1970-1979 Kettle ID

[coldkettle]

All,
What ways are there to ID the year of a kettle from 1970 to 1979.  I am looking for a birth year kettle 1976.  I have found a few black ones that have the pattent stamp but I dont' know how to tell (if it's even possible) to find an exact year.  Is there something else to look at that gives away the date?

[salad]

You might be in luck with '76-77.
The top vent will be "engraved"  Here is  link to a version of the vent poster.  The 4th listing for "Arlington Heights" explains it.  Basically, "Weber" is "engraved and not stamped.  It was the only year they did that.  If you look at the poster, I believe it is the very last vent shown (bottom row, far right, red kettle). 

http://weberkettleclub.com/forums/weber-kettles-accessories/vent-code-update-new-poster-in-the-works/msg86804/#msg86804

[Troy]

anything prior to 79 is very loosely dated.

we know that 1977 grills had etched vents instead of embossed, and we know there are variations of the etched vents - but we don't really know if vent styles correlate to years.

we also know that '77 grills have current wheels (plastic, with plastic white walls)

[MartyG]

For a closer look at all the vents in chronological order, here's a link to my Flickr set:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/32306142@N07/sets/72157633285304532/

The latest poster may have a couple extras not shown in this set such as un-coded painted SJ vents. Like Troy says, we can only surmise what year's production these vents were used for, and when they started and stopped remains a mystery. What if they had excess vents left over at the end of the year? My guess is they would use them up before starting over with a fresh batch. Speculation? Sure, but it's better than nothing.

[coldkettle]

Thanks alot guys!  This is really narrowing it down!  Appreciate it!