I have a Q!


 

Hank B

TVWBB Pro
It's another CL bargain. Seller said
DOES NOT WORK - at least I can't get it to work.
I've seen enough descriptions of tripping fuel safeties to suspect that would be the extent of the problem. I even advised the seller that he should contact Weber and see if they could help him resolve the issue. He had already purchased a replacement and was not interested.

What I found was a dead battery on the igniter. Once I got it home I hooked it up to a full tank, opened the tank valve, waited about 10 seconds and lit the burner manually. It definitely needs a cleaning as the flame was not able to proceed around the ring without some help. Within a couple minutes the thermometer in the lid registered 400° so I shut it down, confident that it was operating at full output.

What I got was an '08 Q 220 on a stationary cart for $30 and a drive downtown. (I leveraged the drive to deliver some pulled pork and brisket to 'the kids' and visit our 4 day old grandson, so the trip was well worth it.
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I was originally planning to clean it up and flip it, but SWMBO looked at it this morning and said "That's cute, you should keep it."
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That's a pretty interesting grate design. It looks like the flames impinge directly on the shield to heat the grate more than it would be just from being above the heat. that should make for pretty good grilling. I can't wait to try it out!
 
I saw that unit on CL and figured that it would have been something simple to fix! (Surprising that someone would declare a gas grill dead without at least trying to light it manually) Good find. I have a Q100 at home w/ travel stand which was also a CL find, the only thing that kept me from going for that grill!
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Surprising that someone would declare a gas grill dead without at least trying to light it manually. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>Yes it is. Younger guy too. With some of the older grills (and older sellers who presumably don't have quite as tight a budget) I think they just succumb to the siren song of the shiny new grills they see at the store. The seller was unaware of Weber's level of customer service as well.

I did what I could to help him (other than offering more than the asking price.)

His name was Dan so I thought I could have expected better.
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Another theory on why people seemingly abandon working grills: Maybe they don't want to take the time and effort to clean them up. This one took quite a bit of elbow grease and I'm not done yet. As you can see there was a nice layer of greasy detritus in the bottom of the grill:

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I suppose this is a sign that the PO did enjoy using the grill. The bottom shell was actually the easiest part to clean as it just required some grease cutters (WD 40, Dawn and Simple Green.) I wound up using some oven cleaner on the grate and underside of the lid (though I didn't leave it on the lid long due to concerns about corrosion.) The grate will require additional attention. I wonder if the PO ever burned it off after each cook. The cart will have to wait to another day. I was happy to get the grill mostly in shape for my maiden voyage.

Looks better now, huh?

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I decided to grill some shrimp and miscellaneous vegetables to test performance.

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And finally the shrimp
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My first impression is that does not put out a lot of heat. At full bore, it seemed to level off at about 550° F. My two Genesis gassers will go much higher. It even seemed like it got hotter before I cleaned it. Perhaps the grease provided some insulation and I'll get better performance as a layer builds up in the base. In any event, dinner came out just fine and I'm sure I'll do well as I learn more about cooking on a Q.
 
Nice rehab Hank! I got mine the same way. Guy said it didn't work anymore and I wound up getting it for free. I had to replace the battery and the regulator. Weber replaced it for free!

I haven't had the thermometer get much higher than 550 myself. I did a nice job nonetheless.

Happy grilling.
 
Thanks Danny and Barry,
I've used it a few times and I like it. It will not replace my Genesis gassers but it is certainly useful. The grate is massive and that means a lot when it comes to grilling.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Jeff Kolodziejski:
Nice job Hank! Great score! </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Thanks Jeff,
Did you see that someone in WeGo just listed (I think) a Jumbo Joe? I already have enough Webers! (For now.
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