Cooker to Collector: The Score of an Arlington Heights MBH Red 26"

[austin87]

I had always considered myself a cooker. I like looking at pictures of all the colorful kettles but mostly just enjoyed cooking on my green 22" OTG and my recently acquired black 18" OTG. I knew I had been hit by Weberitis, checking craigslist a couple of times a day for a colorful kettle or a 26".

I came across this craigslist ad:



I saw the Weber 26" kettle and immediately emailed the seller asking for pics. It was after midnight.

The next morning, I got an email reply - there were no pictures, but she gave me a phone number to call. I called immediately.

A nice lady told me that the kettle was in pretty good shape given how old it was... there was some rust through on the porcelain and it would need new grates.

"How old is it?" I asked, starting to tremble.

"It was my mother's, it's probably at least 30 years old," she replied.

"OK - I can come by Friday around 11am. Would that work for you?"

"Sure. Give me a call when you are about to head over and I'll give you directions."

"Great. By the way, what color is it?"

Without a pause she replied, "It's bright red."

At this point I'm literally jumping up and down in my living room squealing like a schoolgirl. Then panic sets in. I had just read the thread about someone calling a seller and blowing up a deal by telling them what the kettle was worth. I had missed a red 26" on April 1 - not sure if it went within the 30 minutes between posting and me emailing the seller, or if it was a cruel April Fool's joke. The wait was on.

This morning, I called the woman back and said I was coming by. The kettle was about 35 minutes away.

As I pulled up, I heard the unmistakable sound of a kettle lid being set on the bowl. Butterflies in my stomach, I walked up to the front door - it was wide open as the family was preparing stuff for the garage sale. They let me in, and took me out back.

There it was. Big, red, beautiful. At this point nothing had been mentioned about price. I wasn't sure what they would ask for it, or what I was willing to pay. It wasn't in quite as good of shape as I had wished; some of the lower vent tabs weren't flush on the bowl, the lid had some dents in the lip that kept it from sitting flush on the bowl, the the triangle was rusty, the charcoal and cooking grates were both basically throw aways, the ash pan was missing, the metal bowl handle wasn't that secure on the bowl, and there were quite quite a few rust through spots. I knew it would need a lot of work.

I mentioned the condition and asked what they were thinking for price, my hands trembling.

"We are asking $50."

"Would you take $40?" Done deal.

I emailed some of the NorCal guys on my drive home, and got a few phone calls and a bunch of emails. I'm looking forward to trying to turn this thing back to it's former glory. Without further BSing, here are some pre-restoration pics:

[Troy]

WOW!!! That's a great score man!!!

Welcome to the Aristocrat club!!!

Did you already throw out the grates? I would try to salvage them if possible. New Weber grates are too big, and off brand replacements are thin and too small.
I used a pumice stone to get all the rust off of mine, they cleaned up quite nice really.

[1buckie]

Heck....some chips, some crazing....that lid handle pic needs to go on the front page or in the Smithsonian......but.......
























IT'S A REDHEAD TWENTY SIX AND THREE QUARTER INCH KETTLE !!!!!!

[austin87]

@Troy no I still have the grates. The charcoal grate has some pretty major sag. Some of the cross bars on the cooking grate have popped off the outer ring. I'll have some of the NorCal vets take a look and see if we can salvage them. I'm still in disbelief on this pickup.

[Hogsy]

Ain't she a beaut!!!
Congrats austin87 that is definitely on my Grail list.

[SixZeroFour]

What a score!! Wow!

Congrats austin - that's a heck of a find!

[1buckie]

Don't ever throw the grates away....you can always bolt expanded metal to them in a pinch......great score there mon !!!!

[Idahawk]

   That's a sweet thing , congrats on a great find !


  " Esto Perpertua "

[mike.stavlund]

Wow, that thing is a dream.  I love the lines of those flat top 26ers.

[Shafzilla]

Nicely done! Congrats!

[MrHoss]

Very nice. Congratulations. It took me 3 good days to settle down after coming home with my Aristocrat. Just breathe.

[TexasOnion]

great find congrats

[Craig]

Congratulations on a killer score! That is a gorgeous red!

[Ted B]

Congrats. Awesome score

[G$]

@Troy no I still have the grates. The charcoal grate has some pretty major sag. Some of the cross bars on the cooking grate have popped off the outer ring. I'll have some of the NorCal vets take a look and see if we can salvage them. I'm still in disbelief on this pickup.

@austin87
PM me if you want to discuss a charcoal grate option.

That is a HECK of a nice kettle!