Drill out the little hole where the post was, and put the vent cover back on with a small (1/2" long) screw and washer pushed through from the inside, and the vent cover outside, with another washer & nut, tightened only enough to hold it on & still permit airflow adjustment. You may need to retighten occasionally, or add a second nut when properly adjusted. Still lots of life in the old Grill.

Looks as the trusty old Weber has become a bit rusty and is due for sacrifice to the corrosion gods.

But then you could always call Jordy for a scrap value quote. Who knows it might live again as part of the new WTC.

And, Amazon sells a dandy Stainless Steel chimney for only $16.29 plus shipping.

Huh. I have the mini-Weber, table top version and it still has the vents as yours does. I bought it a couple of years ago.

Home Depot has the chimneys for around $12, I think. I'm going out there tomorrow or Tuesday and will check.

As for the chimney - they are totally expendable, you can pick one up for less than the Amazon price at Fred Meyer. As for the Webber, yours has seen it's day, go on Craigs List, I found and bought one like yours for $10 about 5 years ago. The new ones make cleaning very easy and cool if you want to spend a bit more and buy new. Or, if you really want the ultimate in BBQ (and you will pay for it) get a Trager - whatever you do, don't get a gas grill, it's just not the same.

I almost won a Traeger once, but it wasn't meant to be. I'd prefer to stick with blue-collar charcoal. No gas -- forget the flavor issue, I'd blow up the house.

Find a local neighborhood hardware store. Even if its not in the neighborhood, theres one in Sellwood and another (real big, real good, real famous) in Parkrose.

Bring both the chimney and the circular doohickey with you. Tell the nice folks you want a bolt, nut, washers, and for the chimney, lock washer, to fix things up.

In less than 5 minutes for less than two bucks, you'll be good to go.

I grew up in Jersey in the same era. My dad actually made a charcoal chimney out of a left over piece of aluminum duct from the split level heating system. He just cut two half moon vents in the bottom and wired a handle to it. I'm not sure but he might have invented the concept. My first weber lasted about 25 years but suffered the same ultimate demise. My condolences. But there are new ones out there.

I would highly recommend the Traeger. I have had one for about 5 years and love it. Great flavor and incredible control of the temperature. Wonderful for smoking or slow-cooking meats.

Go big and get one of these: http://www.santamariagrills.com/backyard.htm. Once you start cooking with real wood and have the ability to raise and lower your cooking surface it's hard to go back to anything else.

I feel your pain, brother. Ran into similar problems with the vent assembly on my workhorse Weber. Found a good number of sources for replacement parts on the web. Check it out.

Gas grills are a communist plot.

Or, check out thrift stores, garage sales, and even the community exchange site at your neighborhood clean-up - you might be able to find an old grill there, and between two old grills, have a fine, working one again.

First, I was at the Beavers game where you almost won that Traeger. I remember those chicken dances, and wondered if that would be worth it for a new grill.

As for the Weber: I replaced mine about 6 yers ago. It had 16 years on it, and I went through several of those chimneys.

I bought a new gas-light charcoal Weber - I'm sure you've seen them in the stores. It has a nice deck on it, and uses those little gas cylinders. Ten minutes on the gas and the charcoal has enough of an ember to light the rest.

Retire that old thing. You wont regret it. I still can't go to a gas grill, but I am happy to use gas to light the charcoal!

The moral of the story? Put the weber indoors in the garage or basement for the winter. We had an old one that we left outside during the winter and it lasted about 20 years. The new one we bought three years ago (with the sweeper things in the bottom) is in the garage for the winter.

As for the chimney, ours has rusted in several places and I keep putting in new jury-rigged bolts here and there. It will go soon, but not yet.

The thing is, I use them from time to time all winter. I am proud to have grilled in snow this year!

You're one up on me, Jack. Our old one was outside all winter because I was too lazy to put it away!