Hello there everybody! I have always been a charcoal person, but the sheer convenience of gas makes firing up so much easier after coming home from work! I had thought about investing in a grill, but first, I went over to my brother's house and used his on a wide assortment of things we routinely cook: Pizzas, chickens, and steaks. I was very happy with the gas grill performance on the chicken and pizza, but I still think charcoal is a better option for steak. However, steak is a rarity for us, and pizza is multiple times a week in the summer.
After that experience with my brother's grill, I was visiting my old Pop, and he said he was no longer using his old Weber, and I could have it if I wanted. I took it home and started looking at what needed to be done, after finding the right search terms, found videos of partial and complete restorations. So cool! So I ordered the parts and got the old grill working.
But after using it for several years, and falling in love with the simplicity and quality of the grill, I wanted to fix it up a little more than just replacing flavorizer bars. That was when I began to seriously lurk on this site, studying and "favoriting" the restoration pages and reading about the tricks and tips.
So, my grill is a Genesis 1 that my dad purchased in July of 1992. There was some rust spots on the frame, and the grease tray was pretty rusted out (and one of the fittings coming out of the firebox was broken so even if I could find the correct size grease tray (19 5/8" x 13 1/2 ' x 3.5") I don't think I could attach the aluminum slider rails. I was able to get a slightly smaller grease tray - 17 7/8" x 11 3/4" x 3.5"- and make it work.
First, I drilled two holes on each side of the firebox and attached 2" x 2" L brackets. I placed these approximately parallel to the firebox fittings for the aluminum sliders. I thought these L brackets would provide a ledge to slide the smaller grease tray on, but I misjudged by 1/4" on each side. Spatial problems were never my specialty. So I cut up the thick sides of a giant disposable aluminum pan ("Handi foil Super King giant bbq pan") to be the correct length and width and attached the makeshift sliders to my L brackets using just the holes farthest from the tray to not interfere with the sliding. The smaller grease tray now slides, and completely covers the opening at the bottom of the firebox. If I was handier, I could have used sheet metal. Somebody out there could probably do a better job, but this solution works, and was necessitated by 1) not finding the original size grease tray and 2) having a broken connection to the firebox for the sliders anyway.
Here's my 32 year old grill, hopefully ready for another 32 years of service. I think I'm going to build it a more protected area now, though. Thank you to everyone who provides advice and links to obscure parts!
After that experience with my brother's grill, I was visiting my old Pop, and he said he was no longer using his old Weber, and I could have it if I wanted. I took it home and started looking at what needed to be done, after finding the right search terms, found videos of partial and complete restorations. So cool! So I ordered the parts and got the old grill working.
But after using it for several years, and falling in love with the simplicity and quality of the grill, I wanted to fix it up a little more than just replacing flavorizer bars. That was when I began to seriously lurk on this site, studying and "favoriting" the restoration pages and reading about the tricks and tips.
So, my grill is a Genesis 1 that my dad purchased in July of 1992. There was some rust spots on the frame, and the grease tray was pretty rusted out (and one of the fittings coming out of the firebox was broken so even if I could find the correct size grease tray (19 5/8" x 13 1/2 ' x 3.5") I don't think I could attach the aluminum slider rails. I was able to get a slightly smaller grease tray - 17 7/8" x 11 3/4" x 3.5"- and make it work.
First, I drilled two holes on each side of the firebox and attached 2" x 2" L brackets. I placed these approximately parallel to the firebox fittings for the aluminum sliders. I thought these L brackets would provide a ledge to slide the smaller grease tray on, but I misjudged by 1/4" on each side. Spatial problems were never my specialty. So I cut up the thick sides of a giant disposable aluminum pan ("Handi foil Super King giant bbq pan") to be the correct length and width and attached the makeshift sliders to my L brackets using just the holes farthest from the tray to not interfere with the sliding. The smaller grease tray now slides, and completely covers the opening at the bottom of the firebox. If I was handier, I could have used sheet metal. Somebody out there could probably do a better job, but this solution works, and was necessitated by 1) not finding the original size grease tray and 2) having a broken connection to the firebox for the sliders anyway.
Here's my 32 year old grill, hopefully ready for another 32 years of service. I think I'm going to build it a more protected area now, though. Thank you to everyone who provides advice and links to obscure parts!
