How to fix BBQ: re-insert metal cylinder that came off partially

Question

I have a Barbecook BBQ where the bottom part became partially detached. The metal cylinder is supposed to be inside the bottom plate, but one side came out.

There is no glue or welding involved. The cylinder is fixed by the pressure of the ridge on the bottom plate. It still feels strongly connected, and (gently) tapping it with a hammer did not push the cylinder back in. I'm afraid of hitting it too hard as it could bend the cylinder. I also tried heating the bottom plate with a hair dryer (in the hope the metal would expand a bit) but to no effect. Any suggestions on what I could to fix this? I don't know what this construction technique is called, so I find it hard to find info about it.

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Update: thank you for all the replies!

I already have this bbq for some years, so the 2 year warranty is over.

This weekend I tried to combine all the answers; I cleaned the cylinder and the cap, found that my freezer is not big enough, heated both parts in the oven up to 250°C (great suggestion!), cooled the cylinder in cold water and tried to push them together. I got some movement, but I felt I lacked force.

Today I tried clamping the cylinder and the cap, increasing pressure step by step while using a flathead screwdriver as a leverage to bend the cylinder in the cap and hammering from time to time to get the cylinder to bend inwards. And to my great joy, it worked!

For future reference:

Answer 1

If there is any give on the cylinder (there's probably more on the cylinder than on the lid/cap), try fitting a stiff, thin piece of metal (like a putty knife) between the two and prying between against the two edges to bring them closer in line. If you invert the cylinder, you may be able to apply enough gentle pressure down onto the lid/cap to ease the cap back on, using the putty knife as a 'ramp' and then removing the knife (or sliding it along the edge to help push the rest inside as well.

Answer 2

I would try heat again on the flat cap/lid, but with a heat gun, since it gets hotter than a hairdryer. In addition, you could apply cold to the cylinder. A Ziploc bag with ice and water conducts pretty well, and evenly.

Answer 3

Don't fix it; get it replaced or return it:

If you can wait a couple weeks, then don't repair it (it likely will just happen again now that it's loose), rather call the manufacturer and tell them what happened and ask if you should return it to the store. For large items that can be purchased at a home store 99 times out of 100, they'll send you a new one in less than a week.

If they tell you they can't help, then do everyone else a favor and return it. Usually, this kind of thing goes back upstream to the manufacturer to fix (and pay the associated shipping fees to the big box store). Stores that don't have this kind of agreement in place with their supplier will quickly learn to stop buying this model/brand.

As a last resort, buy the same one from a big box store and return this one. Think of it as your civic duty so the rest of us don't end up with this same sub-par product.

Note: Try not to do this with Amazon unless the item is "sold and shipped by amazon.com" as many things on Amazon are sold by 3rd parties that don't have the buying power to negotiate with the manufacturer.

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If you really want to try to fix it - CLEAN IT:

Clean it, apply WD-40 to the outside and inside, then cool it don't heat it.

Heat expands the metal in both directions effectively making your cylinder larger and cap smaller. Try the freezer, if that doesn't work, use dry ice.

Further, if you can rotate the cylinder such that the seam is inside the cap, that should help a lot as well.