Change/upgrade sear burner in 2021 Genesis II


 
A

A Stone

New member
I saw that the 2022 Weber Genesis grills have a sear station with the sear burner being the same 12k btu power as the main burners. My 2021 model (435-S) has the standard 9k btu sear burner, less powerful than the main burners.
I was considering the possibility of changing the sear burner with an extra/replacement 2021 Genesis main (13k btu) burner to get a little more heat from the sear burner.
Has anyone tried this or does anyone have any thoughts as to whether changing out the burner would do the trick?
Thanks in advance!
 
My guess - and that's all it is - would be that the output has little or nothing to do with the burner but with the orifice for the sear burner. I think Weber probably intentionally dialed down the sear burner output in the Genesis II line to reduce the risk of excessive hear/burn-through of the firebox wall (which seems to get thinner with every new model). I am assuming (hoping?) that Weber did something to strengthen the front of the firebox on the new Genesis line to allow the sear burner to run hotter.

After my tax season is over, I will try to examine the new Genesis and leftover Genesis II at my local Ace and see if I can notice a difference.

If I am right, all you would need to do is get an orifice for the sear burner valve with an opening the same as the regular burner valves have. However, you will need to give careful thought to whether your Genesis II can safely handle that bump up in heat.

Paging @LMichaels who knows WAY MORE about this stuff!
 
My guess is Weber intentionally set the output the way they did because they may have felt the materials and or the venting may not have been able to handle the extra heat. I will repeat this again BTW. The actual burner pretty much does not care which gas you feed it or even how much (within reason). It will not change the output. That is a function of how much fuel and air you can get in it. Maybe try a turbo charger or nitrous oxide :D
 
The burner is the same. You only need to change the orifice in the valve. My natural gas S-435 now has the same 1.62mm orifice for all 5 burners and the sear station works much better.

These spuds fit my late model Summit S-450 and the Genesis II's I've worked on. Same for all burners including the side burner.

MENSI Propane LPG Gas Pipe Water Heater DIY Burner Parts Brass Jet Nozzles for Propane 10Pcs Per Pack for Propane Grill Only(M6x0.75mm/0.5mm) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07V5TZGCQ/?tag=tvwb-20

I went the extra mile and replaced the valve and knob to match the other 4, using parts bought from the classified ads here. This lets me fine tune the heat better than with the binary sear valve, but it's really not needed if you just want a really hot spot to sear meat.

Don't be dumb. If you run all the burners on high to preheat and walk away for too long, you will likely damage your hood or worse. Even with careful use, the right end of the hood handle gets pretty warm and the right side of the stainless hood is more discolored than the left.

Edited to add:
I am the only person using my grill. When I'm not using it, I lock out the gas shutoff. If you have others using the grill, you might reconsider this modification.
 
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Mack,

That seems to go along with my theory - and the potential issues if not done carefully. I salute your care in keeping it safe. It kind of reminds me of my little Sunbeam wacko project where I squeezed a Broilmaster burner into that little 70s grill and drilled out the orifices to Broilmaster size. The little aluminum firebox on that old Sunbeam was never intended to get anywhere near that hot. 0 to +600 in a few minutes!

Pedal to the Metal.jpg

A paint-peeler that needs to be used with a lot of respect... That's why I named it "The Judge!"

The Judge.jpg
 
Thank you all so very much. I appreciate the combined wisdom. Saved me a lot of heartache.
Mac, I ordered those spuds and changed out the orifice in the sear burner, but the burner barely put out any flame when reassembled. I noticed that the .5 hole in the new spuds is smaller than the hole in the original orifice. Is there a different orifice size that the Genesis II main burners use?
Thanks
 
A Stone said:
Thank you all so very much. I appreciate the combined wisdom. Saved me a lot of heartache.
Mac, I ordered those spuds and changed out the orifice in the sear burner, but the burner barely put out any flame when reassembled. I noticed that the .5 hole in the new spuds is smaller than the hole in the original orifice. Is there a different orifice size that the Genesis II main burners use?
Thanks
Click to expand...
Those spuds have 0.5mm starter holes. You must drill/ream them to match your other ones. I suggest starting a little smaller and working your way up. If you don't have a vice, screw them into the side burner to drill them.

The size of the factory orifice is usually stamped on it. Some are marked in decimal inches, others mm. My natural gas were 1.62mm for 12k and 1.68mm for 13k.

The sizes I mentioned are all for NG. If you have LP, the holes will be smaller.

Here's a table to help. Weber designs for 4.5" natural gas pressure and 11" LP.

 
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Jon Tofte said:
Mack,

That seems to go along with my theory - and the potential issues if not done carefully. I salute your care in keeping it safe. It kind of reminds me of my little Sunbeam wacko project where I squeezed a Broilmaster burner into that little 70s grill and drilled out the orifices to Broilmaster size. The little aluminum firebox on that old Sunbeam was never intended to get anywhere near that hot. 0 to +600 in a few minutes!

View attachment 48842

A paint-peeler that needs to be used with a lot of respect... That's why I named it "The Judge!"

View attachment 48843
Click to expand...
Like the decal from a Pontiac GTO
 
Rich Dahl said:
Like the decal from a Pontiac GTO
Click to expand...
@Rich Dahl Well, originally, I was going to put one of those "Yeah, it's got a Hemi!" decals on there. My family growing up was a GM family, though. (Although before her Novas my mom drove Falcons and even one AMC Rambler!) A GM reference seemed more appropriate for me, and "The Judge" name so perfect.
 
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