I need help with my 26'er

[addicted-to-smoke]

^^ Those aren't warranty issues, they are market size/business decisions.

[indy82z]

I have heard of people having issues getting parts for grills that they do not own, but never experienced it myself. In fact I just placed an order for a lid thermometer and bezel a couple of days ago..I just gave them the part number and they ordered it. Maybe you can call back and talk to another rep? Maybe you got one that was not educated.

[addicted-to-smoke]

ereplacements.com is an obvious workaround for all of that malarkey, but it seems to take a good year or so before Weber will supply them with parts for current-year models.

[GregS]

I love my red kettles but I do NOT like many of Weber's polices.  As I resident of the US, why can't I buy an Ivory kettle and Pizza Oven? 

there's been a couple on ebay.co.uk recently, but local pick up only. 
@Red Kettle Rich

[swamprb]

just go to a dealer and get the serial #'s off a floor model. pisses me off when I hear this crap from Weber.

[ramsfan]

just go to a dealer and get the serial #'s off a floor model. pisses me off when I hear this crap from Weber.

I thought of that already, but what happens when that grill eventually sells and the new owner wants to register it with Weber and my name comes up? I don't want to create a problem for some stranger later on. The other thing is that I already registered my new 26 with Weber. I guess it would look pretty strange to show me buying two new 26'ers in the same week? I'll just have to wait until ereplacementparts.com starts carrying them?

[GregS]

they only asked for the 2 letter code when i got the replacement grate for my 26. 

i thought it was an AH but it was an AU.  it didn't matter to them.  they sent me a new one free of charge. 

[AZ Monsoon]

"They told me that by putting different wheels on my 26'er than those that originally came with it would be modifying it and would void the warranty."

This made me lol

[ramsfan]

Hey guys, just wanted to give everyone an update on the continuing story of the new 26'er I recently bought two weeks ago and the upgraded wheels I was having so much trouble getting from Weber. About a day or two after a Weber CSR refused to sell me a set of the new 2015 rubber wheels, I called back late in the evening and tried again. I had better luck on the second try.

This time, I didn't mention anything about already owning a 26'er, I simply stated I wanted to buy a set of the new 2015 wheels for a 26.75 kettle. The woman I talked to didn't ask any questions. She simply looked up the price and I told her I would take two. Problem solved!

The wheels arrived today and I have already installed them on my 26'er and I must say, they are a significant improvement over the old plastic ones. I figured they would be better just by their appearance on the floor model of the new grills on display at my local HD.

First of all, I don't know how many of you have had a chance to see these new wheels up close or have had a chance to try them out and play with them, but they are sharp! Holding an old one in one hand and a new one in the other hand to compare the two, I would say the new one is almost double the weight (or at least 1.5x the weight of the old one). Although they don't have ball bearings in them, when they roll they seem as if they do. The wheels roll heavy, quiet, and smooth. No rumble, wobble, or noise when your rolling them. The sound of the old wheels rolling remind me of the sound of the plastic wheels on a kid's Big Wheel tricycle. It has that distinctive rumble of hollow plastic rolling across concrete.

The new wheels come with spacers that fit between the flat end of the leg and the inside hub of the wheel. The wheel covers are different as well. The old covers (pre 2015) won't fit the new wheels (I tried already). The look and the design are different as well. Overall, I would definitely say that it is a significant improvement in looks and function.

I have the old set of wheels w/wheel covers and new nut caps if anyone is interested or needs to upgrade their wheels? I'll let them go cheap. I don't need them and just want to recoup some of my money back for the upgrade. These are 8" wheels for a 26, so they won't fit a 22.5. Send me a PM if you're interested? Thanks.

 

[swamprb]

could you take a pic of the rubber and plastic wheels side x side?  I may be going down this road myself

[1buckie]

Ramsfan, I forgot to write in & suggest you do what you did.....Weber is a lot like the IRS....still, even with some of the C / S changes they have made....

If you don't get across to them & get what you want, wait a day, or two & call in at a different time, get another person & the likelihood of accomplishment goes way up....glad you got it figured & thanks for the rundown !!!

Now, if they could just upgrade the whole thermometer / lid vent thing to something useful......

[tb80]

could you take a pic of the rubber and plastic wheels side x side?  I may be going down this road myself

I would like to see this as well. Also, I may have missed it, but how much did the new wheels cost?

[ramsfan]

New wheels were slightly less than $15 each. When the $7 delivery and state tax was added in, the whole thing came to about $38. The new wheels are a huge improvement and are significantly better than the old ones. I was completely blown away after they were installed and I began to roll the kettle for the first time with them on. They look sharp too. With all the changes Weber made to the 26 for 2015, this was the only thing they got right.