The great peoples at Weber sent me a new 22†kettle lid to fix my leaky kettle. Unfortunately, the 2015 lid does not work with my 2013 kettle lid accoutrements (handle issues… spot welded handle vs bolt on) . Said great peoples at Weber immediately ordered me a handle with guard and it is on its way. So…in preparation...I tried to remove the 3 year old, heavily shellacked wing nut holding the thermometer to the lid so I can move said thermometer from one lid to the other. Said wing nut is locked down tight…it AIN’T moving! So….rather than twisting the wings off the nut in an attempt for removal, I’d like to simply plug the new lid thermometer hole (since I don't use the lid thermometer anywho) with some sort of gizmo. What say you brethren of all things kettle?
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I'd hit the threads/wingnut with some penetrating oil and let it set for a day and see if that loosens it up so you can remove it. -
It might not be pretty, but what about a bolt, washer(s) and nut?Comment
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I like the penetrating oil best, but my second choice would be to add a grommet to thread your thermometer wires through.Comment
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If you can't get the thermometer removed from the old lid, I see no problem with a ss bolt and nut - washers if you want.Comment
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7x57mm, Histrix I think has the Plan! Penetrating Oil with a Little Heat from a Propane Torch to the Nut should crack the corrosion! It may take Several applications! Just apply the heat to the Wing Nut to make it expand! If you use a bolt to Plug the Hole as RonB pointed out use Stainless Steel hardware!
Eat Well and Prosper! From a Backyard Cremator in Fargo ND, DanComment
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Thanks all! Oil first and if that doesn't work, SS bolt and washer. richinlbrg , that was the first idea that popped into my head....until I saw that the grommet and wires would be directly above the SnS. The new kettle lid has the thermometer hole directly across from the exhaust damper. My 2013 lid has the thermometer hole offset from the exhaust damper.Comment
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OK...short story long...new kettle lid arrived last Friday...but missing handle. New kettle handle arrived today. (Thanks Histrix, a dab of Kroil loosened the wing nut ricky tick on my old thermometer after an hour). Old thermometer was quickly installed on new kettle with new handle. Tonight's dinner, steak house burgers (chuck n' short rib blend...a good buddy felt sorry for my 80/20 Safeway mix
) with "smoked" smoked bacon. Great, now I need to invest in a grinder! By the by....these burgers were the best I've ever made. I wanted to see if the kettle would leak so I decided to hit thick cut bacon with some apple smoke before SnS'ing the burgers. Sadly, the kettle...with new lid, old thermometer and new handle...leaks in the exact same places. Not the end of the world as it is now time for gasket shopping. Kettlemeisters, is there a superior gasket to choose or just buy and try?
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I'll be buying a gasket DWCowles . I smoked a couple of thick cut pork loin chops this evening. With the new lid, temps continually climbed to 285 degrees by the time the chops hit temp. Ambient temp was only 79 degrees...even my old lid did much better than this
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The good folks at Weber want me to check the bowl. If the bowl is out of round, they want to ship me another. In the interest of science , I'm going to pull the bowl from the cart and check. I'm curious me-self. However, the new lid leaks more than the original so me thinks the bowl is likely not the issue. My gut tells me that I will ultimately end up with a gasket-ed lid
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