Restored 93 Genesis 2200

[Joel H in Brat City]

You guys reeled me in - so much good information on this site about Genny restoration that I felt like I had to give it a try.

My dad still had his Genesis 3 Redhead that I wanted to be the base of the restoration but it just needs too much work, it's got frame issues and the bottom of the fire box is really corroded, some of the Z-bars are in pretty bad shape too. He took one of the lower panels and installed it in place of the side burner (unfortunately he tossed the side burner). I'll look for a replacement side burner - but until I can find one I'll leave the side table.



Seems like it's a fairly early Genny 3 notice the fuel gauge serial number is hard to read but starts with L7



More photos of dads Genny 3 here: Dads Genny 3

So I started looking for a better candidate for restoration and I found a really solid 93 Genesis 2200 a little south of Chicago (I live in WI so it was about a 3 hour trip one way) but it was worth it. The frame is super solid with only a little bit of oxidation on the firebox.

More pics of the Genny 2200: Genny 2200

My plan is to use pretty much everything from the 2200 with the exception of the red lid, handle and black knobs from my dads 3. I may also try to use / retrofit the fuel gauge from my dads grill as well since it's kind of unique.

I'm also planning on some custom touches with some inspiration from a Performer I saw on Craigslist. I really like how the red and black play off of each other.

My thoughts are to paint the frame red, leave the front panel and Z-bars black.

For the wood I'd like to mix it up a little as well, I'm planning on re-using the wood from the 2200, but I'd like to stain some in a light oak stain and something more red like red oak or red mahogany - maybe like this cutting board.



I'm not sure how quickly I'm going to be able to progress on the grill, I have 2 small kids at home and time is at a premium, but I will post as progress is made, hope you guys enjoy.

 

[Joel H in Brat City]

I did have one question about the performance of these grills, what kind of temp range are you guys seeing?

Say you set all 3 burners to low - about what temp will it run at? Given average outdoor temp and you let it settle for 20 - 30 min.

If you go to Mach 3 and run all burners on high what will it get up to in say 20 min?

 

[Jon Tofte]

Sounds like you are going to make a very innovative grill. It will be interesting to see how it all comes together. I am not clear from what you said about what you plan to do with the more worn out Genesis 3 or the gray hood from the newer one. If you aren't going to rebuild both, keep in mind that collector types like me are often interested in the unique parts the older grills have. Let us know if you are parting out, even if not perfect, stuff like the old control panel, knobs, wheels, old style tank gauge, drip pan, etc. I am sure someone might also be interested in that gray hood. If you don’t want to do two grills, you may be able to raise $ from parts sales/swaps to help redo the one you are keeping, if that is what you decide to do.

 

[Jon Tofte]

I did have one question about the performance of these grills, what kind of temp range are you guys seeing?

Say you set all 3 burners to low - about what temp will it run at? Given average outdoor temp and you let it settle for 20 - 30 min.

If you go to Mach 3 and run all burners on high what will it get up to in say 20 min?

I seldom run all three at low. I would say around 325. At all three on high some of my grills have topped out at about 550 while some others will push 650. There are differences that are not always explainable. 550 is hot enough to put a great sear on a steak.

 

[Kyle in Woodstock]

I seldom run all three at low. I would say around 325. At all three on high some of my grills have topped out at about 550 while some others will push 650. There are differences that are not always explainable. 550 is hot enough to put a great sear on a steak.

This is about what I see as well. I've noticed that seasoned grills, ones with build up on the grates, lid, etc...tend to run hotter. I think because they have more stuff to burn off which raises the temp. That's just an observation no science.
The couple grills I've had either brand new or where I grinded them clean and used new flavor bars, grates, etc... Didn't seem to get as hot.

 

[Joel H in Brat City]

One of the reasons I wanted to do a Genny rebuild is because my Saber only does high heat and I wanted something with a little more temp control, that grill has has burners that are enclosed in 3 separate cook "chambers" so to speak, so the indirect cook zone runs a little cool on the bottom. I'm looking forward to trying out the east west layout - especially for rotisserie work.

I'm not sure what my plan is for the old Genny parts, depending on how long this takes and how much I enjoy the process I may build another one, or I may do a little horse trading for a side burner or a rotisserie so we'll see.

I really wanted this to be a rebuild of my dads old grill but it was looking like the analogy of "grandpas hammer" - (my dad gave me my grandpas hammer, dad replaced the head and I replaced the handle - so is it really grandpas hammer?)

This will end up being more of a "tribute" I would like to use as many of the Genny 3 pieces as I can but there's just not much to work with. I thought about rebuilding the frame from scratch out of 304 stainless steel or polished stainless until I figured out that the frame alone would cost me around $350! At that point a doaner grill became much more appealing. Also I will try to document the unique pieces in this thread for reference.

 

[Bruce]

I find on my Genesis 1000 with one burner on low, it hangs in the low 200's which is great for the low and slow cooks like ribs or brisket.

If you want a SS frame Genesis, you need to look for one of the Unicorn 2005 Genesis Platinum grills.

Joel: Where is Brat City?

 

[Timothy F. Lewis]

I thought brat city was Milwaukee ?

 

[Bruce]

You would think I would know if I live in Wisconsin, but I am thinking it is further north.

 

[Joel H in Brat City]

I'm a mechanic by trade so welding together a box frame would be no big deal but $350 in materials is more coin than I'm willing to go at this point.

I'm in Sheboygan - I figured "Joel H from the Bratwurst Capitol of the World" would be too long of a username - I'm about 3 miles from the Johnsonville plant. Lots of good options around here - first cook once this grill is done will be brats, no better seasoning than loading it up with brats!

 

[Bruce]

Yah, those brats should put out some good juices and get the flames going. This should be a perfect weekend for it. Good luck, post some pics.

 

[Jon Tofte]

Yah, those brats should put out some good juices and get the flames going. This should be a perfect weekend for it. Good luck, post some pics.

Bruce,
I am not used to you coming out of hibernation so early! It dropped to the 50's here in S. Florida last night!

 

[Joel H in Brat City]

Yah, those brats should put out some good juices and get the flames going. This should be a perfect weekend for it. Good luck, post some pics.

It would be but I first disassembled the doaner grill last night so I've got quite a ways to go.

 

[Bruce]

Bruce,
I am not used to you coming out of hibernation so early! It dropped to the 50's here in S. Florida last night!

Jon: Supposed to hit 50 with sun tonight and close to 60 tomorrow. I am actually contemplating doing some grill work. I can't paint or clean yet, but I can disassemble get things started. I have Q3xx and a CharQ in the garage along with a couple kettles. Early March and 50's and 60's is just too good to waste. Awful windy out there though. I wish I had the Broilmaster up here and not out back in the shed.

Joel, should be nice weather for getting some more work done this weekend then.

 

[Jon Tofte]

Joel,
I agree with Bruce that your best bet for a stainless frame is to be lucky enough to find a 2005-6 Genesis Platinum. They are out there, but maybe not in time for what you want to do.

If you do decide to part out any of the old Genesis 3 stuff, please keep me in mind, either for sale or swap.

 

[Timothy F. Lewis]

I’m so proud of those of you that do such beautiful restoration/rehabbing work! I did my $20 deal with Bruce talking me through almost every step (thanks Pal!) and just don’t see that as being a good hobby for me, don’t have the space or drive to do it. I’m pounding through my kitchen remodel, it’s gone well enough but, there always seems to be one more darned thing to pop it’s head out.
Nice to see sun around here too Bruce! Flirting with 50 right now, and ~60 tomorrow! I’m taking the day off tomorrow and getting something good on the over Performer tomorrow, loin of pork for family dinner tonight tomorrow will be itsown adventure!

 

[Joel H in Brat City]

I'm doing as much as I can when I can - Friday I tore the grill down and I'm very happy with the condition.

Saturday I didn't get much done except for getting supplies and I grabbed the lid and control panel off of my dad's Genny and started cleaning them up.

Here's the back side of dad's Genny 3 control panel:

Front:

I was pleasantly surprised how well the red lid cleaned up:

I think I've come up with a good nickname for the grill once it's done "Bulls-eye" - I was a little bit of a terror in my younger days with my bb gun / air rifle - pretty much nothing was safe around the outside of my parents house and it looks like dad's ole Genesis wasn't safe either.

I noticed a mark on the hood and the tell tale impact on inside of the lid as well.

I'm going to touch up the other chips but I think I'll leave the Bulls-eye in place as a reminder

 

[Joel H in Brat City]

I tried using the Simple Green BBQ cleaner and my pressure washer on the cookbox and the hood end caps - it didn't do squat for the cookbox but I think the end caps cleaned up well - I sent the cookbox out for sandblasting since it's the only thing I couldn't fit in the media blaster at work.

I noticed some differences between the end caps on the 2200 and the Genny 3 - the 2200 has provisions for a basket, also the stops at the front of the caps are solid on the 3 and there are two tabs on the 2200.
Solid stops on Genny 3

Two tabs on the 2200

Also the end of the handle mounts are open on the early hood

And partially enclosed on the 2200

I also noticed some differences in the Weber logo plates. The plate on top is from the Genny 3 and there is more detail in the bottom of the grill also the next to the grill is a TM instead of the circle R on the other logo. Lastly, and it's hard to see in the photo but the early logo is deeper than the one on the later 2200

 

[Joel H in Brat City]

I also cleaned up the silver lid, this one took more work the my dads red top lid - also there is a funny wavy pattern to the enamel on the inside of the grill, not sure if that happened when the enamel was applied or if this grill had some sort of grease fire.

And now to start on the wood:

All of the wood with the exception of one warped board on one of the lower panels looks to be re-usable I picked Golden Oak for the light slats and Red Chestnut for the dark - I'm going to see how it looks and if I don't like it I'll pick one of the other. I'll post pics to see what you guys think.

Lastly I just want to thank everyone again for sharing the info on how to do these restorations - as a mechanic I have no doubt that I could handle this type of project but the information and detail shared from this collected community really helps whenever I have doubts or questions.

 

[Bruce]

I am not sure what causes the variance on the inside of some of these grills. But it is very common. It sure looks like your project is coming along nicely and it looks like you are doing a top notch job on the restore. I am looking forward to some more progress pictures as well as the after photos.

BTW: Most of the photos of the lids in the first thread are not showing up.