Anyone know anything about these?


 
Ryan,

Looks a little like the little odd Sunbeam I was crazy enough to buy for $8!

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I think you MIGHT be able to find a compatible burner and, of course, you could fix or replace the wood slats. The grates & starter could be harder, and I wouldn't give you much chance of finding any other parts if they need replacement. Try doing some searches for Thermos grill parts. There are probably a ton of models, but most of the basic parts are similar. I was able to find a place that carries a lot of old Sunbeam parts.

I remember a friend who had an old grill like that back around 1989. I didn't know ANYTHING about grilling or barbecuing and had become convinced that you needed to put a sheet of aluminum foil between the burners and grate. We were grilling at my friend's house and they did like I idiotically suggested:confused:. The grill overheated and the glass shattered:(! They did their best not to blame me, but..

These really old clunkers do bring back some memories. I guess you have to ask yourself what you are going to do with it. There is a reason those old things disappeared in the wake of the Weber Genesis. Now, even a lot of the cheap off-brand grills have flavorizer bars and at least try to lamely imitate the Weber design. But these grills from 30 to 40 years ago become more like a flamethrower with a grate as their ultra-cheap burners quickly disintegrate. Even with all new parts, you can't expect too much. But, if it brings back memories and you want to work on something a little different, why not? You will at least have something that you don't see very often! That's what I decided when I plunked down the eight bucks and brought the Sunbeam home:rolleyes:.

I will be curious to hear what you decide and especially to see what you can do if you go for it!
 
I had an old Thermos like that for my first grill. Just got home from the military, got married and that was my first grill of any kind.
I ruined a lot of good food trying to learn how to grill on that. I had only had it a few months, and had some sprinkles fall why using
it one day and shattered the glass. I promptly ordered a steel replacement panel. I think that old grill lasted about 10 years before
hitting the scrap yard.
 
That was my first gas grill back in Rhode Island. Cooked and smoked like no tomorrow. Only big drawback was the glass window. The salt air quickly rusted out the frame holding the glass. I replaced it once, but then the same thing happened.
Moved on to a Coleman 3000 which was built like a tank, but couldn't cook anything! Of course, I still had my smokey joes, hibachi's and big weber kettle for charcoal grilling.

Saw this on Facebook marketplace, thought it looked like a cool older grill, but is it worth the refurb, more so does anyone know anything about older Thermos grills?

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/908267772712004
 
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It looks like the lid and firebox are cast aluminium. If so that's a big plus. Parts might be really hard to find as Rich stated.

I can't remember all the grills I've had in 35 years of home ownership but I think I had one very similar to this one too.
 
I think a lot of us went through the throw away grill stage where they bought another cheap $200 or less grill every 2 or 3 years. Plunking down over $500 grill was just really hard to do back in the day. Had we done that and bought our Genesis 1000 or Silver B, we likely would still have that grill today provided we cared for it during that time. And would be way ahead in total cost to boot.
 
I think a lot of us went through the throw away grill stage where they bought another cheap $200 or less grill every 2 or 3 years. Plunking down over $500 grill was just really hard to do back in the day. Had we done that and bought our Genesis 1000 or Silver B, we likely would still have that grill today provided we cared for it during that time. And would be way ahead in total cost to boot.

Some of us did just that..

I purchased my Spirit 700 brand new when I first bough my Home in 1999.

I held onto it for the next 18 years and in 2017 sold it to a good Family Friend after a light restoration,he is still using it to this day.
I got the "Weber Fever" and bought my Genesis Platinum II 3200, a Genesis 5000, and most recently a Weber Junior.

My three Children will probably be using them long after I'm gone.

Jeff
 
Some of us did just that..

I purchased my Spirit 700 brand new when I first bough my Home in 1999.

I held onto it for the next 18 years and in 2017 sold it to a good Family Friend after a light restoration,he is still using it to this day.
I got the "Weber Fever" and bought my Genesis Platinum II 3200, a Genesis 5000, and most recently a Weber Junior.

My three Children will probably be using them long after I'm gone.

Jeff

They might be fighting over that 5000. :cool:
 
Jeff, I really believe that in most cases, one of the old Genesis 1000 or Silver B grills, if taken care of and not left out in the rain and elements would last two generations easily with simple maintenance and minimal consumable parts replacements. I am guessing you are prepping those youngsters to appreciate the grills and training them how to use and care for them. :)
 
Bruce,
Even if not kept out of the elements I don't think there would be a problem.

All my Weber's, Flame Firepit included, sit outside year-round in the New England weather. Through the Rainy Springtimes, the 100 plus inches of Snow in the Winter, and through the (too short. sometimes humid) Summers, these vintage Weber's just keep going and going.

Jeff
 
Yah, I agree. You will probably be fine. But it seems the only thing that would doom one of these older Genesis grills is the frame giving out and rust is about the only thing that would do that. Everything else that might wear out is fairly easily replaceable.
 
I had the exact same grill WAY back in the day except it said Sunbeam. They were made in IL by a company called MHP which still makes a very similar grill. Those things were tanks. They were heavy cast aluminum, made in USA and worked pretty well. The Lava Rock was a PIA though and I modified mine. I got this idea if I could isolate the direct flames from the media and find a way to circulate the heat it would be a really nice cooker. So on a whim I bought some mild steel 2" square tubes. Cut them to fit and placed those on a rack over the burner. The air inside the tubes would become super heated and circulate with good force from the ends and around the inside like a convection oven. Because of the glass window you could actually see it working. That thing could grill, roast, smoke, bake better than you could imagine. I ended up giving it to my buddy from England when he moved here. He came up with a mid to my mod where he took the same tubing but welded it together than made heat relief slots in it with a plasma cutter and it was even better. When he bought his Weber (he always wanted one), he gave it back to me. Eventually I brought it to MN to my father in law's lake place where I left it after he died as I did not want to take it home. It lasted a good 20 years and who knows? May still be in use LOL
 
I think a lot of us went through the throw away grill stage where they bought another cheap $200 or less grill every 2 or 3 years. Plunking down over $500 grill was just really hard to do back in the day. Had we done that and bought our Genesis 1000 or Silver B, we likely would still have that grill today provided we cared for it during that time. And would be way ahead in total cost to boot.

Exactly. I wish I had been smart enough to do that 25 years ago.
 
Some of us did just that..

I purchased my Spirit 700 brand new when I first bough my Home in 1999.

I held onto it for the next 18 years and in 2017 sold it to a good Family Friend after a light restoration,he is still using it to this day.
I got the "Weber Fever" and bought my Genesis Platinum II 3200, a Genesis 5000, and most recently a Weber Junior.

My three Children will probably be using them long after I'm gone.

Jeff

Same here. I bought my first grill (Genesis 1300) a few years after getting my first house at age 29. Before that, I never had a grill to use except for a couple years when I had a roommate who owned some cheap grill. The grill is still going well 19 years later. I did modify it three years ago by swapping out the LP manifold for NG from a $75 CL pickup. This year I got the fever and added two more NG grills. S320 and Genesis Gold C.

I’m also happy that I put a deposit on a deck project that will be starting within two weeks. It will be nice to have a proper deck again and not grill on the grass/dirt. Lived without a deck for 13 years!
 
My Embermatic looks a lot like yours. All Aluminium top and bottom. Mine is NG. I may keep it after all and adapt to LP. Im pretty convinced at this point that back in the day all grills were Aluminium top and bottom. We talking 25 to 30 years ago. Everyone was making them. I wonder what happened, why the change from all cast Aluminium ? Now is only Broimaster and MHP and PGS. May be others but not many. Keep it and restore it.
What kind of grates yours has ?
 
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