I thought I scored a deal on a Weber Gold Summit D6


 
S

Scott P.

TVWBB Super Fan
Yesterday afternoon, I found a decent looking grill on the Facebook classifieds. A Weber Summit Gold D6 for $100. It looked good in the pictures and the guy wanted it gone, so I tossed the three year old twins in the truck, skipped their afternoon naps and went to check it out. The drop down shelves were busted, but I figured (and alter confirmed) that the ones from my rotting Genesis would fit. It fired right up with the propane tank (not included). It needed an igniter and a good cleaning, but it was a solid grill. So, I handed over my $100 and loaded the beast into my truck and drove it home.

After getting the thing out of the truck with the help of a neighbor (who did not believe a grill could weigh so much), I looked it over some more and snapped a picture of the label. That is when I noticed the fuel source...Natural. The previous owner to the guy I bought it from stuck a propane hose on the natural gas grill and used it. My deal? Not so much I guess. I didn't even think to check the label since it lit with the propane tank.

After reading some threads here, it looks like I have to sell this one myself now and go back on the hunt for a new to me grill. I assume nothing has changed in recent years in regards to the availability of the parts needed to convert an old Weber from NG to Propane?

I'll get better pictures up later this morning after I drop the minions off at school and knock out a few MS150 training miles on the bike.

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It may have been properly converted. At the time those were sold Weber allowed for it. Believe me if all someone did was stick an LP hose on a NG grill those burners would run like flame throwers
 
The flames do get around the flavorizer bars and the center flavorizer bar has a good sized burn through. I'll get it lit and take the pictures. Is there a part number on the manifold I could reference?
 
I'm sure there is. If the grill is "solid" I would not "dump" it. Even if the other person did not convert it properly, on the Summit models from that era the valves do not have "fixed" orifices for low, med, high so a simple main orifice change on each valve may be just the ticket.
 
I gave it a quick wash with some degreaser and took it apart. It needs quite a few things and it might get too expensive of a project. I don't know if this flame height is correct.

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Any thoughts or comments?
 
Flame height is definitely NOT correct. That is definitely a NG grill running on LP. Overall though looks like a good grill. Heck I would try ordering orifices for it and doing a proper conversion. It's not hard. You may end up needing to buy "spuds" which are blank orifices with a small pilot hole. Look up a chart for the BTU of each burner (the mains are 10K BTU ea, the smoker burner is 5K BTU IIRC, and the IR burner is 12k IIRC but it would be easy to find the specs.) In any case with not too much work and $$$ that would be a killer grill
 
There is this "conversion kit" on ebay. Is this the right option or is there a cheaper choice. That seems quite pricey for some brass parts.

WEBER-SUMMIT-GOLD-PROPANE-CONVERSION-ORIFICES-

Ok, I used the google to search the tubes of the interwebs an found a place that sells them for $6 each. That seems fair. I'll be calling them soon.

Now, I just need a cheaper source for the heat spreaders/flavorizer bars. They be pricey.
 
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Scott, give the guys at Grill-repair.com a call and they will get you fixed up. One caveat is that they require that you buy a regulator with hose from them if you get pre drilled orifices. Before getting into that, give the front of the lower firebox a very good inspection, to include taking off the knobs and the front control panel so you can see both sides. What you are checking for is corrosion where the burner tubes go through the front wall. If you get lucky and the firebox is in good shape, yes, parts are going to be more expensive than they are for a Genny, but that grill sold for over $2k originally so it's to be expected.
 
That is the website I found yesterday afternoon. I'll try to give them a call today to get a plan and see what the other replacement parts (burners/flavorizer bars) also cost.
 
Scott P. said:
That is the website I found yesterday afternoon. I'll try to give them a call today to get a plan and see what the other replacement parts (burners/flavorizer bars) also cost.
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Cool, when I talked to them, they told me that the orifices on my Summit could have been one of several sizes. In the end, I grabbed sockets in the sizes they mentioned, went out to my grill and tried each socket until I got the correct fit. I then ordered orifices that were that size.

You will want to get orifices for the side burner and the IR burner as well. Though switching out the one on the IR burner might be difficult. It's been a couple of years since I worked on one and I can't remember where the orifice is on it.
 
I do hope you know the socket size has really no correlation to the orifice you need. It's the thread size and pitch. Summits use a VERY odd thread pitch and size (metric I believe). They are a royal PIA.
 
LMichaels said:
I do hope you know the socket size has really no correlation to the orifice you need. It's the thread size and pitch. Summits use a VERY odd thread pitch and size (metric I believe). They are a royal PIA.
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Yes and no. Grill-repair offers several different orifices specifically for the Summit and it comes down to the socket size. Match that and the thread and pitch should be correct.

http://www.grill-repair.com/weber315orifice.html
 
When I called grill-repair, that is what they told me as well. His belief was that my Summit (2004) used the same orifice on all the burners and that I needed to confirm it physically. I haven't had the time yet. A call to Weber gave me the prices for the other parts I need. I'm up to $400 in parts so far.
 
OK cool beans. Thanks for the link (I actually bookmarked it). Heck $400 for a grill that would be well over $2K today (and mostly made in China) is a steal!
 
You're welcome LM. It was funny when I was converting my Summit. They asked me what size I needed so I got a tape measure, pulled one of the orifices and tries to measure the damned thing. Kept counting tick marks off the tape and messing up over and over again. It finally dawned on me to grab a socket set to figure out the size.

Scott, $400 already? What all are you replacing? BTW, when talking to Weber CSR about parts, chit chat / small talk with them to try and develop some rapport. When they look up a part and tell you a price, audibly take in a a breath and ask if that's the best price they can give you. Probably wouldn't hurt to mention that you are looking at quite a few parts and if the numbers don't work out, you won't rebuild. If they don't budge, tell them that you need to think it over and will call back.

Later, call back and get a different CSR and repeat the process. Some Cars have been known to give courtesy discounts. No promises though.
 
Parts list so far:

Must haves:

Burner set - $73
Flavorizer Bars - $175.90
Igniter Kit - $83.70
Propane Tank Scale - $20
Rotisserie rod and forks - $40.46
Orifices and regulator - $83

That is about everything that the grill really "needs" to have to get working. The bottom of the side panels is rusted and the paint is flaking. I can clean them up and paint them, or buy replacements. New ones are $145 for the pair.

Including the cost of the grill, I am looking at $500 or $650 if replace the side panels. The profits from my Genesis Platinum flip will bring that down some.
 
Do you need to replace all the burners? The cross-over tubes are shot, but those could be had separately. I have to replace mine before on mine. They're pretty inexpensive.
 
Andrew Alan said:
Do you need to replace all the burners? The cross-over tubes are shot, but those could be had separately. I have to replace mine before on mine. They're pretty inexpensive.
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The grill used propane with NG orifices, so the burners got a lot more gas than they needed. One of them burnt out at the point where the crossover tube connects and another one looks like it could go that way soon. The flames even burned through the flavorizer bars. I figure replacing all the burners would be the smartest long term move.
 
Parts have been ordered!

Flavorizer bars
Burners
Igniter Kit
Rotisserie rod and forks

Orifices and regulator hose have been ordered as well.

Now I just need to determine if I want to repaint the beast. It's heavy pollen here, so that is a contributing factor. The cabinet would get a semi-gloss Rustoleum after the rust was sanded and treated. The hood sides and other similar parts would get a BBQ black.
 
Scott, dropping that kind of coin, I'd definitely want it to look as fresh and new as possible. If disassembling gets to be a problem, you could always mask and touch up.


Scott P. said:
Parts have been ordered!

Flavorizer bars
Burners
Igniter Kit
Rotisserie rod and forks

Orifices and regulator hose have been ordered as well.

Now I just need to determine if I want to repaint the beast. It's heavy pollen here, so that is a contributing factor. The cabinet would get a semi-gloss Rustoleum after the rust was sanded and treated. The hood sides and other similar parts would get a BBQ black.
Click to expand...
 
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