Craigslist Field Guide to Identifying Weber Grills (2024)

One other bit of useful info. Really old kettles had metal handles on the bowl. Then they switched to wood, then to a flat white colored plastic, then finally to the darker grey curved handle. Also, in the last few years they have started putting the thermometer in the lid.

It is amazing how many people you will see on CL selling an old plastic handle or even once a wood handle grill and claiming they bought it a year back at WalMart or wherever. Generally speaking, I've found that if you double what people claim, you are finally in the ballpark.

Know your field marks

I scored this Weber yesterday. The lister on CL had it for $40, he took $35. But the best part of the ad was that he said "These are going for $79.99 at Walmart plus tax." I felt a little bit predatory. He must not have read this field guide on BBQ brethren, because if he did then he would have known that they were going for $99.99 at Walmart!

Mikeinctown said:

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One other bit of useful info. Really old kettles had metal handles on the bowl. Then they switched to wood, then to a flat white colored plastic, then finally to the darker grey curved handle. Also, in the last few years they have started putting the thermometer in the lid.

It is amazing how many people you will see on CL selling an old plastic handle or even once a wood handle grill and claiming they bought it a year back at WalMart or wherever. Generally speaking, I've found that if you double what people claim, you are finally in the ballpark.

Click to expand...

I know what you mean....

http://westernmass.craigslist.org/grd/4498192044.html

Mikeinctown said:

One other bit of useful info. Really old kettles had metal handles on the bowl. Then they switched to wood, then to a flat white colored plastic, then finally to the darker grey curved handle. Also, in the last few years they have started putting the thermometer in the lid.

It is amazing how many people you will see on CL selling an old plastic handle or even once a wood handle grill and claiming they bought it a year back at WalMart or wherever. Generally speaking, I've found that if you double what people claim, you are finally in the ballpark.

Click to expand...

That actually happened to me yesteday....bought a "year old" Kettle. Luckily I knew it was old (which is why I wanted it). Pulled the code and my new "year old" Kettle was from 1984..Love it!!!

Wow!
Great information on the differences between the 22.5" and 26.75". After reading all the posts the 26.75" appears to appear to have significant but pricey improvements. If I have this correct it appears that the lid of the 26.75" will not bounce off the unit as I found out is an easy feat with the 22.5". A little more overlap from to the top lid to over the bottom might have prevented the top from bouncing off but the obvious fix I use is to simply remove the upper lid and move it separately.

I'll start looking in Craigslist and see if I can find a 26.75" in nice shape at a decent price. I might even dump the $300 for new if I have to.

But I have already called a dozen or so main chain stores and not only do they not have the 26.75 put together so you could see one but they don't even keep any in stock. They will order it for you. If anyone knows any stores in the Houston/Galveston area that actually have the 26.75 in stock I would really appreciate it if you could fill me in. I don't want one delivered to the house based on all the reports of dings on the 22.5's. I want to check it at the store before I buy it. Sure don't want to hassle with returning a damaged unit.

Thanks to all for the fantastic thread!

You could try this site. I assume the dampers might all have the same letter system. http://weberkettleclub.com/determine-age-of-old-grill/

Demosthenes9 said:

Anyone have some pointers for deciphering the year/model for Weber Performer's ?

Click to expand...

Check against the link mylo put up....Performers use the same codes on the lid vent as all the other coded kettles..................

the stainless table ones are the oldest, then the plastic tables & then the ones w/ stainless front panels, I believe is how the models changed, if you're just looking at a pic & don't know the vent code................

Orgetorix said:

Is $100 an OK deal for a Performer Platinum with a broken propane ignition system?

Click to expand...

Test the actual burner by lighting with a match. the ignitor is like $15-$20. if you don't get a nice big flame that would light a chimney placed on the grate then the regulator, orifice, or tube may be clogged up. $80 max if everything works except ignition. if other stuff is wrong, a new regulator will run you $35+ (or find one off a ready for the trash guy el cheapo grill and assemble one yourself)

Demosthenes9 said:

Anyone have some pointers for deciphering the year/model for Weber Performer's ?

Click to expand...

Here's a start. These are the lid vents though the years.

The letters are the date code.
You'll notice one or two letters stamped into the vent dampers of all Weber charcoal grills. This is a code that represents the year of manufacture. In 1979, Weber started using a single letter to denote the year; in 1994, they switched to a two-letter code. Codes were not used prior to 1979.

Here's the list of codes and their corresponding values:

A: 1979
B: 1980
C: 1981
D: 1982
E: 1983
F: 1984
G: 1985
H: 1986
J: 1987
K: 1988
L: 1989
M: 1990
N: 1991
O: 1992
P: 1993
EH: 1994
EO: 1995
ER: 1996
EI: 1997
EZ: 1998
EE: 1999
DD: 2000
DA: 2001
DU: 2002
DT: 2003
DH: 2004
DO: 2005
DR: 2006
DI: 2007
DZ: 2008
DE: 2009
AD: 2010
AA: 2011
AU: 2012
AT: 2013
AH: 2014

The new 22.5" model this year has moved the lid vent to the side of the handle, not inline with it any more. I haven't seen the new 18.5" version to see if it added the heat shield and lid thermo as well - if so, that could make distinguishing them difficult.

Edit: Looks like this is the Original Kettle 22.5" Premium edition. There are 18.5" and 22.5" non-Premium versions that both have the heat shield handle, and vents to the side of the handle, with no thermo.