Weber Kettle / Smokey Mountain [General]

2012 Feb 18
So Stuart S or anyone else, my interest is piqued and I may decide to add a Weber kettle or Smokey Mountain to my Kamado. I'm so sold on charcoal now that I'm getting rid of my propane grill and want to add something else so I can BBQ and smoke at the same time (parties)

So I'm pulling that part of this old thread forward to its own thread

Here is the old thread : Forum - kamado grill

So I have a few questions. Or maybe even just one main question : what kind of upkeep is required on these things? in particular, I'm the sort of guy who will just let it sit in my back yard year round without covering it. How long will it last like that?

Do you cover yours?
Do you leave it out year round?
What else is required in upkeep?
How long have you had it?

Also, am I correct that the smokey mountain converts into a kettle or something ilke that so I can BBQ with it?

2012 Feb 18
Hey Zym....

I went through 2 weber kettles and loved them to death. Also bought one of their mini kettles to take in the canoe. Now have

www.amazon.com

which is what I wished I had started with and is superior in construction to the kettles.

It is cast al shell and a real heavy grill on it unlike the kettles. as you can imagine mine have been used and abused. This one will outlast my old ones by far. All sit outside 365 and get used in every season.

Gave up propane 15ish year ago.

K,

2012 Feb 19
Thanks krusty , I saw those too and was wondering about them. I'll have to have a look at Capital Appliance to see if they'll be big enough for me. Then again, I might enjoy having a portable unit as well - so maybe I'll need 2 new units :-)

2013 Jul 9
I don't know how I missed seeing this last year Zym. My apologies!

Do you cover yours? - sometimes I remember to cover my Performer, but mostly I don't.

Do you leave it out year round? - Yep, all my kettles and WSM stay out 24/7/365

What else is required in upkeep? - scrape em out with a plastic putty knife before each cook and then every summer I take them apart, spray the inside with oven cleaner and leave them in the sun in a garbage bag for a few hours to soak. Rinse well, then build a stupid hot fire in it and burn any residue off. I also rub the outside of them with wet 0000 gage steel wool a few times a year to keep em shiny.

How long have you had it? - my performer is a 2006, my smoke mountain is a 2004 and my red kettle (steak only cooker) is a 1975. With the right upkeep, they last forever.

Also, am I correct that the smokey mountain converts into a kettle or something ilke that so I can BBQ with it? - sort of, but not really..at all. You can grill on the WSM if you remove the center section, but its pretty low to the ground. And it's not really designed for it. If you want something you can grill on and then do some low and slow in I'd say get the kettle. I can do 4 racks of ribs, or a couple of butts...or even a smaller brisket on my kettle no problem. They hold temps reallywell and there are lots of tricks to cook things for 7-8 hours on one load of coals.

If you want more info, just let me know.

2013 Jul 9
Better late than never Stuart S :-) Thanks!

2013 Jul 10
A red kettle. I heard about them.
Apparently they are collector items.
Check out this forum concerning Weber BBQ's
tvwbb.com/forum.php

2013 Jul 14
Frank, my red kettle is the only one I've seen for sale in Ottawa for the 5 years I've been searching the used ads for a colored weber kettle. They come up in Ontario from time to time...but they are quite rare in Canada for sure. They haven't made red kettles since 1999 and they don't stand up to the weather in Canada as well as they do in California :)

I'm familiar with tvwbb, I've been a member there for years.