Limited Edition Red 22 Kettle: News, Views & Reviews

[Foster Dahlet]

That looks like a good one to be picky about, @Jet300.  I would send it back, if it was mine.

I'm still waiting to hear back from the rep via email, but earlier in the day I reached out to Weber via FB messenger. Got a reply this morning. I'm floored on this one ... Really really disappointed in Weber on this one. This thing should have been perfect, not a poor facsimile.of the original....



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apparently, they see black where the others see bare metal.  i am not sure this is willful ignorance on Weber's part.  perhaps the CSR truly sees black.  remember the dress some people saw as black and blue, while others saw it as white and gold?  perhaps this is part of the discrepancy between responses?

Read their response again ..  they said there should be bare metal in the sockets... That's apparently normal to them .. I have to start looking at my newer colored kettles now...



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You are correct.  Reading comprehension fail on my part.

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[cbpeck]

I just realized this may be the longest thread in WKC history.

[addicted-to-smoke]

"No Explanation Necessary" was 149 pages.

[Craig]

Big Box Store Displays






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Sadly I can’t say I haven’t seen this before.... our local Ace and Lowe’s are notorious for this kind of thing....


HOLY GRAILS: 1950s era Black or Custom finish 18.5 or 22.5 Kettle, Brown Go Anywhere grill.

[LightningBoldtz]

Jaqam, they are a great company too.

[Bob BQ]

That looks like a good one to be picky about, @Jet300.  I would send it back, if it was mine.

I'm still waiting to hear back from the rep via email, but earlier in the day I reached out to Weber via FB messenger. Got a reply this morning. I'm floored on this one ... Really really disappointed in Weber on this one. This thing should have been perfect, not a poor facsimile.of the original....



Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

apparently, they see black where the others see bare metal.  i am not sure this is willful ignorance on Weber's part.  perhaps the CSR truly sees black.  remember the dress some people saw as black and blue, while others saw it as white and gold?  perhaps this is part of the discrepancy between responses?

Read their response again ..  they said there should be bare metal in the sockets... That's apparently normal to them .. I have to start looking at my newer colored kettles now...



Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

You are correct.  Reading comprehension fail on my part.

Sent from my LG-TP260 using Weber Kettle Club mobile app

Have you had rust or burn-through yet?  Warranty doesn't appear to cover bare metal or questionable quality control, however, per the rep "The bowl and lid are covered against rust & burn-through for 10 years should you have any issues."..... I would suggest saving your communication with the rep, and as soon as you see rust or god-forbid burn-through in the leg sockets, hit Weber up for a new, warrantied bowl. In the mean time, enjoy cooking on your sweet red grill!

[Josh G]

The problem is if Weber has no red bowls in 10 years they give you a black replacement. This is so stupid.  Just send out a replacement bowl.  The money you saved on the bowl you have lost 10 times over in bad press on social media.  I understand they don't want to open the flood gates but the vast majority of people won't even notice the issues we do.  What they do notice are bad reviews.  And images now posted online of flaws cause everyone to look for them.   Not smart.   

[addicted-to-smoke]

I can see how automotive 2000-degree flat black or clear paint might be a good compromise for folks who don't want to confront Weber if afflicted with bare metal inner sockets.

*******************

Warranty doesn't appear to cover bare metal ..."

It's a type of scenario Weber likely never had to contend with previously. The "rust through" warranty is a common type of guarantee intended to protect consumers against hidden damage, which is GREAT of course. What's thrown Weber for a loop here is that they have some very perceptive enthusiastic customer who spotted some bare metal, which isn't normal for a Weber.

And I'd wager that bare metal falls under a common sense definition of "obvious defect" when selling steel that will see high heat and moisture. And again, that rep did acknowledge that "there is a black undercoat." I think it would be unreasonable for anyone to assert that the interior of the sockets "don't need" (by implication) undercoating.

[charred]

@greenweb Man that lid looks nice. I'm happy to know that Weber's worst move in the history of their glorious kettle- the heat shield handle- can be mitigated to the point of making the grill look decent.

When the China Red gets the handle mod and the wheel mod, it looks pretty good to me.

Of course, the ash pot mod would finish it off nicely.

On a side note, I find it almost personally embarrassing that these defects have made it into the public supply chain. After talking up the Weber brand so enthusiastically these last several years...Weber, why hath thou forsaken us? (ok, maybe it's not THAT dramatic)   

[addicted-to-smoke]

@greenweb Man that lid looks nice. ...

Here's another of his taco-less setups and yes they do look fabulous. And there are others but I don't know where. One of the zavod handle threads maybe.

[dwnthehatch]

I emailed Weber customer service a little over a week ago about the chipped bowl and bubbly lid. They sent me a compete new kettle that was checked by the QA team and told me to keep the old one. It arrived today. The old kettle was a BI code with a date of A10/09/2017. The replacement is also a BI dated A20/08/2017. The replacement kettle came with no chips, there is no porcelain in the leg sockets but the straps are painted underneath. My brother bought one that is a BM code dated A20/08/2017 that's missing paint under the straps and leg sockets.  I'm not going to complain to them anymore. Even though there are defects I'm satisfied with the replacement kettle. My brother is just going to wait for his to rust out in less than 10 years.

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[greenweb]

@greenweb Man that lid looks nice. I'm happy to know that Weber's worst move in the history of their glorious kettle- the heat shield handle- can be mitigated to the point of making the grill look decent.

When the China Red gets the handle mod and the wheel mod, it looks pretty good to me.

Of course, the ash pot mod would finish it off nicely.

On a side note, I find it almost personally embarrassing that these defects have made it into the public supply chain. After talking up the Weber brand so enthusiastically these last several years...Weber, why hath thou forsaken us? (ok, maybe it's not THAT dramatic)   

Thanks! I am happy with how the handle turned out. 

Funny how I hated the wheels and wanted to change them out when I saw the pic of the New Red kettle. For now, they will stay as they look ok in person. Besides,  I will need another set of white walls to give that classic look on my replacement wheels.

Still waiting to hear back from Weber CSR about my Red bowl with bare metal under grate straps ( all 4) with rust showing. Not overly concerned with minimal porcelain coverage at leg sockets, runs, overspray inside the bowl. Let's see if they say this is normal too. 

[Dsorgnzd]

Reading about all the problems with the new red kettles I am reminded of something I was told in a quality control class some 40+ years ago: you can't inspect quality into a product. That is, the answer to quality problems is not more inspections. It is to use your inspections to identify the underlying problem(s) and fix it/them. Weber is getting plenty of inspections (unfortunately, from the purchasers). I hope they are doing more than just replacing the faulty product. Building a product with a high failure rate can damage both your bottom line and your reputation in the marketplace.

[addicted-to-smoke]

^^ Same thing I learned studying Project Management. ^^

A 100% inspection rate methodology is much worse than spot checking + better design/production. Weber knows this, too. I think they got royally screwed by their "trusted partner."

[cwestsmokin]

Well I finally got i good one, after waiting for a cs manger to call me, never happened after 4 days I just took it back to the store. Customer service mangers are really dropping the ball on this one.