Hi everyone I am Erik. I am from New Hampshire and am just learning to cook.
I got an old Weber Performer gen 1 with gas start from my grandfather but it's in pretty bad shape. It's literally as old as I am (circa 2003) and stayed outside with no cover.
The stainless steel table and supports are basically in mint condition but the internal grates, charcoal ignition burner, and the bottom vent/ash scraper are rusted to heck and back. I looked into getting replacements for those parts but they're CRAZY expensive - to replace the grates, the burner, and the ash scraper would cost more than to buy a new kettle. The actual dome and kettle are in usable condition, a few dings & some rust but not horrible.
So I have a few questions.
1. Is it possible to buy a new 22" kettle and get it to fit into the Performer stand?
1b. If not, would it be worth buying a new kettle anyways just for the internal components and ash scraper? Would it be possible to sell the dome/base from the new one?
2. If that is possible, would it make sense to drill a hole in it for the gas start?
2b. Does having a hole in the grill for the gas starter affect airflow?
3. Does weber or a third party sell stainless steel grates? I checked Amazon but couldn't find any (and don't have a credit card anyways).
Thanks everyone. My parents advised I can only keep this if I get it fixed up promptly and take care of it in the future. I've never really cooked before, even indoors, and I'm really looking forward to using this!
PS your site is really cool. The guides are awesome. I'm going to home depot tomorrow and getting a scraper to clean out the inside of the grill