Weber MasterTouch 57

[AgentSmith]

 Hi, just bought my first Weber MasterTouch 57  grill. Paid £267.

An I'm wondering if I have been conned. I believe Weber used to be manufactured in the USA. But now they are manufactured in China which may explain the shoddy ness. For example if I hold the handle on the base and give it a nudge the whole thing wobbles like hell. Even though all legs are flat in concrete. I've seen a YouTube of someone else demonstrating this on their MasterTouch.

The paint on the under the handle of the lid had come off less than a week in. After visiting Weber's Twitter page it seems this exact same issue has happened to two others in the last few days. I have tried to add a 2.5mb jpeg picture of this but the site doesn't allow me.

Is this normal??

[AgentSmith]

Attached image.

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[pbe gummi bear]

Your issues are related more to the design of the current grill vs where they are made. The new kettles have legs held in by spring pins that have a lot more looseness than the old style friction fit, and the tall bolt on top handle introduces a lot of flex on the lid and causes the porcelain to pop.

[AgentSmith]

Yeah, no! The legs are definitely not loose. They are tighter than a ducks bum.

[Shanks Kop]

A fellow UK griller, my only concern Agent how are you familiar with a ducks bum

I've no experience of the newer style grills, but definitely seems to be some complaints over the changes

[Jules V.]

File a warranty claim. Weber will send you a new lid.

[AgentSmith]

And another thing - I'm shocked this has been missed. The three ash blades don't catch all the ash. Leaving three chunks of ash.
You would think they spin all the way to catch all the ash. Or at least one blade to cover two holes.




Sent from my iPhone using Weber Kettle Club

[addicted-to-smoke]

These are all design issues, as stated, and for the reasons stated.

Jules V. has some helpful tips here somewhere about how to shore up the lid handle so that it doesn't chip the paint like that. It involves adding one or more SS washers, so that the weight of the lid is distributed better across the handle connections.

"Friction fit" means the old kettle legs could not move due to the friction of them being pounded into the leg sockets. It's the only thing that kept them attached to the bowl, and the also the reason why on old kettles, you see legs falling out. What happens is that the legs get bent where they insert into the sockets, the friction is then gone, and the leg falls out ... which by that way, won't happen on yours, since it does not rely on friction to secure the leg to the socket.

Glass half empty, half full. Take your pick.

The sweeps have been that way since their introduction in the 1980s. It's related to the distance between leg sockets, which limits the travel the sweeps' handle can move (for the chosen blade design, as you noted.) A long handle brush helps scoot the rest of the ash down if it's a worry.

[HoosierKettle]

Yes, those sound like very serious issues. I'll take that grill off your hands.


Sent from my iPhone using Weber Kettle Club mobile app

[AgentSmith]

These are all design issues, as stated, and for the reasons stated.

Jules V. has some helpful tips here somewhere about how to shore up the lid handle so that it doesn't chip the paint like that. It involves adding one or more SS washers, so that the weight of the lid is distributed better across the handle connections.

"Friction fit" means the old kettle legs could not move due to the friction of them being pounded into the leg sockets. It's the only thing that kept them attached to the bowl, and the also the reason why on old kettles, you see legs falling out. What happens is that the legs get bent where they insert into the sockets, the friction is then gone, and the leg falls out ... which by that way, won't happen on yours, since it does not rely on friction to secure the leg to the socket.

Glass half empty, half full. Take your pick.

The sweeps have been that way since their introduction in the 1980s. It's related to the distance between leg sockets, which limits the travel the sweeps' handle can move (for the chosen blade design, as you noted.) A long handle brush helps scoot the rest of the ash down if it's a worry.

If they send a replacement lid, I was thinking about putting some rubber washers where the handle joins the lid.


Sent from my iPhone using Weber Kettle Club

[varekai]

@AgentSmith , I wouldn't use the rubber washers, you're adding a space that will allow more "leverage" ...  I would do as @addicted-to-smoke said about @Jules V. idea, by placing a stainless steel fender washer, they are larger diameter than regular washers. Good luck.