It was frustrating enough when they discontinued this grill. Then they replaced with with the SJP...and discontinued THAT. I don't understand this. What's worse...I needed a replacement grate for my JJ's. However...the 14.5" SJ grates are obviously too small. The 22.5" kettle grates are obviously too large. And the 18.5" kettle grates? ONE HALF OF AN INCH TOO LARGE. That's right...they used an 18" grate for the JJ's. I don't understand that. *L* I was fortunate to be able to get a hold of what I needed...but honestly...some of the things Weber does these days...just doesn't make sense to me. I'm so grateful I found this website. It's been a godsend for acquiring that which Weber doesn't provide...and creating mods that Weber SHOULD provide.

Do you have an Academy nearby? I believe they sell 14",18" and 22" grates for their Old Smokey BBQ clones. I went to buy the 22" grate for a 22.5" kettle that I recently purchased on CL, but it was 1/2" too small. The grates were very reasonably priced. The 14" was $2.99, and the 22" was $5.99, so the 18" must be $4-$5. The 18" should fit your JJ perfectly.

Or just call Weber. They have what you need and their prices are very reasonable. Shipping is next to nothing. HTH in the future.

Amazing thing. I called up Weber...and despite the fact the Jumbo Joe has been out of production for a couple years...they still stock the parts for it that I needed. Even more interesting...is that they were out of stock on the parts...and were ordering more. I wish they hadn't stopped making these to begin with. Such awesome products. Thanks all for your responses.

Just curious - what is a Jumbo Joe?

JP

It's a 18.5" portable kettle. You can see a photo here:

http://www.shopping.com/xPF-Weber-Weber-Jumbo-Joe-Grill

Looks like they may still be available on Amazon.com through an Ace Hardware store:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00004U9VU/thevirtualweberb

Regards,
Chris

Thanks for the reply. Checked the links, the pics look an awful lot like the SJP I just bought. What is the difference between a Jumbo Joe and the SJP?

I'm just newbie trying to learn stuff, though I have had plenty of Weber (and only Weber) hardware throughout my life!

Thanks,
JP

I think the only difference was the name, the units were the same. You had the Smokey Joe, which was the little guy, and Jumbo Joe, which was the big guy. Then they renamed them Smokey Joe Silver, Smokey Joe Gold (both small, slightly different designs, both still available today) and Smokey Joe Platinum.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

chris, sounds correct. the sjg is the small brother of the sjp.

Chris, I believe you are right

We have an older one, my wife says when she bought it, they called in an "Outrider"

We bought a new SJ Platinum this year at our local Ace. Only difference I can see is wooden handles on the old vs the plastic/composite handles that weber uses now on the new