PK Grills - any fit or assembly issues?

[jhwhite]

I bought a weber 22" kettle and assembled it today. So many problems. The instructions said do NOT hammer the legs into place but that was the only way to get two of them down.


The ash catcher doesn't seem to fit right.


The lid DOES NOT fit. When I called Weber they said the fit might not be 100% exact, but the lid is too small. https://share.icloud.com/photos/0cduKJvSUaAn0dafOIWJE9Btw
Video: https://share.icloud.com/photos/0dcBR4Ojt811Y5o-h_zNcf7ng


They will send me another one but said it would be 7-10 days and if that didn't fit either then they would process a return.


And I just got the confirmation email that they're shipping me a replacement and they're shipping the wrong color. The one I bought is Slate and they're shipping Ocean Blue.


I've been going back and forth on PK vs Weber for a while and decided on Weber for price but I feel like I'm getting what I paid for.


So to get to the point of this post, is assembly of a PK any better?

 

[OzarkRebel]

The only assembly for the PK is the 8 bolts and the wheels on the cart. Mine went together in about 10 min. Everything fits perfectly. I also have two Weber 22" grills and can't imagine how they would take more than 10 min to assemble either. The newest one is about 15 years old, so there might be some build quality issues in the new models. For comparison, my newest PK grill is only about 6 months old.

 

[jhwhite]

The only assembly for the PK is the 8 bolts and the wheels on the cart. Mine went together in about 10 min. Everything fits perfectly. I also have two Weber 22" grills and can't imagine how they would take more than 10 min to assemble either. The newest one is about 15 years old, so there might be some build quality issues in the new models. For comparison, my newest PK grill is only about 6 months old.

It took me over an hour to force everything into place. And I measured the kettle and it's oblong not round, which is why the lid won't fit.



https://share.icloud.com/photos/03bsimPd0fTBCHhGHslrT-gXw

 

[ssv3]

I had the same issues on my 26 Weber in 2019. The bracket/housing ring that holds the ash pan was my fault. I put it on wrong and when I got a replacement it it snapped in place in a second. You'd think after assembling so many kettles I wouldn't screw that up. :loco: Make sure that's not the case with your ash pan either.

The lid and bowl were out of round so after receiving a pair of lids and bowls I finally managed to marry a set together. No leaks whatsoever and no issues maintaining low temps.

 

[ttkt57]

My PK 300 went together without a hitch.

Ash removal is harder than on many kettle style cookers. You can't spin the grate around to introduce the meat to different heat zones.

Otherwise, it's by far the best charcoal searing cooker I've ever had.