'77 MBH daisy wheel rehab

[bigjeffb]

So yesterday's cook while the family was away was supposed to be done on my '77 redhead. While prepping the night before I noticed just how gunked up and deformed the daisy wheels were after accumulating 45 years worth of ash and grease. There was no way I was gonna be able to dial in my temp or even close up at the end with how far pushed out they were. So while the cook went forward on another kettle, I got to work removing the bowl dampers. Since I didn't feel like waiting for new ones, and I wanted to preserve as much as I could with this one, my plan was to remove the originals, scrape and scrub as best I could, reshape to the contour of the bowl, and reattach with stainless hardware. Following the advice of @Jules V , instead of using a drill to remove the rivets, I used a carbide burr for my Dremel and ssssslowly and as steady as I could ground away at the rivet from the outside until I could tap it out with a hammer and punch. There was easily a total of 1/4" of buildup between the bowl and damper. So I soaked and scraped and scrubbed as best I could to remove it. Now my goal was not perfection, not for some dampers that wouldn't be visible anyway. My goal was to make as sung a fit as I could between the bowl and damper just so they could function smoothly.
The stop tabs were all still intact, just bent and rendered useless from all the crud. So I gently straightened them back out using the plastic scraper I was already using and they seem good to go.
Re-contouring was easier than I thought and you just have to take your time working edges 180 degrees apart so you aren't chasing raised sections that pop up. Just keep going around until the fit is as close as you can get. It's a shame that the lid dampers aren't this easy to reshape!
For the hardware I used 20-3/4 button screw, and 1/4" hex nut, lock washer, and flat. Took everything hand tight and that seems to be giving enough resistance while allowing for smooth movement.
Can't wait to finally fire this one up!


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[stillgriller]

Nice work!

[bamakettles]

Looks really good, nice job!  I did a lid vent and ended up using two lock nuts tightened against each other to keep it from coming loose over time.  Love your red head!


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[bigjeffb]

Looks really good, nice job!  I did a lid vent and ended up using two lock nuts tightened against each other to keep it from coming loose over time.  Love your red head!


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Thanks Greg!
I kinda like her too. MUCH less problematic than the little blond I have at home lol.
I was thinking about doing the lid, but for now the rivet is in okay shape and it fits nicely enough.


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[JEBIV]

Grate work !!

[michaelmilitello]

Beautiful job with the vents.  I've had good luck using a 50/50 mixture of vinegar and water.  Leave the vents soaking in a bowl of it.  It really loosens up gunk. 

https://tampasteel.com/3-ways-to-clean-aluminum/


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[TXFlyGuy]

You can clean with ammonia too. Place in a trash bag, and spray liberally. Allow to soak at least 24 hours. Many times the caked on gunk will easily rinse off with a garden hose.