22.5" WSM x SS Performer Cart Build Log

[pbe gummi bear]

Clearances.

The midsection clearance issue isn't as bad as I originally thought. The midsection rolled lip at the bottom is the widest part which measures ~22.5" (estimated from the bowl lip as they are pretty darn close). The gap between the legs is closer to 22".





Theres about .75" of interference between the ashpot and axle.



The leg bolts stick out a bit and hit the midsection. I may grind them down or get buttonhead screws instead. The bend in the front panel also hits it a bit.



Kettle pushed all the way towards the frame legs




.5" of clearance around the SS panel and midsection

[SixZeroFour]

Looking great so far Gummi! Cant wait to see the finished product!

[terrymo]

Thanks for the pics and measurements. I'm brainstorming a similar project so I appreciate the step by step you are showing.

You could take a piece of 1" diameter tube and split it lengthwise so you you have two halves with a "c" profile. Use the "c" shaped end to scribe a line on the legs at the height the flared portion of the bottom of the midsection would need to pass through the legs at a height that the bottom of the midsection would clear the bowl prior to setting the midsection down into the bowl. Remove the material from the leg, cut the "c" channel length to match the width of the leg, and weld these pieces of "c" channel onto the legs. This would give you the clearance to remove and replace the midsection using the handles you installed without any rubbing. Maybe epoxy some black high temp silicone sheet into the "c" channel to keep from damaging the porcelain of the midsection. I don't think you would lose any structural integrity of the legs, especially since the weight of the WSM is on the cross section pieces rather than the factory location. Maybe not necessary but it's easy to brainstorm when you're spending someone else's time and money.    Hopefully that made sense.

[fedex]

Just wondering, are you planning to use any counter balance on the front?  Wouldn't want your cart to be doing wheelies when that 22" is loaded with meat and charcoal.  Also,  Awesome job.  There are better "Out of the Box Thinkers" on this website then at Weber.

[OoPEZoO]

Nice......I have been contemplating a similar project for months, but have been too busy. My big decision was if I wanted to use the WSM bottom section or the kettle bottom. I was concerned about the gas assist lighting more coals than I wanted.  I guess you could light a small amount of coals with the gas assist and then dump rest of the bag on top of the lit. I usually do the opposite, but there are many ways to skin a cat. Thanks for the post.  Looks like it is moving along nicely and I'm interested in how it turns out

[pbe gummi bear]

Nice......I have been contemplating a similar project for months, but have been too busy. My big decision was if I wanted to use the WSM bottom section or the kettle bottom. I was concerned about the gas assist lighting more coals than I wanted.  I guess you could light a small amount of coals with the gas assist and then dump rest of the bag on top of the lit. I usually do the opposite, but there are many ways to skin a cat. Thanks for the post.  Looks like it is moving along nicely and I'm interested in how it turns out

I think it's a great mod so I hope you get around to building your own version. I wanted to have the OT for cleaning so using the performer bowl was an easy choice. I'm adding daisy wheels to have the best of both worlds.

[OoPEZoO]

My thoughts were to mount the WSM onto a hinged shelf on the bottom of the performer frame.  That way when I wanted to empty the ash I could just swing the WSM base/shelf up vertical and sweep it out. No idea if it's feasible as I haven't started test fitting anything yet, but that's my thoughts now. I'll get to it at some point in the next few months.  Too much going on with life and work right now

[pbe gummi bear]

My thoughts were to mount the WSM onto a hinged shelf on the bottom of the performer frame.  That way when I wanted to empty the ash I could just swing the WSM base/shelf up vertical and sweep it out. No idea if it's feasible as I haven't started test fitting anything yet, but that's my thoughts now. I'll get to it at some point in the next few months.  Too much going on with life and work right now

I've thought about this too and it would be a sweet mod! Or at the very least a quick release bowl so you can move it from low to high position.

[MINIgrillin]

Mod month hopefuls are jumping in the pool early.. good stuff

[pbe gummi bear]

I got to work on this some more today. I realize I should probably name this thing as it's a keeper. Any ideas?


I started making templates to install the lower bowl daisy wheel vents. One interesting thing I noticed is that the WSM vent holes in the kettle are larger diameter than the holes on the vent. So I likely don't have to worry too much about the alignment tolerance for the 5 holes on a 22.5" wsm vents. I have a few old vents here that I'll use for test fitting but I'll likely order new ones so they fit nice and tight.

One thing that I test fit for today that I didn't anticipate is that the wsm charcoal grate is 18.5" and the performer charcoal grate is 17". Damn, more work to do. I'll do the math and figure out which diameter/height combo can hold the most charcoal. I'd be up for a taller, but narrower stack of charcoal if that means longer burn time and more consistent temps. I always find that the fire in the wide/shallow charcoal ring of the 22.5" wsm moves around and fluctuates the temp a bit. I'm also lazy and try to control the temp with one lower vent.  My backup place is to drill new standoffs in the bowl to take the wsm charcoal grate.

[rmcmann]

Nice!  Any chance of you wanting to sell the green kettle? I have an SS performer and the kettle has seen better days

[pbe gummi bear]

Nice!  Any chance of you wanting to sell the green kettle? I have an SS performer and the kettle has seen better days

Thanks for asking but the dark green one is sold.

[Bob BQ]

@pbe gummi bear, how's the progress on your WSM cart going? Any picture updates? 

[jaycee213]

This is awesome. I was thinking of getting an old genesis gasser table and turn it into a WSM table but this idea seems like alot less work.

[jaycee213]

After looking at your mod and planing to do it to my SS performer it seems like the wheels on my performer is the other way around compared to your's. Was this done on certain model year? But it kinda works for this mod since the ash can wont interfere with the axle for the wheels.