Performer & M/T lid mod

[Winz]

If this has been covered before, my apologies for the redundancy.

Performers and M/Ts are favorites of mine, but the lid holder design is less than satisfactory, especially on the Perfomer.  When you put the lid in the holder, it still blocks access to the grill, and makes it awkward to use the left side of the grate:



As a result, I often find myself setting the lid down on a table, or worse yet, on the ground.

With an M/T, this is less of a problem, as you can set the kettle with the lid bale directly away from you.  However, as good friend and fellow grillfella recently found out, an M/T with its lid in the holder becomes a sail boat when the wind picks up, and can tip over very easily.

To solve this, I wanted a low cost, low impact mod that would work with both the Performer and the M/T.  The lids on these kettles do not have a lid hook (like the OTS/OTG kettles do).  They are "clean" underneath:



The idea then is to build a lid hook that will allow the lid to hang out of the way using the following materials/tools:



First, I taped and marked a hole 1" above the rim of the kettle, inline with the handle.  I chose the "right" side of the lid - when I pick the lid up with my left hand, I move it left to hang it.  Therefore it makes sense that the hook should be on the right side of the lid:



Most people use a "step bit" to drill a kettle.  However, I have found that by using a small bit and gradually increasing in size to 1/4", I can get a good clean hole.

The corner bracket (zinc plated) goes like this:



It is fastened with a 1/4" SS bolt, SS washers on both sides, a SS locking washer, and a SS acorn nut.  Total hardware = $4.00



Now it hangs nice and out of the way:





M/T pre, and post mod:





With the lid hanging down like that, and able to swing a bit freely, it is doubtful that a gust of wind would knock the kettle down.

Bisbee with the mod.  It is pretty clean and not very noticeable.



Would I do this with a vintage kettle?  Probably not.  But both Bisbee and Jerome are working kettles where I value function more that originality.  I think it makes the kettles easier to cook on and with the M/T, less likely to get blown over.

Cheers,

Winz

[Bman]

Gotta like when great minds think alike - only mine was on a mini-wsm build I did.   
And much like you, I also believe the final design of the lid bale leaves a lot to be desired.

[Winz]

Gotta like when great minds think alike - only mine was on a mini-wsm build I did.   

To give credit where credit is due - I am pretty sure the first time I saw this mod was on your mini WSM project many months ago.  I have seen it a couple of different places since.  I am not the originator of the idea - just applying it to my own needs.

That mini paint job is killer!

Winz

[landgraftj]

Great job guys! One worry I may have...possible to burn your leg bumping into it or is the lid out of the way enough? Maybe, maybe not. I guess we will find out when we see some photos and one leg has no hair on it!!!

[DirectDrive]

Nice mod, Winz !
Excellent pics and narration !


And thank you for helping me decide to never add a lid bale.

[Heyjude]

I think you can also drill out the top vent and attach a bracket there.. No damage to the kettle lid.
Either way, the creative minds at work here never stop..Nice work.
Are we calling your work Winzical?   

[JosephJ]

I think you can also drill out the top vent and attach a bracket there.. No damage to the kettle lid.
Either way, the creative minds at work here never stop..Nice work.
Are we calling your work Winzical?   

This is what I did I'll take pics tomarrow I took 3/4"x1/8" steel bar stock and bent it in the shape of a hook then drilled out the vent rivet and bolted it back on the lid it works great.

[JosephJ]

Looks good winz this is how I did mine.

[Jocool]

Good idea. This would work well on the double table I built. It would be way better than my current scenario.

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[addicted-to-smoke]

Saw a Weber video where Jamie Purviance took a Performer's lid off and hooked on on the backside of the frame. Somehow.

[oil99]

So new here and new with my Jumbo Joe so I'd assume if there is enough wind to tip over the grill with the lid in the holder then there is enough wind to send your hot coals everywhere, ruin your food and burn down at least your yard... Maybe the house 😉 so is this really a problem? Just wondering as I don't love using my charcoal grills in the wind.


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[Cuda Dan]

Winz,
I was thing about the modification and you know a guy that is black smith maybe a custom hook could be designed and manufactured from what has been posted so far?

[Winz]

So new here and new with my Jumbo Joe so I'd assume if there is enough wind to tip over the grill with the lid in the holder then there is enough wind to send your hot coals everywhere, ruin your food and burn down at least your yard... Maybe the house 😉 so is this really a problem? Just wondering as I don't love using my charcoal grills in the wind.

The problem is more of an issue with an M/T for a few reasons:  1) the M/T sits up much higher, so if the kettle tips, it will likely damage the bowl and/or lid, 2) because the M/T has wheels, they create a "pivot point" - coupled with a high center of gravity, it is very easy to tip a M/T over.  3) The way the lid bale is mounted on the M/T, it makes the problem worse, as the weight of the lid and the effect of the wind are on the wrong side of the pivot. 

On the JJ, one of the 3 legs is situated directly behind the lid bale, making it much less likely to tip over unless the wind is very strong.

JosephJ - I like your approach to the problem.  Low cost, low impact, and functional!  Good job.

Winz

[DirectDrive]

Saw a Weber video where Jamie Purviance took a Performer's lid off and hooked on on the backside of the frame. Somehow.

Can't wrap my head around this.....got a link to that video ?


Noice job JosephJ !

[JosephJ]

the main reason i started thinking about how to modify the lid is light! not worrying about wing knocking over my performer. I have my grill where its protected from wind, but the lid acts as a ez-up blocking the flood light at my house, and i end up setting the lid on the ground, or using a head lamp now with the new mounting hook theirs no shadow. I'm going to build a new hook this time ill use a thread tap on the hook so i can use a 1/4"-20 nut to back it(lock it in) then ill be able to set how tight the lid vent would be. i can build some extras if people want them.