What causes this?

[Kneab]

I had this kettle given to me. It's an 87 one touch brownie. I was wondering what causes damage like this?
I am guessing that it was filled with snow or water at some point in its life and froze solid pulling the grate hooks inward causing dents on the outside 3/16" deep where all 8 welds are.

addicted to charcoal...

[TexasOnion]

I would think the opposite  with coal being banked against the welded spots   making them pop the porcelain

[DirectDrive]

If the bowl is dented in, then it could have been due to a "tip over".
If the bowl is not dented, then probably from banking coals up against the side as stated above.

[Harbormaster]

coal being banked against the welded spots making them pop the porcelain

I think this is the generally agreed on cause.
It is also believed that colored kettles were more susceptible to this than the blacks for whatever reason.

[Kneab]

It seems dented all 8 spots. Both bowl handles are bent. And all wood and ash sweeps missing.


addicted to charcoal...

[brewtownbeatdown]

I've noticed that this happens to kettles that sit out, uncovered, with a lot of ash left inside. My theory is that the ash gets under the straps & against the spot welds. Ash holds any moisture it comes in contact with. Starts rusting the welds & then back of straps. They pull away from bowl over time, causing the dimples.

Edit: The straps are spot welded to bowl before porcelain coating, so I imagine that some of that metal is bare underneath.

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[Kneab]

That makes sense. Straps seem a little rusty compared to my other kettles. My 83 one touch is in much better shape. No rusty straps and no bowl dents. Definitely abused.

addicted to charcoal

[Kneab]

That also explains why the lid looks so much better than the bowl. The lid looks good. No ash collection there.

addicted to charcoal

[brewtownbeatdown]

It is also believed that colored kettles were more susceptible to this than the blacks for whatever reason.

I wonder if the black kettles were dipped in a porcelain bath, while the color kettles were sprayed with the porcelain.  Spraying would not allow full coverage under strap like dipping would.  ?


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[Troy]

it comes from heating and cooling.

doesn't matter if its old or new or where the coals are banked.

The metal of the bowl expands as it heats up, and contracts as it cools.
The welds points are prone to damage because:
- the weld itself expands and contracts differently than the bowl
- the weld & strap can act as an insulator, or as a conductor - slowing down, or speeding up the heating and expanding of the metal of the bowl where its welded. (I'm referring to both scenarios because I'm not sure which is more common)


It's often theorized that black kettles are more durable, but in reality they're probably just better at hiding the damage
(that and no one pays attention to the black kettles)

[56MPG]

(that and no one pays attention to the black kettles)

I'll pretend you didn't just say that. 

[Kneab]

I pay attention to black kettles. All but one of mine are or were black.

addicted to charcoal

[Hell Fire Grill]

In my opinion the dimples/dents and chips on the out side are caused by grease and ash building up between the strap & bowl, especially above and below the spot welds where the straps tend to be bent inwards. Every time the kettle is heated more gunk gets in there and carbonized then when it cools somethings gotta give causing the dents (very slowly over time).

I have had to remove this gunk on several kettles and its always a bastard to remove because its stuck in there and hard as a rock.

There are other contributing factors that have already been mentioned but I think the "seasoning" build up is the most likely culprit.

[MikeRocksTheRed]

I would think that any place with welds are going to be weak spots.  I still don't buy into the theory of banking coals leading to damage.  I've had my grill screaming hot plenty of times and have not seen any signs of damage.  Weber kettles are cured somewhere over 1000 degrees and I think its more like 1200-1400, someone I am sure will post the exact temp.  When I get temps over 1000 degrees, it is above a ton of coals usually with my vortex or SNS, but never directly where coals would be touching the kettle.  The next time I have my grill really cranking with coals against the kettle I'll get out my IR thermo and see what kind of temps the outside of the kettle are showing....willing to bet is won't be more than 500 degrees.  Maybe I will prove myself wrong.

Additional things that could lead to the damage at the weld spots....tossing something heavy on the grate thus putting quick pressure on the grate tabs.....putting a grate in wrong getting part of the grate caught under a tab then pulling too hard to get it back in the correct placement.....on the older grills, a bad welding job.......kettles not properly cleaned after welding prior to painting/porcelain....etc....so many possibilities.

I just got an A code 18 that is in mint condition but it has dimples at the weld spots that my new grills don't have.  I would think those dimples alone would cause the porcelain to eventually pop after years of expansion and contraction.

[jcnaz]

@Troy

"...no one pays attention to the black kettles..."






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