Hey folks.
I have a Weber Kettle than was given to me by my mother-in-law because it was her husbands before he passed. The thing is in pretty good shape. It's the standard black kettle, 22.5". I don't know much else about it, I presume it is the standard one that comes from a big box store. I've only been cooking for a few years but I LOVE using this thing. I can smoke ribs at 250 for 5 hours without adding any charcoal. It's thin metal, but it just doesn't hardly leak! There are a few spots that leak heat a bit which I can see when I've got smoke on the fire, but I've been so pleased with this compared to the horrible Brinkmann I used to use that I haven't worried about it.
The only major problem is that the kettle itself (not the lid) is deformed a bit. It's about half an inch wider side to side than it is front to back. So the lid doesn't rest naturally down on it. I can push it down and it kind of clamps down to the kettle which is actually kind of convenient, but I would rather it fit nicely down on the kettle, and I think it would leak a bit less if it fit well naturally.
Is there any way you guys have been able to straighten out the kettle itself? Any advice is appreciated.