Two reds, one looker and one cooker

[Mr.CPHo]

I've been afflicted with Weberitis for about 3 months now.  It's a relentless disease, consuming both precious time and hard-earned money.  My empathy goes out to all of you who are also afflicted. 

One of my symptoms is spontaneous perusal of online ads, both locally and far-flung locations.  One of those nights peering into my phone I came across an online auction in Portage, Wisconsin for a Weber grill, 4 plastic chairs, and 2 milk crates.

https://hibid.com/lot/27148674/weber-grill---4-plastic-chairs---2-milk-crates/?q=weber+grill&group=0&filter=online&status=true&ref=lot-list

I've never participated in an online auction like this before, only eBay, and at the time there was another red 18.5" on eBay which I was pretty interested in buying.  But what the hell, I signed up for this auction and put in a max bid of $25.  A couple weeks later @Neil_vt00 posted the same ad here on WKC in the Online Finds section, so in my mind there was no way my bid would win, and I diverted my attention back to the redhead on eBay.  I was eventually outbid on that eBay redhead, I stopped at $79 I think, and I've since been curious if someone here got it.  I remember that while that eBay auction was ending, I excused myself from a lovely dinner with my wife "to go to the bathroom", but I was actually in the process of getting outbid.  Dammit.  All I could taste was bitterness for the rest of the evening.  Another symptom of Weberitis is extreme mood swings.

Fast forward about a month later, out of the blue, I get an email from the auction company alerting me the auction is about to close.... And that I'm winning!  There must not have been much interest because I won for $12!  It took the auction company about 2 weeks to finally ship it out, and because it took so long, they didn't charge their normal shipping fee.  UPS cost me $52 from WI to FL.  Not bad, IMO. 

And now for photos... So for close to three weeks I waited and waited for this grill to arrive.  In the meantime, I must've looked at these photos a hundred times.   


And then one day it finally arrived... on my wife's birthday... in a microwave box.  It was all terribly confusing to her.

I was elated that it had arrived, but irritated we had birthday plans for dinner and a show, again Weberitis mood swings. 

I love the shine on the legs, and it wasn't until later that I realized the ash pan belongs to a 22", not an 18".
I put on a brand new ash pan so this is what it looks like now.Wheel is broken but rolls fine.

So that's the story of my 18.5" redhead looker.... Now for the cooker.

Some of you may remember I made a crazy long road trip up to NC last month and I brought back a trunk full of redheads, well, one offset handle SJ, two red 22" MBHs, and a brownie to be exact.  So even from the beginning the brownie has been like "the redheaded stepchild", except the other way around.
I put the brownie up for trade looking for a red 18.5".  I'm pretty sure this is after I lost the one on eBay and before I realized I'd win the auction in Wisconsin. 

BIG BIG BIG THANK YOU to @Geezer for agreeing to trade my brownie for his redhead.  The agreement was easy the logistics were not.  We wouldn't make the exchange for another month or so, and even up to the day of the exchange things were tenuous due to Hurricane Matthew affecting both our areas.  What's funny is that he called from the road to say he might have forgotten the ash pan, but in the end he did have it and I forgot to give him the triangle.  I'm such an idiot sometimes.  @Geezer, UPS should deliver it by tomorrow.  Recognize the box?

I knew I wanted to apply the midget mod.
I had to drill the rusted remnants of the vent rivets and replace with new ones; a first for me.
And here they are with the rest of my redheads.



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[RottiGuy]

Great story, sometimes you just have to throw you're hat into the ring and see what happens. ...Beauty kettles !!!!

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[JDD]

Very nice, good job on the restore.

[kettlebb]

Enjoyed that one. Very nice.


Crimson Performer Platinum "AH", Red MT "P", Red Mist SSP "EZ", Faded Black "A", Black OTG "DE".

[vader06]

Very Nice.   I like the dually wheels.

[blieb]

I love it when a plan comes together!  Great write-up.

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[captjoe06]

What method did you use on the triangle? looks real nice

[Darko]

Did ya get the milk crates too?

Love the dualies.

[Mr.CPHo]

What method did you use on the triangle? looks real nice

On the looker's triangle I only had to use the obligatory razor and 0000 steel wool.  However, on the cooker, I had to get medieval on it first with a drill cup wire brush, then razor, then 0000.

I've been using Nevr Dull as the last step on legs, triangles and ash pans, and have been happy with the results.


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[Mr.CPHo]

Did ya get the milk crates too?

Love the dualies.

I had to call the auction company to tell them explicitly I only wanted the grill, they could trash the chairs and milk crates. 

Re: the dualies, yeah I love the stance, and in conjunction with the twist on ash pan, provides a certain amount of bravado.  Compare to my first midget:




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[eLLWOODgGLEN]

The dual wheels look great!

If you wanted, could you flip the inner wheels so the faces are inboard and visible?

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[Mr.CPHo]

The dual wheels look great!

If you wanted, could you flip the inner wheels so the faces are inboard and visible?

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I tried flipping the inner wheels but due to the way they're constructed, there would've been an unsightly gap between the wheels when placed "back to back".


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[captjoe06]

The duallies are bad ass.  I really dig that look.

[Mr.CPHo]

The duallies are bad ass.  I really dig that look.

Here's the how-to:

http://weberkettleclub.com/blog/2015/04/10/mini-weber-mod-midget-otg/

Big ups to @Troy, @PBE Gummi Bear, @Craig, and Lawrence for captivating my interest with their midget mods.  I hope they feel imitation is the highest form of flattery. 


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[Travis]

Very cool story, man. What a beautiful 18" red she turned out to be and love the dually midget.


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