I've always seen replacement parts for the ash catcher (and pretty much every thing else) of the one touch silver, but have never seen one for the gold.

If you have a problem with the silver, it seems easy to replace about every part of the grill.

With the gold, particularly since the ash catcher/venting system is attached to the kettle bowl -- as opposed to the design on the silver -- what happens if you have problems with this part? Can it be replaced?

I have both a silver and a gold, but haven't had them long enough to experience any durability problems.

I realize that these grills will probably last 10 years + anyway, so maybe it's a moot point. However, I am curious if the life expectany of the silver far outweighs the gold. If it does, I think the silver (with the additional hinged grate and adding a offee can or a pot to the ash catcher) makes much more economical sense in the long run.

Any ideas?

Weber sells replacement parts for the One-Touch Gold ash catcher.

Here is a Weber web-page that lists replacement parts for the One-Touch Gold 22-1/2"

One-Touch Gold replacement parts

Rusty

I replaced the one-touch system as well as the ash catcher on my Performer, after about 10 years. It is a little trouble to install the components for the ash catcher, but many mechanical things are troublesome for me . I wouldn't think there would be a significant durability issue with the Gold versus the Silver. I like the ash catcher and I aso like the cart arrangement of the Performer.

Paul

As you can see from the above post the Gold parts are availble from Weber, but the silver parts are in most hardware stores, witch would lead me to believe that Weber thinks the Silver is less durable as the parts are more readily available. Just my dollar-three-ninety-five

Actually, the main reason there are more replacement parts for the silver is two fold. One, the silver out sells the gold nearly 5-1. Two, the silver ash catcher parts are just flat out cheaper. The warranty is 5 years on thoes parts on both grills.

I have refurbished a few kettles lately and the biggest hassle has been replacing the broken One-Touch handle and sweeps, most times having to drill out the handle or thumb screw. That said, it would be a good idea to shoot some silicone spray on the bottom nut during routine maintenance. I had one Siver 3 years old crapped out.