around the kettle after a smoked brisket/ rib dinner, making smores for the kids dessert.
Please tell me how thats nothing but respect.
My offset smoker cant do that!
I believe that using it as you described here would constitute respect.[emoji6]
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The best fire pit is a washing machine drum. Burn a bunch of oak down to coals and the heat radiates out of the sides.
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Jon
I think washing drums are pretty ugly. They are great for the desert. Not so much for my back yard.
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Really,
I never said it would be a full time fire pit...
Maybe a couple of times a year.. Its very easy for me to break out the mig welder and build a fire pit grate.. Thinking a smore night for the kids.. Entire friends and family gathering around the kettle after a smoked brisket/ rib dinner, making smores for the kids dessert.
Please tell me how thats nothing but respect.
My offset smoker cant do that!
I'd love to see this. :)
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Just use a regular 22" kettle as a fire pit (http://weberkettleclub.com/forums/weber-kettles-accessories/kettle-fire-pit/) ….
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A good cooker has seasoning from previous cooks. Using a cooker as a fire pit is gonna burn that off. If you put the lid on to kill your fire it would quickly remove seasoning.
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Well, My back and feet are tired... Spent all day bent over the Ranch Kettle Cleaning it up..
Background, I tried the steel wool and lacquer thinner technique.. It worked, but a whole lot of elbow grease was involved. Thats a very big grill..
So I got to thinking.. I know some of you purists are about to have a heart attach... Paint Stripper.. This is industrial grade stuff.. I tried it on a small area of an older beat up grill.. It worked..
(http://i1220.photobucket.com/albums/dd441/xring01/IMG_2641_zpsyqvixcbk.jpg) (http://s1220.photobucket.com/user/xring01/media/IMG_2641_zpsyqvixcbk.jpg.html)
So on to the Ranch... I would say this stuff cut the work by 75%.. It was still work.. But It got the job done. The upside down C Rust spot.. Is from the Weld for the Leg stantion.. All three legs have the same weld/rust spots.
(http://i1220.photobucket.com/albums/dd441/xring01/IMG_2637_zpskko7ujc6.jpg) (http://s1220.photobucket.com/user/xring01/media/IMG_2637_zpskko7ujc6.jpg.html)
(http://i1220.photobucket.com/albums/dd441/xring01/IMG_2638_zpsmmmfydby.jpg) (http://s1220.photobucket.com/user/xring01/media/IMG_2638_zpsmmmfydby.jpg.html)
(http://i1220.photobucket.com/albums/dd441/xring01/IMG_2639_zpsrrofizzz.jpg) (http://s1220.photobucket.com/user/xring01/media/IMG_2639_zpsrrofizzz.jpg.html)
(http://i1220.photobucket.com/albums/dd441/xring01/IMG_2640_zpsay8n70fr.jpg) (http://s1220.photobucket.com/user/xring01/media/IMG_2640_zpsay8n70fr.jpg.html)
Before any of you start thinking that the stripper caused the light and dark spots on it... I can assure you, that it didnt. I was getting the same results with steel wool and thinner....
After I was done using the stripper... I washed the entire thing down with Thinner... Then I washed it completely with Dawn Dish soap, Twice...
Then I lit a chimney of charcoal to burn off anything I might have done.
(http://i1220.photobucket.com/albums/dd441/xring01/IMG_2642_zpslx3oiflv.jpg) (http://s1220.photobucket.com/user/xring01/media/IMG_2642_zpslx3oiflv.jpg.html)
That was alot of work..
I am not done yet. I am thinking about replacing the wooden handles.. The ones I have, are cracked and about to fall apart.. The purist in me is thinking just take then off and glue them back together, sand them down and keep the originals that came with it..
Decisions..
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Go with new @zavod44 can make exact replicas for you.
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Nice job on the clean up!
That's a helluva nice grill you got there, I keep telling my wife I need a ranch...she's not too keen on the idea, but just you wait til one shows up on CL for a reasonable price!
Excellent job again, can't wait to see some cooks!
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The Chimney of Coal pretty much ran out...
I played with the Bottom and Top, Intake/Exhaust Ports, seeing how they effected the temp...
Then I got to thinking... This thing just ran at 290-375 for almost two hours... Its 4pm... Humm..
There are some Brautworst in the fridge...
Added a Chunks of Red Oak... about 8 more coals..., And some Brats..
She's smokin away at the moment at 230 degrees..
An hour later
(http://i1220.photobucket.com/albums/dd441/xring01/image_zpsueefgg2b.jpeg) (http://s1220.photobucket.com/user/xring01/media/image_zpsueefgg2b.jpeg.html)
(http://i1220.photobucket.com/albums/dd441/xring01/image_zpscruhbkuy.jpeg) (http://s1220.photobucket.com/user/xring01/media/image_zpscruhbkuy.jpeg.html)
Brats, onions and queso.. Its a good day
(http://i1220.photobucket.com/albums/dd441/xring01/IMG_2643_zpsbyxmvg9i.jpg) (http://s1220.photobucket.com/user/xring01/media/IMG_2643_zpsbyxmvg9i.jpg.html)
I use an original IGrill, great device.. I use it alot..
Please forgive the condition of my back yard.. When you live in SoCal.. and there is a water shortage.. Had to basically kill the grass in the back yard.. Hell I think I killed a few trees in the process.. Turned the water down that much.. Come on El Nino.. We need some Rain.
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Nice job!
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Nice work! The paint stripper is standard for removing the paint. It looks a hell of a lot better stripped down.
You can use the Pam trick to make it look darker:
That's my rationalization for the results of my 'cleanup.'
This is my first Weber and was a wedding present in '74. IIRC it remained in the box for a year or two. ::) I finally got around to setting up and my first cook was some baby back ribs. Holy cow! They were terrific! I wish I had not waited to get started. I've been cooking on Webers ever since and recently the collection has been growing. Flush with the success of cleaning up the CGA destined for a trade with Brian, I set to work on this. I had tried once before and found that the rust on the lid was pretty stubborn. Here's a before and after picture. It does not have the sharp looks that I had hoped for when I began the cleanup, but it is entirely serviceable and should remain so for as long as I can get charcoal lit.
(https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/--ZUIJ88PfZg/T7D-tWpk2gI/AAAAAAAAJf4/hBU5NWl_MME/s800/DSC_5321-PP.JPG)(https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-1xLu-OkDM9o/UZainii5nnI/AAAAAAAARHw/wLTZ47LWbCU/s800/DSC_6638-PP.JPG)
The ash pan got my first attention.
(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-ypEvgBs7EWQ/UZGoYOdltdI/AAAAAAAARDo/Fg5CvlYdztE/s800/DSC_6592-PP.JPG)
It was pretty dull and pretty dented up. I took a rubber mallet to it and got it surprisingly close to original shape. Then I started with the steel wool. I did succeed in getting some spots shiny, but the corrosion is really durable! After more and more scrubbing, I caved and decided it was good enough. :-[ I followed the cleaning with a coat of Nu Finish - a silicone based car polish. Hopefully that will help to prevent further corrosion.
I took it apart and used some oven cleaner on the inside of the bowl and lid with particular attention to the vents. They were getting hard to move. I did polish the vents up with 0000 steel wool and then Flitz metal polish. I followed this up with a coat of Nu Finish. The results were better than the ash pan, but not that high shine I have seen others here produce.
I scrubbed the outside porcelain surfaces with steel wool. I also tried CLR (HCL solution) and some other rust removing solution. Nothing fazed the rust stains. The legs got the same steel wool, Nevr-Dull polish and Nu Finish treatment. I even bought a new 1" vinyl cap for the one leg that does not have a wheel.
I took a wire wheel to the triangle. There were places where I could still see some chrome, but for the most part it was just rust. I sprayed it with a rust inhibiting primer and then silver colored paint.
The next thought rant toward preserving the grill. I have a cover for it which should help. (Do not buy the non-premium Weber covers as the one I have already ha area s cracks in it.) I note that oil provides a durable finish on cast iron cookware, particularly when heat is applied. I decided to use that to see if it would prevent further rust. I sprayed Pam (canola AKA rapeseed oil) around handles and leg sockets where the paint was chipped and across the pitted section on the lid. The area around the rim of the bowl also had considerable rust so I sprayed that too. The oil caused an almost magical transformation to the porcelain. The gray darkened to nearly the original black. This is an interesting phenomena and hopefully it will tell me when the oil needs to be reapplied.
(https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-DtfyFMYhYy4/UZainv6z-oI/AAAAAAAARH4/AQKmK4E8FJg/s800/DSC_6640-PP.JPG)
Ready to cook! (*)
(https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-KJaRaMfcsHM/UZainqP0ZOI/AAAAAAAARH0/24BhLwdXPPA/s800/DSC_6644-PP.JPG)
(*) I have the push on axle nuts on order and am using a couple zip ties keeping the wheels on in the mean time. I also have a lid handle coming for it from Brian. The bowl handles do not have holes in them so I presume they never had wood handles.
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Very nice. The work is definitely worth the reward when done. I have a mid 90's RK, & hope to find a mothership RK to partner with it someday. Love that grill.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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Bloody beautiful ranch you got there.... Great job on the clean up!!!
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Beauty ranch you've got there. People across the road use the same one as a fire pit....they have no idea what they have and won't sell it to me. It's too far gone now anyways. Keep yours grilling.
Sent from my SM-G900W8 using Tapatalk
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Looks great! Great job on the clean up!!
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I love the fact that you worked your butt off to clean up your grill and it returned the favor with a nice little cook. (The first of many). Welcome to the ranch kettle club - you certainly earned it.
Winz
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Phenomenal job and what a cool kettle. I'm jealous....congrats
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Just posted in the cook section, for tonights dinner
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First off congrats and welcome to the RK club! Just an FYI resist putting lit charcoal all the way across the grate it will get hot and singed arm hair trying to get things off plus you can warp the grates as the Ranches can create their own weather system! ;D
My first outing was a brisket using the snake method to do a brisket with two of the bottom vents closed and the other barely cracked under the lit charcoal and the top vent 1/2 to 1/4 open and it stayed rock solid at 250 for the duration of the cook
(http://i1048.photobucket.com/albums/s368/1911Ron/Grills/Kettles/20150705_132448_zpsyc9koakx.jpg)
(http://i1048.photobucket.com/albums/s368/1911Ron/Grills/Kettles/20150705_134442_zps69lhhpjw.jpg)