| Access
Door Modifications
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Originally
posted: 04/01/2001
Last updated:
02/02/2008 |
In this topic:
Here is an easy
modification to improve the access door of the Weber Smokey Mountain
Cooker, and the story of the upside down access door.
As
always...click on any of the pictures to
view a larger image.
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Marking The Door Knob
Have you ever latched the
access door, only to have it fall off the cooker as you take your hand off the
knob? Sometimes it's hard to know when the door is latched securely. To
solve this minor irritation, you can mark the door knob to indicate the
fully latched position. Remove the door from the cooker and turn the knob so the
latch on the inside is pointing straight up in the 12 o'clock position, as shown
in Picture 1. Next, mark the knob in the 12 o'clock position using one of the
following:
- A small strip of
colored tape.
- A symbol from a sheet of
adhesive vinyl lettering (Picture 2). The top portion of the "!" symbol makes
a nice little arrow; you could also use a "*" or "^"
symbol.
- A thin line or dot of paint.
- A flat spot or notch filed on
the edge of the knob.
- A shallow divot drilled
into the knob, filled with paint or white crayon. Thanks to Rob Gazzo for
this suggestion.
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Upside Down Access Door
On several occasions I've
met WSM owners who insist on putting the access door in their cooker upside
down, with the knob on the bottom. The
first person I met who did this was Rob Kelso, shown in this picture. Rob said that this is his
"secret weapon" in barbecue competitions. His reasoning: less smoke
escapes around the door this way, and if necessary he can place something under
the door to prop it open to increase air intake into the cooker. Does
an upside down access door work? I don't have the foggiest idea.
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Adjusting The Access Door
If you've come here looking for
information on how to adjust the fit of the access door, see the Parts
Troubleshooting page.
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Back to Operating Tips & Modifications |
