I picked up a Weber performer deluxe with the propane ignition in August of 2021. The idea was to take it to our cabin in the mountains (you can read about it here:https://pitmaster.amazingribs.com/fo...you-kidding-me).
It has performed admirably in the succeeding year and a half. Flash forward to Winter 2022-23. Our little mountain typically sees about 30-50 inches of snow all year (Nov - March), with any single event rarely exceeding 6 inches. This year, the ski area about a mile away reported over 220 inches of snow for the season, more than half of it from mid December to mid February. A rain on snow event caused the Forest Svc closed the entire area for almost two months. The resultant runoff damaged the only road into our community. After finally being allowed back, we were relieved to find very little damage to our cabin. A deck railing had been partially blown off by snow shedding off the roof. The brunt of the damage was suffered by the Weber.
If you look closely, you can guess the damage.
The table split in half, both end struts broken, the axle bent.
The saddest picture of a "Weber" ever:
Okay, the bowl, lid, frame, charcoal basket, and grates were undamaged. Just need a new table, axle, and struts. Shouldn't be too bad, right?
A couple of weeks of digging turned up exactly zero tables, zero struts, and zero axles. Nuts.
As part of my digging, I found this:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BY8S4KR4?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_detail s
A full cart, sans kettle. Okay, I can make this work. I took the box with me to the cabin for the Fourth, assembled the cart, put the kettle in, and smoked some bacon.
So now my $30 kettle, plus the $105.00 in parts originally, and now $219 for the cart, my "bargain" Performer has cost me $354. Certainly less than a new one, but it isn't yet fully functional, as I need to figure out how to set up the propane ignition system, as the cart doesn't have it.
Some thoughts on this cart:
Fit and finish is nowhere near Weber quality, but I expected this. The bowl connection to the cart is a gravity/friction mount, vs Weber's bolt on. I don't mind this, as my home made grill table containing a Weber 22" and a SNS kettle is a gravity mount. It's not going anywhere. There is a wire "support bracket" that goes around the ash catcher that prevents you from removing the ash catcher. I will be removing this. Additionally, there is no way to use the original charcoal bin, and the cover no longer fits, as the handle and lid holder extends the overall length by about 4".
The cart has a couple of nice touches that the Weber doesn't have- A little folding trash basket at the handle end, a wire basket on the front front for sauces/condiments, and a paper towel rack. For what it is, I think this cart would be a very nice upgrade to add to a free standing kettle to convert it to a "Performer".
One other note- this cart does not take into account that Performer bowls have mounting flanges for the bolt on application of a true Performer. I was able to rotate the bowl just enough to have it seat and still have it fit and face the right direction.
It has performed admirably in the succeeding year and a half. Flash forward to Winter 2022-23. Our little mountain typically sees about 30-50 inches of snow all year (Nov - March), with any single event rarely exceeding 6 inches. This year, the ski area about a mile away reported over 220 inches of snow for the season, more than half of it from mid December to mid February. A rain on snow event caused the Forest Svc closed the entire area for almost two months. The resultant runoff damaged the only road into our community. After finally being allowed back, we were relieved to find very little damage to our cabin. A deck railing had been partially blown off by snow shedding off the roof. The brunt of the damage was suffered by the Weber.
If you look closely, you can guess the damage.
The table split in half, both end struts broken, the axle bent.
The saddest picture of a "Weber" ever:
Okay, the bowl, lid, frame, charcoal basket, and grates were undamaged. Just need a new table, axle, and struts. Shouldn't be too bad, right?
A couple of weeks of digging turned up exactly zero tables, zero struts, and zero axles. Nuts.
As part of my digging, I found this:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BY8S4KR4?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_detail s
A full cart, sans kettle. Okay, I can make this work. I took the box with me to the cabin for the Fourth, assembled the cart, put the kettle in, and smoked some bacon.
So now my $30 kettle, plus the $105.00 in parts originally, and now $219 for the cart, my "bargain" Performer has cost me $354. Certainly less than a new one, but it isn't yet fully functional, as I need to figure out how to set up the propane ignition system, as the cart doesn't have it.
Some thoughts on this cart:
Fit and finish is nowhere near Weber quality, but I expected this. The bowl connection to the cart is a gravity/friction mount, vs Weber's bolt on. I don't mind this, as my home made grill table containing a Weber 22" and a SNS kettle is a gravity mount. It's not going anywhere. There is a wire "support bracket" that goes around the ash catcher that prevents you from removing the ash catcher. I will be removing this. Additionally, there is no way to use the original charcoal bin, and the cover no longer fits, as the handle and lid holder extends the overall length by about 4".
The cart has a couple of nice touches that the Weber doesn't have- A little folding trash basket at the handle end, a wire basket on the front front for sauces/condiments, and a paper towel rack. For what it is, I think this cart would be a very nice upgrade to add to a free standing kettle to convert it to a "Performer".
One other note- this cart does not take into account that Performer bowls have mounting flanges for the bolt on application of a true Performer. I was able to rotate the bowl just enough to have it seat and still have it fit and face the right direction.
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