How to Convert a Genesis II LX-440 to NG


 

J Sheriff

TVWBB Member
Can I still convert the newer propane grills to NG by drilling out the orifices and changing the pressure regulator or is it more complicated than that? There is a nice markdown on that noted grill at HD on clearance but its a propane model and I use NG. I know it will void the warranty but I might not let that stop me....have to think about it.
 
Can I still convert the newer propane grills to NG by drilling out the orifices and changing the pressure regulator or is it more complicated than that? There is a nice markdown on that noted grill at HD on clearance but its a propane model and I use NG. I know it will void the warranty but I might not let that stop me....have to think about it.

On most NOT all Weber grills it is not simply swap out orifices. Never was. On some it is but Weber in their infinite wisdom to confound and discourage their owners from doing conversions made sure it's not always that simple or that easy to even determine. There are videos online of people with half brains doing this and claiming it works. They should not be believed or followed. I have done a large number of these conversions for myself, friends and family so I am telling you from experience.
Please do a search on this and find posts from myself and another member who was kind enough to post photos of the different types of valves Weber has used in their grills. Though the new ones are so new and unknown I don't believe anyone knows what Weber is contracting for in China when this new line of grills is built
Bottom line most Weber grills have valves with 3 settings. Low/Med/High. Some have a continuously variable valve (like your kitchen range). The fixed valves need to be modified (or replaced) when going from LP to NG. They cannot be modified to go the other way so a manifold is called for.
The variable types in most cases can simply have the orifice changed to whatever fuel you like assuming you have the correct orifice size for the rated BTU of the burners, and the gas pressure coming in.
Confused yet? :D
 
On most NOT all Weber grills it is not simply swap out orifices. Never was. On some it is but Weber in their infinite wisdom to confound and discourage their owners from doing conversions made sure it's not always that simple or that easy to even determine. There are videos online of people with half brains doing this and claiming it works. They should not be believed or followed. I have done a large number of these conversions for myself, friends and family so I am telling you from experience.
Please do a search on this and find posts from myself and another member who was kind enough to post photos of the different types of valves Weber has used in their grills. Though the new ones are so new and unknown I don't believe anyone knows what Weber is contracting for in China when this new line of grills is built
Bottom line most Weber grills have valves with 3 settings. Low/Med/High. Some have a continuously variable valve (like your kitchen range). The fixed valves need to be modified (or replaced) when going from LP to NG. They cannot be modified to go the other way so a manifold is called for.
The variable types in most cases can simply have the orifice changed to whatever fuel you like assuming you have the correct orifice size for the rated BTU of the burners, and the gas pressure coming in.
Confused yet? :D

Good info thanks. My Silver summit is getting hard to get parts for and I'm too cheap to buy the Genesis II 440-LX NG to replace it. The clearance propane one is 1100 which is my price point. But I don't want to buy it and be stuck with propane. I really like never having to replace a propane bottle.
 
I see you are in GA. Two weeks ago they had in Alpharetta Lowes about half a dozen Genesis E II 310 Natural Gas, I think either $349 or $399 and nobody was buying them. Everyone wanted LP model which sold in hours. Not sure if they still have the NG.
I did not see any Summit at all.

Btw I see them now on Craigslist NIB for $600 they were originally $800. Maybe you can talk them down in price if you want a Genesis.
 
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Thanks - thanks a great price but I wanted the LX model which has a cabinet. On clearance they are about $1100. I honestly hate the open cabinet models they have now.

My 14 year old silver summit A used to heat to 700 F in about 10 minutes. I think it needs a new regulator because the furthest burner tube from the gas supply runs at about 50% power for the last few years. It will go to 600 in 20 minutes. The genesis don't get great reviews for searing which is what I like to do. However, its the closest thing to what I've got that I can find. I'll probably make do with what I have - it doesn't need much but the cover issue I mentioned in the other thread is really starting to frustrate me. I'm proud of my grill and don't want a cover that just sort of fits - I could buy the 7131 and cut it down but I don't need another project.
 
If you can wait a little bit, there will be versions of Genesis II next year that will have cabinets. You'll lose a few of the features that the LX models have, but depending on what you want you can still get some of those features if you choose. If you let me know what you like about the LX besides the cabinets I can let you know if they will be featured on 2019 Genesis grills.
 
If you can wait a little bit, there will be versions of Genesis II next year that will have cabinets. You'll lose a few of the features that the LX models have, but depending on what you want you can still get some of those features if you choose. If you let me know what you like about the LX besides the cabinets I can let you know if they will be featured on 2019 Genesis grills.

I don't want to pay much more than $1000 so the cabinet models that are coming won't work for me. The current offering they have is over $1500. The natural gas version is a little more. The grill I have now is stainless steel and i want the new one to be stainless also. I don't want to spend a bundle and end up with a new downgraded bbq grill since the one I have is very nice...its just getting difficult/expensive to find parts for it. This year is my routine maintenance year and the parts I need cost about 1/2 of my $1000 price point for a new grill.

The reason I asked about converting is there is a nice propane cabinet model on clearance right now about a mile from my house for 1100. If it was nat gas I would have bought it three weeks ago. It used to be fairly easy to convert most grills to natural gas by drilling out the orifices (or replacing them) and changing the regulator to one made for natural gas. If that would be possible the regulator only costs about $30 and drilling out the hole in the orifices is free. Not all grills can be converted in this way - that is why I posted the question. So far it seems nobody knows - it will probably be gone by Saturday, I just hoped I'd get lucky and someone would know the answer.
 
J are you not searching Craigslist in GA $1000 is way to high for that grill look at this and others they were bought with the Lowe's deal and I see you live in ATL.

How bout a Weber Genesis II E-610 for $899.00 yes Propane I bet you could offer a 100 bucks less and have a shot they are not selling keeping track of them.

https://atlanta.craigslist.org/nat/hsh/d/brand-new-weber-genesis-ii/6678857179.html

As Larry the expert on conversions has stated the orifices are not a problem its the valves. If it were me I would call Weber and ask them are the valves continuous on that model nobody knows as they are to new. In fact they might be but again need Larry to chime in here is it really necessary to have a regulator, when I lived in Cape Cod many years ago I had nat gas and I know for sure there was not a regulator just a connection.
 
J, I might add and this is me if I could get that 610 for say $799 not that I need a beast like that pretty sure I could learn to live with propane. I have propane not going to get into the nat gas or propane argument pros and cons both sides but I have 3 tanks since I use them for my burner brewing beer. No offense if I am stupid enough to let all 3 go empty when I am cooking its all on me.
 
My LP cost me $5 to $10 at Costco to fill up.
Only catch the only one I know of is in Cumming
There is a BJ also in Cumming that does the same.
 
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My LP cost me $5 to $10 at Costco to fill up.
Only catch the only one I know of is in Cumming
There is a BJ also in Cumming that does the same.

Chris, so Costco Barrett does not do propane they just opened up a new one at the outlet malls an exit up from Towne Lake I will check it out I assume that Costco does it by the pound so half a tank refill only get charged what needs to be filled. I have an Ace down the street does refills for under 14 bucks a tank.
 
J why do you want a cabinet model in our climate it will be nothing but trouble its been well documented on these threads on how they just rust away unless you are extremely vigilant and stay on them. Hey I get it you like the look nothing wrong with that but you kind of need to know what you are getting into. There is a reason Weber went back to the open cart obviously if they are going to go to a cabinet next year it better be stainless inside.
 
The genesis don't get great reviews for searing which is what I like to do. However, its the closest thing to what I've got that I can find. I'll probably make do with what I have - it doesn't need much but the cover issue I mentioned in the other thread is really starting to frustrate me. I'm proud of my grill and don't want a cover that just sort of fits - I could buy the 7131 and cut it down but I don't need another project.[/QUOTE]

My 1000 is not great at searing either however a few panels of GrillGrates would solve that problem now I need to go down in my bunker to avoid the GrillGrates incoming discussion. :cool:
 
J are you not searching Craigslist in GA $1000 is way to high for that grill look at this and others they were bought with the Lowe's deal and I see you live in ATL.

How bout a Weber Genesis II E-610 for $899.00 yes Propane I bet you could offer a 100 bucks less and have a shot they are not selling keeping track of them.

https://atlanta.craigslist.org/nat/hsh/d/brand-new-weber-genesis-ii/6678857179.html

As Larry the expert on conversions has stated the orifices are not a problem its the valves. If it were me I would call Weber and ask them are the valves continuous on that model nobody knows as they are to new. In fact they might be but again need Larry to chime in here is it really necessary to have a regulator, when I lived in Cape Cod many years ago I had nat gas and I know for sure there was not a regulator just a connection.

Like I said I dont want an grill without a cabinet and I want stainless. I know you can buy something cheaper. The grill I initially mentioned is the Genesis II LX-440 stainless. It has 4 burners, a stainless top, a side burner and a cabinet with stainless doors. Its a nice looking grill. I'm not partial to the open bottom models at all.
 
J why do you want a cabinet model in our climate it will be nothing but trouble its been well documented on these threads on how they just rust away unless you are extremely vigilant and stay on them. Hey I get it you like the look nothing wrong with that but you kind of need to know what you are getting into. There is a reason Weber went back to the open cart obviously if they are going to go to a cabinet next year it better be stainless inside.

The silver Summit A is a stainless cabinet model. I've had it for 15 years. Its a very nice grill and I am very happy with it. I dont think I'm getting myself into anything - I've literally had zero problems with the cabinet because I keep it covered. I would consider an open model if they looked better. Not a fan of the current open models. Others may like this years open models - I don't.
 
I bought an E-610 and plan to convert from LP to NG. Go to the Weber site and pull the part schematics for the LP and NG model. Then replace the parts. I’m planning to replace the manifold and regulator and that’s essentially the difference between the LP and NG on the e-610 at least
 
Please do a search on this and find posts from myself and another member who was kind enough to post photos of the different types of valves Weber has used in their grills. Though the new ones are so new and unknown I don't believe anyone knows what Weber is contracting for in China when this new line of grills is built
Bottom line most Weber grills have valves with 3 settings. Low/Med/High. Some have a continuously variable valve (like your kitchen range). The fixed valves need to be modified (or replaced) when going from LP to NG. They cannot be modified to go the other way so a manifold is called for.

Here are a couple threads with the discussion on the differences of the valves.
https://tvwbb.com/showthread.php?74339-Continuously-Variable-vs-Low-Medium-High/page5
https://tvwbb.com/showthread.php?25329-Convert-LP-to-NG/page4
 
I would love to see a photo of that supposedly stainless cabinet on your Silver A Summit. My brother has a Silver B Summit (same grill with a side burner) and the cabinet is definitely not stainless. Now that being said. His needs to be overhauled. I bought ALL the parts needed to do it for him at Grillparts.com (flavorizer bars, complete burner set and complete igniter kit and casters) $275 delivered to my door. IMO far better than messing around with a new Genesis. You'll have a better grill when you're done than that Genesis (as long as the fire box is intact and heck even if it's not.................call Weber and tell them you need a new one. Put the new one aside until if/when you need it. They're still supplying that fire box and it is the ONLY weak spot on that grill. I would not waste my $$$$ on the Genesis
 

 

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