Keeping grills outdoors in winter?

[mcgolden]

I just wanted to get some feedback from the group.  Over the years, I've been bringing my kettles into the garage or into the shed in the winter.  As my collection has grown, I no longer have room, and frankly would rather keep my grills outdoors so they can get more use during the winter.  I live in Iowa and it gets pretty cold and we get a fair amount of snow.  I do keep the grills covered with the premium Weber covers.  I'm concerned with whether keeping the grills out in the winter (covered) would cause them to deteriorate or will they tend to stay in good shape.  Can anyone provide any info?

Thanks.

[Troy]

when i lived in IL, i always kept my cookers outdoors and uncovered.
I think as long as you keep snow and water off and out of them, they'll be fine.

[indy82z]

Unless you have bare metal, they should be fine. The porcelain coating on them is designed for them to last a lifetime. I picked up a "beater" off of craigslist and I leave it out in the winters..uncovered so if I want to grill, the cover is not stuck to the kettle. Its always covered in the spring/summer/fall but not the winter. If for some reason something happens to it (which it has not yet), I will just strip it for parts and pick up another. I am pretty anal about my others and they always stay in when the weather turns (actually all the time). Just give them a good exterior cleaning in the spring and get rid of any surface rust that might start on the legs, triangle and other bare areas.  Like Troy said, clear the snow off of them. If you know you are not grilling for a while, throw the cover on, but I leave mine off as I never know when I am going to get in the mood for a grill..

Tom

[GregS]

oops hit quote and not modify.  sorry!  see post below.

man i really jacked this up.  :facepalm:

[GregS]

exposing anything to a mid-west winter is going to cause some deterioration.  lid handles rust at the welds over time.  exactly how fast and how much depends on a lot of factors, but it's inevitable. 

i am performing some repairs using an otherwise untested (on kettles as far as i can tell) product to see how well it keeps from rust from returning to a kettle.  i had planned on leaving it covered when not in use @Troy brings up a good point about the cover freezing and sticking to the kettle.  so i will go uncovered with it and give it the most brutal treatment mother nature decides to throw at us this winter in chicago. 

but every older (10+ yrs) used kettle i've found (not that many really, less than 20) has had some form of wear especially in the area of the lid welds which see the most "direct" rain, snow, etc and often involves direct moisture contact for periods of time before nature naturally dries that area.  the bottom hole where the OT sweep is attached also is an area of prolonged contact with moisture on a lot of kettles, and sees a fair amount of deterioration. 

this 1969 or 1970 kettle has sat outside for at least the past 9 years.  (still working on getting the neighbor to release her to me).  as you can see, some rust around the handle welds, but not a ridiculous amount.  (he's at least allowed me to store her for him over the winter, which i take as a first step in him letting her go). 



others that i've seen have been much worse, to the point of the handle weakening.  but those are newer kettles and as we all know, they don't make them like they used to.

[BBQ Jack]

Mine is an EE and for most years it sat outside in the harsh winters uncovered and neglected and it has held up okay, it still has the original wood handles.  I have tried the cheaper Weber plastic cover and do not recommend it as it will dry out and crack from sitting in the sun or blow away in a wind storm, it is a waste of money.  Last year I bought the premium cover and it is worth the extra money.  Having had the grill for so long I now take better care of it, but it is resilient to the winter weather.

[Hofy]

This is my 1999 (EZ)  that I refer to my red headed step child.  I have had it since new and have never covered it or kept it inside.  I live in Wisconsin and it has survived every winter so far.  I have had to replace the original wood handles and the  new style ash dish. Other than that it gets a good cleaning every couple of years.