Has anyone turned a silver into a gold. Is it worth ordering the parts to do it. Or am I better off getting a gold and adding the dampner to the bottom. I would think that It would be better to drill to small holes in a silver for the bale/lidholder. Then to drill three or four holes for the dampner in a ash exposed area like the bottom. The parts may be more then picking up a silver and gold. Then interchanging parts.

I was able to get my gold off ebay a few months back for $89 including shipping - couple of other folks got them for around that, too. At that price, just buy the gold.

I'm not sure what you mean by adding the damper to the the bottom of a gold.

The gold is the same grill as the silver, except for the ash catcher ring, ash catcher and handle. If you had those three items, you could use a Dremmel cutting tool to make a slot in each leg holder to receive the tabs that hold the ash catcher ring on the grill and then you would have a gold.

As for the cost of parts, you could price the parts out with Weber customer service but my guess is you would be better trying to get a decent ebay deal or watch for a gold on CL.

Sometimes, however, you want to do something just for the sake of doing it. In that case, go for it and let us know how it turns out!

Pat

Pat

I was refering to the Smokey Joe silver and gold model. The silver has a bottom dampner and the gold two side ones the silver burns better from my understanding. I think I am goig to order a Gold and just add the silver bottom dampner. That was I get the two side ones too. Which will cure the problem of the silver going out with the lid on.

AHHHHHH Grasshopper - I got to the topic from the RSS feed and didn't even pay any attention to which forum the post was in.

My apologies!

I've done a couple of bottom vent modifications on Smokey Joe Platinums - the post are in here somewhere!

The one I did last was the one I liked the best. I put a bottom vent on the SJP using a vent cover from a defunct Smokey Joe Silver (you can get them from Weber, but this was in my dad's barn). I then put a handle on the vent cover by drilling through one of the vent tabs, bending it down and securing a carriage bolt through it with a two lock nuts.

Then, using a vise, I bent the legs down so that they would meet in a horizontal plane under the vent, and attached a stainless steel puppy bowl by drilling a hole in the bottom of it and securing it to the legs with a bolt and wing nut.

I use a metal pie pan inside the doggie bowl to catch the ashes, so then I can just remove the pie pan and dump the ashes without removing the bolt and the pan.

Maybe this link will work. Otherwise, it is the Smokey Joe Platinum Bottom Vent Mod thread.

Smokey Joe Bottom Vent Mod Pat Smith

Hope this help - sorry again that I got off on the wrong track!

Pat

Thanks Pat.

I am going to order a gold and then call weber to order the bottom dampner off of a Silver. This will solve the golds problem of not burning in center and solve the problem of the silver only burning in center and coals going out with lid on.

I agree - good luck with the mod. One thing I miss on my silver is the lid lock for transport. Your solution would solve that problem as well.

Pat

You know folks, I really think that Weber should have made the Gold basically as a miniature version of the One Touch Gold 18- or 22-incher; that is, with a bottom damper & lever, AND a removable aluminum ash can, just like the OTG has but scaled down. Those features PLUS the fantastic lid-securer would make for the best small grill in the world.

I haven't yet tried my SJG's performance by offsetting the coals and trying to create a convective current to see how the side vents respond to that, but will soon. In the meantime I keep wishing that Weber had taken a few cues from the bottom-venting, ash-can-equipped CharBroil grill - a cheap product I wouldn't buy, but one whose design sometimes seems more logical.

I feel another project coming on! Anybody seen a cheap deal on a Smokey Joe Gold??

Pat

that would make them to expensive. i think they do great as they are.

quote:

Originally posted by Paul A.B.:
You know folks, I really think that Weber should have made the Gold basically as a miniature version of the One Touch Gold 18- or 22-incher; that is, with a bottom damper & lever, AND a removable aluminum ash can, just like the OTG has but scaled down. Those features PLUS the fantastic lid-securer would make for the best small grill in the world.

I haven't yet tried my SJG's performance by offsetting the coals and trying to create a convective current to see how the side vents respond to that, but will soon. In the meantime I keep wishing that Weber had taken a few cues from the bottom-venting, ash-can-equipped CharBroil grill - a cheap product I wouldn't buy, but one whose design sometimes seems more logical.

For those who have ordered the SJS bottom vent from Weber, how much did it cost? I'm trying to decide whether to go with new parts or salvage the Silver from craigslist.