Copper and red OTS to OTG

[OGlenn]

I came home the other evening to a number of weber boxes on my doorstep from the order I had placed. After a little spraycan work and drilling a few holes, I added a therm to my WSM and my copper, added a lid bale to the copper, and finally, added ash catcher baskets to that same copper and my 18" redhead. Here are a couple of rushed snapshots, will add more later:

First coat of paint--big diffence in size between the ash bucket for the 18" and the one for the 22"


Therm installed on my new-to-me WSM and ashbucket on the redhead (WSM center section intentionally kept upside down to keep dry)


Lid Bale, therm and ashbucket added to the copper (and new bale rollers for my SS)


the copper again


The redhead heating up for some quick burgers


While I spent nearly as much for the add-ons as I did for the two grills, I do think the added convenience is worth it.  Only issue I had was that the one-touch holes in the redhead seem to have been drilled differently than the more current ones, as they extend beyond the ashring by about 3/8".  When compared to the holes in my black 18", they are actually a bit narrower and longer, but what really causes the issue is the holes are cut further from the center, so they extend beyond the ash-ring. My guess is the early one-touch system on the 18's were not designed with the intent to have an ash bucket. I will try to post some pictures soon to better describe it.

[Duke]

Nice work!

[kendoll]

Nice work. They look great. That's a lot of effort there, especially on that copper.

The blue OTG looks quite light. Is that just the picture or is it actually a light blue?

Ken

[OGlenn]

It is the lighting in the  photo... the redhead looks correct, but the blue appears lighter than it truly is.

[edhead35]

Absolutely beautiful. Nice work. I love that copper.

The black ash pans look so much better IMO. Aside from the paint scratching off over time, but installed it looks tip top.

[Heyjude]

Also, the OTG's use a differnet OT ash assembly handle and blades. They don't line up exactly the same as the old style. By the way, the old style is no longer made.   

[pbe gummi bear]

Nice work OGlenn! Colorful lineup you got there!

[Ken Mc]

Very nice OGlenn. Love the work on the copper and the performer. I like the black rollers...

[Chasing_smoke]

Nice work! Looks great with all the add-ons!


 "my kettle is more powerful it will do almost anything."

[OGlenn]

Thanks for the positive comments. I borrowed the ideas from various posts I've seen here, nothing too original. I bought my first weber (actually a two-fer) for $10 this past spring, found this site as I was searching for a method to clean them up. Now I'm up to five kettles, one SS, and a WSM, as I have learned to appreciate them more and more.

[fat side down]

They look great!  You probably know that I'm working on a Copper OTS conversion right now too.  Hope to have it completed tonight.
Couple of questions...  Did you find black plastic rollers for the lid bale or are they painted?  Same question for the ring around the thermometer...painted or did you find one that way.

Anyway...that Copper kettle looks great!

[OGlenn]

I painted the thermo bezel with the same high heat (1200 degree) manifold paint I used on the buckets, with the hope it will last.  I tried painting the rollers with the same paint, but it didn't work well, as the lid scratched it up almost immediately (i didn't use a primer coat... that may have helped). Went with a ghetto fix and used a wide black permanent marker to "stain" the rollers, and it looks surprisingly good... for now.' On a slow day, I will disassemble and try to repaint with a primer coat first. I also used the high heat paint to protect the exposed metal caused by drilling the holes.

[OGlenn]

Also, the OTG's use a differnet OT ash assembly handle and blades. They don't line up exactly the same as the old style. By the way, the old style is no longer made.   

My blades do line up OK, despite the reduced travel room available due to the ring, but the ring is too small for this grill (an EO date code, fwiw) leaving a gap between the ring and each of the three ash holes. I'll rig up something to make it work, but for now it looks like this:

[pbe gummi bear]

Good info, Sooooo close too!

[OGlenn]

Does anyone know what year Weber went from the three wheel vents to the one touch system?