First-timer considering Genesis resto


 
M

M Kevin B

New member
I am new to these boards - very happy to have found such an informative and interesting resource. I'm looking at what I think is a Genesis 1000 LX, available for $50 locally. (Pic posted) Already know it's missing a wheel and needs an igniter, plus a good cleaning and probably a paint job on the firebox. (Who knows what else I'll find once i take it apart?) Can anyone tell me if these grates and FBs are salvageable? I'm just not savvy enough (yet!) to know by looking.

http://i.imgur.com/bmgV8Jj.png

http://i.imgur.com/IarTq74.png

http://i.imgur.com/mVcQLJq.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/yAesfVo.jpg

To be honest, I've never really been a very handy guy - but on the few occasions that I have completed a household project without needing help from my father-in-law, it's been a real source of pride for me. And after poring over so many of the restoration threads here I'm eager to try one of my own. With such a wealth of experience available at the touch of a button, I'm confident I can get this done. I can almost smell the steak sizzling already...

Thanks in advance for any advice you can provide!
 
I'd pay 50 bucks for that grill. It's a deep firebox model, which I personally prefer. The flavorizer bars look like they are winding down their lives, but rcplanebuyer's bars are awesome and less expensive than genuine. You may need new burner tubes too, depends on their condition under the bars. From there, basically you just disassemble the grill pretty much completely, see what looks good and what doesn't, paint the outside of the fire box, the end caps on the lid, scrub scrub scrub and check the frame for rust, especially on the left hand side where the firebox bolts to the frame.

The flavorizer bars actually probably are fine. Scrub with heavy steel wool if you want pretty.

Slainte!
 
Welcome aboard MK. That's a awesome model to restore. Hard to tell from the pic, but the grates appear to be toast. The one on the left appears to be rusting through. EDIT: Taking a second look, it's hard to tell if the flaking stuff on the left is rusted grates, or just some debris. The grate on the right looks fine. WRT the flavorizers, you might be able to squeeze a year or two out of them depending on how much grilling you do. Rust coloration is fine on those. What you are keeping an eye out for is when they actually start rusting through. The edges along the bottoms get kind of toothy and jagged, like in this photo:

IMG_1528_zpsb501705a.jpg



If you look a the bars in your photos, the edges for the most part are still straight/crisp.
 
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Hey man, go for it. Just don't buy new parts until you tear it apart and clean it up. You may find other flaws that would make it not worth restoring. I just picked up a Spirit E210 and got it all cleaned up and ready for a new burner, set of flavorizor bars, grate and ignitor. I just ordered the parts a couple hours ago. But here are some pictures of my grill before and after clean up.
Here are the BEFORE PICTURES:
20170513%20Weber%20Spirit%20E210%20Before%20Pictures%2011_zpsutglcbld.jpg
20170513%20Weber%20Spirit%20E210%20Before%20Pictures%207_zpspgum39g7.jpg
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20170513%20Weber%20Spirit%20E210%20Before%20Pictures%205_zpsx0crnihj.jpg
20170513%20Weber%20Spirit%20E210%20Before%20Pictures%204_zpsk0pmgpwi.jpg

20170513%20Weber%20Spirit%20E210%20Before%20Pictures%203_zpsjyeq5t8c.jpg
20170513%20Weber%20Spirit%20E210%20Before%20Pictures%202_zpskadaq7c4.jpg
20170513%20Weber%20Spirit%20E210%20Before%20Pictures%201_zps0aybfscn.jpg
 
Here are the AFTER:
20170525%20Weber%20Spirit%20E210%20After%206_zpso0kvd4oj.jpg
20170525%20Weber%20Spirit%20E210%20After%205_zpsft30dofk.jpg
20170525%20Weber%20Spirit%20E210%20After%204_zpsal0rfvjq.jpg
20170525%20Weber%20Spirit%20E210%20After%203_zpseevglynp.jpg
20170525%20Weber%20Spirit%20E210%20After%202_zpsxghtxqs5.jpg

20170525%20Weber%20Spirit%20E210%20After%201_zpswur5pd8l.jpg


The frames and shells on these grills will last for decades. It is usually the grates, burner tubes and "guts" that wear out and need replacing. But with a little regular maintenance, you can have one of these grills last ten years or longer without having to replace anything. Most people just grill and shut it and never clean between grillings or even do yearly cleanings which will keep them in great working shape for a long long time.
I should have my new parts next week. It will be a total cost of $130 for the parts, but after that, it will be like a brand new $400 grill.

I say go for it, but don't just jump into the deep end on it and wind up with a project that will wind up costing more than it is worth. Take it slow until you know what you got.
 
Here is what the inside of the burner box looked like. The "flavorizer" bars are just pieces of angle iron and the burner tubes were wrapped in aluminum to cover large holes and the metal wrap was held in place with electrical wire. The mesh grate was another back woods custom job.
20170513%20Weber%20Spirit%20E210%20Before%20Pictures%2013_zpsgnrewpad.jpg
 
I just bought a Genesis 1000 myself yesterday ($75, with a close to full gas tank) and am looking forward to getting it apart and cleaned up this weekend. If you pull the trigger on this one we can see whose comes out better. :)
 
Really appreciate all the insights people have shared. I'm scheduled to take a closer look at the grill later today - will definitely be inspecting the burner tubes closely, and the overall condition. Hopefully my limited Weber education thus far will be enough to determine if I should proceed. I'm certainly a little nervous at the prospect of biting off more than I can chew, like Bruce mentioned. In fact, I've already been tempted to scrap the whole idea, after seeing a $100 Broil King in great condition advertised locally. Nice grill, if I'm just looking for something to cook on. However I am really warming to the idea of not just owning a Weber, but bringing it back to life myself.

I hope I'm not in over my head.
 
Just from the photos that doesn't look too bad. Who knows wave $35 in front of them. Look at the fire box carefully. They can and do warp badly if these grills catch fire (which they do with ease if you don't clean it regularly). The fire boxes are not available so that would be a deal killer. I just passed on a Platinum due to a warped box. Otherwise everything else is replaceable or able to be cleaned. In the end you'll end up with a FAR more versatile and better grill than even the new Weber products. Add a rotisserie and you'll be spinning food like a pro with that grill too
 
Don't worry too much about being in "over your head". For the most part, these grills are pretty simple machines. Especially compared to, say, a car or some other thing that needs fixing all the time where the parts are all jammed in and in uncomfortable places to reach. With these grills and basic hand tools you can pretty much do everything. The hardest part technically might be drilling a rusty steel bolt out of a soft aluminum firebox, or scraping the inside of the firebox with a cup brush.

Since it's grill season, lots of folks are looking at these boards every day, so just post your questions, don't worry about asking the same questions as have already been asked, and people here will help you along every single step of the way.

Enjoy the process, it's fun to do and when you're done you get to post your "before / after" shots!

Slainte!

Tim
 
That's the holy grail of the early Weber's the deep box 1000-5000. What you have there is a 1000 LX, really a great grill. In todays market $50 is a deal as they are starting to get pricy and hard to find. I still have my 1999 1000 LX that I bought new that is now in a 2000 frame with a added right side table.
Except for some misc. parts and the firebox everything else that wears out is available.
Check the frame for rust, surface rust is not a problem though. Restoring one is pretty easy as I've done about six of them, mostly just dirty work getting the crud out of it.
Oh and welcome to the forum, if you jump in there are lots of us that can guide you through whatever questions you may have so don't be afraid to ask.
100_0164_zps4qtbcatd.jpg
 
I just noticed your signature line. It made me laugh because the other day a guy stopped by to buy a grill I had refurbished and he asked why I buy and clean up and then resell grills. I told him, "I don't make much money on it, but it is more of a hobby, some people resuce dogs...I rescue Weber Grills" We both had a little laugh.
 
Probably just cleaning out the gunk from the burn box and cooking grate. Replacing the grate eliminates that step. The burners will usually clean up easily and if they are too far gone can be replaced as well. If the exterior is in rough shape, then you have a lot of sanding and repainting to do.

Most owners rarely if ever clean their grills between grilling sessions or do a thorough cleaning yearly, so with a ten year old grill, you probably have ten years of "gunk" to scrap out of and off of the interior and interior parts.
 
Depends on the grill. You might have to deal with severe rust on the frame which means welding or finding some other way to patch. Wood might be completely shot or even missing entirely.

Assuming that you don't have either of those to deal with, next would be the cook box. Inside of ithem almost always look rough. You can scrape or scrub. I use a grinder and a cup wire brush. Some go all out and have it media blasted inside and out. Outside might present some difficulties as well. If you sand too hard, you'll take off the texture leaving flat spots. Paint won't cover this up. Media blasting helps here as well.

All that said, don't be afraid of it. I'm not very handy either but I've managed to restore quite a few Webers.
 
Dave is right. you can go all out to restore the grill, but at this point, you goal should be a bit lower than going as far as having it "media blasted". Just scrape out the interior and like Dave said, a drill with a wire wheel will help with the inside a ton. If you are really concerned with astetics, then sanding scratches or rust or chipped paint on the outside will indeed remove much of the testure. But in some instances, it will be necessary to remove the rust or chipped paint. It will still look nice after a fresh coat of high temp paint....who knows, after you clean the dirt and grime off the outside, it might not need any real work, just a thorough cleaning. Just do what you can with the tools you probably already have on hand and look at it as a learning process and a job well done.
Some things you might or might not have to help with the restoration.
Drill with wire wheel
sand paper
Metal and plastic putty knives from 1" to 3"
Various sized flat head screwdrivers also help with chipping out gunk in the grill grates as well as tight places in the cook box.
A simple set of ratchet wrenches and screw drivers for dissassembly
Industrial scrubbing pads (think paint stripping scrub pads)
Some rags and a bucket for soap and water

Oh, and a word of advice, especially for a newbie. Take a lot of before pictures, especially around the areas with a lot of parts that will be taken apart. Then keep track of all the bolts, screws and little parts that you remove and note which ones go where. Don't be the guy that has parts left over when you put it all back together.
 
Another caution you will find bolts at the end of the burner tubes in the firebox, DO NOT try to remove them you will break them off. They do not hold the burner tubes in place. The burner tubes slid underneath them, you may have to scrape the crud around the bolts before they will slid out. If you break them off it will become very difficult to secure the burner tubes.

Also the slats on that grill shelves are durawood which is very easy to clean and require no maintenance it's made from 100% recycled milk cartons.
 
Rich Dahl said:
That's the holy grail of the early Weber's the deep box 1000-5000. What you have there is a 1000 LX, really a great grill. In todays market $50 is a deal as they are starting to get pricy and hard to find. I still have my 1999 1000 LX that I bought new that is now in a 2000 frame with a added right side table.
Click to expand...

What's the difference between the 1000 LX and the "non-LX" 1000?
 
Rich Dahl said:
The 1000 had wood slates and a wire rack underneath, the1000LX had the Durawood slates on the tables and underneath. The grills were the same.
Click to expand...

Thanks! I'm sure the durawood holds up better; the wood table slats on mine are shot and the handle has been replaced with basically a random slab o'wood.
 
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