Limited Edition Red 22 Kettle: News, Views & Reviews

[LightningBoldtz]

Is it possible that the porcelain coverage issues of the Limited Edition red has been present in previous years of colored kettles? Is it possible that due to social media and this Forum these issues have been thrust to the forefront and buyers have become more critical in inspecting them?  Case in point, @Craig had put his kettle together and only after reading about issues inside the leg sockets did he take it apart and inspect it, finding the black porcelain inside instead of red.  Is it also possible that all these years kettles have been produced with occasional bare metal in the leg sockets and grate straps? This could explain why some kettles have leg sockets that fall off due to rust and grate straps that totally rust out on some.

Looking at my kettles today, I found many that had partial colored porcelain coverage on the handles and inside the leg sockets. When not the body color of the kettle, there was still mostly black porcelain, but some had a lot of rust inside the sockets. 

Every one of my 18" MBH's  have missing color coverage on the bowl handles.  As you can see, they are not chipped but have black porcelain covering the inside and edges of the handles.

18" red MBH    bowl handle


18" lime MBH   bowl handle


18"yellow MBH  bowl handle


As you can see below, it appears in both of these 90 era kettles that only the sides of the handle straps are covered with the body color.  The top of the straps are black porcelain.

1991 N Code     lid handle                                                                                                                bowl handle



1995 EO Code   lid handle


Also, the majority of my kettles have some interesting beauty marks as I call them, in the porcelain.





I am not downplaying the concerns anyone has in regards to their purchases of these new kettles. You have the right to be discriminate as a consumer. I just feel that Weber is getting beat up over this Limited Edition kettle and these issues may have been around for a very long time.  We just may not have noticed them.

I agree, there are legitimate issues that I have seen but I think many of this things like thin coverage at the straps have been around for years.  Good post.

[Rub]

I agree @Cellar2ful we are 1000% more tuned in with the Internet and social media. Good point.


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[Kneab]

I don't have one of these kettles. But if I did, I would be okay with black porcelain inside the leg sockets, thin spots where  the black shows through on handles, red overspray inside, all the normal things we are used to seeing. I would not be alright with bare Steel underneath my grate straps,  or showing through inside my leg sockets. The way the rain runs down the sides of the bowl the leg sockets will rust faster if they're not protected properly. In a few years the shiny aluminum legs will also be rust covered. I also would not accept a bowl or lid with big chunks of porcelain missing either. Just my 2 cents.

[Bubblehead]

Well, I got ANOTHER call from Weber last night.  They have reversed their decision to replace my bowl.  The lady told me that based on my pictures, it was acceptable.  I asked her specifically to tell me that bare metal is ok.  She replied "bare metal is ok, and there is a warranty"  I asked her if they would be able to replace my  bowl with the same LE color in 8 years.  She laughed and said she doubts it.

I'm blown away.  Weber CS has always been outstanding.  I get it that this is a huge fuck up.  I am a Quality Manager for a metal manufacturing company.  I absolutely get it, but I also know this is not how you handle something like this.  I would fire anyone under me if they responded to a customer like this about poor coatings and I would expect to be fired if I did it.

I have been really excited for this grill but now I can't decide if I keep it and paint the bare spots or just return it and move on.  I know I can fix the issue in less than 30 minutes and it will likely never been seen by anyone.  I also know I am seeing red and I don't just mean the grill.  I worry that I will always think about that last hone call and hate the thing.

[MrHoss]

........She replied "bare metal is ok, and there is a warranty"  I asked her if they would be able to replace my  bowl with the same LE color in 8 years.  She laughed and said she doubts it.

I also know I am seeing red and I don't just mean the grill.  I worry that I will always think about that last hone call and hate the thing.

Bingo. Stop worrying and unload the load.

Black porcelain where there should be colored in a spot you will never see under normal use.....is fine.

Bare metal asking for rust is not. Nor is missing or super wonky porcelain in a highly visible area.

I looked at 4 Smoke MT's last year that had this crazy pattern on the outside of the bowls where all the handle strap welds were. So that is 8 spots where you had round wonky spots bigger than a silver dollar on each bowl......and it took me to notice?  Wrong. The outside of the bowl on a Smoke is smooth and those round spots that were so different they stuck out like a sore thumb. There had to be a number of people on that line at Weber who chose to think this was fine.

[Josh G]

Well, I got ANOTHER call from Weber last night.  They have reversed their decision to replace my bowl.  The lady told me that based on my pictures, it was acceptable.  I asked her specifically to tell me that bare metal is ok.  She replied "bare metal is ok, and there is a warranty"  I asked her if they would be able to replace my  bowl with the same LE color in 8 years.  She laughed and said she doubts it.

I'm blown away.  Weber CS has always been outstanding.  I get it that this is a huge fuck up.  I am a Quality Manager for a metal manufacturing company.  I absolutely get it, but I also know this is not how you handle something like this.  I would fire anyone under me if they responded to a customer like this about poor coatings and I would expect to be fired if I did it.

I have been really excited for this grill but now I can't decide if I keep it and paint the bare spots or just return it and move on.  I know I can fix the issue in less than 30 minutes and it will likely never been seen by anyone.  I also know I am seeing red and I don't just mean the grill.  I worry that I will always think about that last hone call and hate the thing.

When you get a color that is only made for a year they will not keep tons of them around for claims for a decade.  I had a claim on a sage after 6 years and was told they were gone and was given the choice between green or black. 

Just return your grill and maybe go buy one in person and do some inspecting first.

[addicted-to-smoke]

Just return it. You'll feel better.

Or ask to speak to a supervisor, as was already suggested. Squeaky wheel gets the grease etc.

And later, when the email comes, asking for feedback on how the service was, be simple but direct with comments, not emotional.

Something like,

"I was specifically told that bare, unprotected metal was acceptable. Based on my long experience as a Weber owner, and also based on some anecdotal evidence shared by other long time Weber owners, I know I was lied to."

Remember, their legal "out" is the rust-through aspect. Even a completely unpainted, rusty grill won't rust through for years. It's the short term appearance they've apparently decided is the first casualty of a marketing fiasco happening.

But yeah, orange peel, some overspray, some missing color under handles or sockets, NOT a problem.

[56MPG]

[Rub]

Lol - you got skillz, I love it.


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[JEBIV]

spot on Marty LOL

[SixZeroFour]

There are two different issues here - both of which could have been squashed immediately by a proper CS response from Weber back in the beginning. Unfortunately that didn't happen and now they have a shit storm on their hands. One is people inspecting the grill with a microscope and finding "problems" like slight overspray etc. because they got spooked by social media... the other folks, and the bulk of many of the posts I have seen are completely legitimate.

If you guys received a kettle with bare metal in the leg sockets you're telling me you would just keep it and deal with it?? Common now... and if you do good luck getting a replacement red bowl in a few years under the "warranty". Enjoy your two toned black and red "limited" edition kettle.

Anyone giving Weber a pass on this either does not have a grill with legitimate issues, or doesn't have one of the grills at all.

[56MPG]

How the Hell did they miss the sign?

[BBQ Jack]

If Weber were smart they would shut down production of this kettle and recall the ones that were shipped to the stores. This would limit the complaints and it would truly become an LE model.

[SixZeroFour]

Hopefully they have started boxing up some more disaster relief Blue Wave SJ's! 

[joejenks]

If they just listed it as a red with black speckles, they would have been fine.

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