Reilly's vintage Weber Fireplace

[Jeff]

Hey Buckie...here is a response from Ed.

I will try to get some better pictures. I read Buckie questions and concerning the "nobbins" on the cook grate I am not sure. It is possible they keep the grate from moving left or right while monkeying with your food. They sit in front of the trusses welded to the bowl, so that would eliminate the purpose of keeping the grate from sliding forward, plus the rear hook would be enough to secure the grate. But the cook grate extends outside the bowl with no support in the front of the grate. The nobbins might brace the left to right horizontal movement.

The coal grate has a stair step angle in the middle of it. I thought it might have been damaged at first. But the way the grates sit in the bowl they can't be perfectly circular. The cook grate is visually not a circle, but the coal grate has been bent in the middle to fit. I will try to put standard grates in it to see how far they stick out.

There was a lot of custom welding on this thing to get it to work. I can not imagine there was a ready market it.

I seem to remember a few other grill manufacturers making fireplace BBQ equipment at that time. So maybe it was their attempt to get in that particular market.

Thanks for posting those pictures, it looks really good. Ed

[1buckie]

 Thanks for that !!!

Now the charcoal grate makes sense....thought it was just ONE stepdown.......

The top grate nubbins sorta make sense..........

BUT.......

What's really got me intrigued about Reilly now is this:

Where is ED?
It seems as if he is here.....but he's really not.......Is Ed OK?

It's as if Jeff has suddenly, for no appearent reason, become Ed's explanitory munchkin:
"No, really, Reilly's right here.....there's nothing behind the curtain, really....."

Then there's this reference to "MONKEYING".......these wouldn't happen to be FLYING monkeys, would they?

It's like some unspoken, un-announced Wizard of OZ stage play of some sort......

What's REAAAALLY up, Reilly?

Are you guys in OZ?



(PS: This is the pre-coffee me.....checkin' in.....)

[Craig]

Thanks for taking the pictures Ed and posting them Jeff! Considering it came out in 1957 and was still available in the mid-late 60s I wonder how many of these Weber sold? I also wonder how many more of these are out in the world sitting long forgotten in a basement or an unused fireplace in a house built in the 1950s-1960s ...

[Duke]

Thanks for taking the pictures Ed and posting them Jeff! Considering it came out in 1957 and was still available in the mid-late 60s I wonder how many of these Weber sold? I also wonder how many more of these are out in the world sitting long forgotten in a basement or an unused fireplace in a house built in the 1950s-1960s ...

I think the same thins everytime i'm in an older neighborhood wishing I had x-ray eyes to see what they cook on.

[G$]

Hey Craig, is there anything other than appearing on the weber timeline that makes you think the fireplaces really were introduced in 1957?  Have you seen product literature with them listed that early?