Double the pleasure, double the fun...

[Bman]

Meaning, this was my second ever Estate Sale.  As far as I'm concerned, I hit a home run on the first one.  Story here -
http://weberkettleclub.com/forums/weber-kettles-accessories/blue-ss-and-a-few-questions/

Sticking with my usual CL "weber" search, an estate sale selling a weber grill popped up.  The partial photo showed a nice looking red 22 and the eagle eyes in this forum picked out the accessory box & work table on the top shelf.
.

.
The sale was quite the drive from home, but why not.  I woke up at 4:44 this AM and said eff it, I'm going.  Wife called me an idiot, but you guys understand.    I was on the road by 5:10 and pulled in at 6:30 (sale started at 7)  They were handing out order numbers and I was #11 in line.  Door opened, and about 4 or 5 headed downstairs.  Shit!  Got to the bottom of the stairs, and they headed to the bar, pool table, & family room. Score!  I was the only one to enter the storage area.  Came around the corner, and there she was.  A red 22" (silver) with 3 mint wooden handles and a price tag of 75 bucks.  I grabbed the cover, accessory & side table box, and stood there searching the shelves for more treasures without leaving the cradle I made around the grill.  The accessory box had the roast rack & charcoal rails, but missing the foil pans & tool holder.

After 10 or so minutes, I made the attempt to carry said stuff through the swarms of people, narrow doors, and a tight staircase.  Top of the stairs was A) a kitchen full of people B) open back door.  I went out the back door.  Checked out the grill for 15 minutes or so while other people were staging their furniture & finds next to me.  Went in to pay, and there was a huge line.  Eff that.  Couldn't leave that steak out there for the vultures.  To the truck she went and all secured.  Big sigh of relief and back inside to dig.  Very small kitchen and next to nothing in it.  Back downstairs where I saw a ton of stored books & stuff.  3 of these 4 were all cook books.
.

.
So I started digging and only found one Weber book.  Lots of other cool stuff, but I limited myself to Weber only.
.
(the sunlight makes it look faded, but it isn't.  It's damn near pristine.)

.

.
Book in hand, I headed back into the storage room.  Started looking around and spied something unique (in this photo)
.

.
Between the 2X4 with the nails & the metal shelf leg is something shiny.  The missing tool holder from the accessory kit!  Score...

It was a small space, but these pics will give you a panoramic view of it if you use your imagination. (from 9 o'clock to 3 o'clock)
.

.

.

.

.
While I was busy looking at the accessories & side table during the initial run, some guy ran in and swiped the red metal Coleman cooler.  Oh well, I got the red grill....

Continued....

[Bman]

With the cookbook & tool holder in hand, and still grinning from loading up the 22 in the truck, I continued looking around.  And THAT's when I about fell over.  In the corner, tucked behind the mattress & wooden door which was leaning against more shelving (behind the exercise bike) was ANOTHER red kettle.  This one an 18" w/ metal handled bowl & a used/weathered wood lid handle.  Vent was the Pat # and bottom vents were the 3 wheels.  Sticker price - 25 bucks.  Holy crap - I'm in!  Asked the guy if he'd toss in the $2 cookbook if I didn't dicker the asking price.  Deal...

Back through the swarms of people, narrow doors, and out into the yard.  Needed to secure this one also, so on to the truck it goes.
Had to re-load/organize for another kettle.  <-------   What a problem we all should have to face.
Now I'm wondering if I'm still dreaming.  Really, not my first red kettle, but TWO red kettles? An 18 & 22?  I just struck the kettle lottery.  Checked out the rest of the house, but I'm really not into antiques.  Lots of cool stuff, even after the vultures made their swoop, but not for me.  Hit the road for the long, but happy, ride home.  Once there, it was time to check out the new additions.
.

.

.

.
Bottom has some scars, but really not too bad.  Can't see much at all once it's right-side-up
.

.
Front handle
.

.
Top
.

.
Rear
.

.
The 18 is in great shape, but dirty.  All the black stuff is just that - stuff.  That'll clean up well!
.

.
Inside (have charcoal & cooking grates for both and in decent condition)
.

.
Lid
.

.
Imagine that poor poor 18", going through 35ish years and never being assembled correctly...
.

.
As they sit in the garage awaiting their bath & scrubbing...
.

[Bman]

Saving this space for the "cleaned-up" shots.  In the meantime, here's the vents again.   
.

.

.
And an overall shot of the 18" bowl
.

[1buckie]

Good, so far..........

4, or are we counting backwards?

[pbe gummi bear]

That's one hell of a haul! They will clean up beautifully.

[mike.stavlund]

Unbelievable, Chad!  A wonderful story, and one well told.  You could have charged me admission. 

I can't wait to see what you come up with for *next* Saturday.  You know they say things happen in threes...

(Or maybe the third thing happened this morning when you looked in the corner.)

Congratulations.  Enjoy those kettles-- I am glad they went to such a nice guy who will treasure them. A fine legacy from their first owner, who obviously did the same. 

[1buckie]

Very best thick British accent: "RIPPING, REGINALD !!!!!!"


Hyper Score !!!!

That was worth the wait !!!!



The 18" looks ferocious........no chips at all?

[Mark Schnell]

Wife called me an idiot, but you guys understand. 

I love it! Yeah, we get it. Congrats on such a great haul, you earned that one with your early morning commitment.

[Ted B]

Very very nice, sir!!  That is an awesome story and a even better score. That's the stuff of legends. Helps make the wkc the great site it is! 

[Hogsy]

TOUCHDOWN!!!!
Well done Chad.... Those are two beautiful looking reds
Love the old school accessories , mint an in the box too

[bryanw21157]

Chad, that was an awesome score!  For such an understated listing in the estate sale ad, it sure turned out to be one heck of a haul. 

[1buckie]

Just a curious side note: What were those things on the shelf we thought were skewers?

[cbpeck]

Wow. That's one heck of a score! I'm glad to hear you didn't have much competition from the other shoppers. You just never know at a sale like that. I'm sure they'll spend a good long while in your collection; far better outcome than it could've been... I shutter to think what you saved them from!

[Cookingmama]

That's awesome!  Wow......I totally get you waking up quarter to five!  And well rewarded.  Whew.  I'm loving the handles.....they look soooo nice. 

Are those original covers?  Never seen them before.

[mike.stavlund]

Hey, we should probably put a suicide watch on our friend Bman.  He's like a mountain climber who just summitted  Everest...  where can he go from here?  What will bring him any kind of thrill?  What will get him up at 4:45 next Saturday morning? How will CL ever be the same?  What do you do the day after you score two pristine redhead kettles with NIB accessories *at the same time*? I shudder to think about it.

He's liable to sink into a depression deeper than a kettle with two rotis rings attached.  Let's keep him in our thoughts and prayers.  ;-)