1988 Weber Genesis 3 Print Ad

[Chris Allingham]

Here's a 1988 Weber Genesis ad featuring the Genesis 3 with wide slats on the work surfaces and storage shelf.

Note in the fine print that these grills are referred to as "Genesis I, II, III, XX and XXI". XX and XXI were later known as Genesis Jr, a two-burner grill. No mention of Genesis IV and V which came along later.

And I'll bet you a nickel that's a Weber Bird Feeder in the background.



You can see another example of a wide slat Genesis 3 in these 1985 print ads.

 

[Jon Tofte]

Chris,
The fact that this ad is from 1988 seems to establish that the wide slats continued from inception ~85/86 through then. The 1990 brochure I submitted a while back shows narrow slats. So that change must have happened in 1989 or 1990.

I did notice that this ad seems to show the long bottom slats as two fused narrow ones rather than the plain wide slats in those earlier pair of ads which date back to the inception of the Genesis line. I actually have a set of bottom slats made this way from an early Genesis I obtained.

I also think the XX name is interesting. I was given a very old Genesis Jr (or XX) by Bruce which also has wide slats. I have been calling it a "Jr." but maybe XX is more correct. And what, I wonder, does XX mean compared to XXi?

 

[WayneC_Pgh]

I just picked up a Genesis II a couple days ago from the original owner that is near mint. He had his original literature, but no receipt sadly, so I've been looking online for the past couple days trying to date it. One thing I noticed is that my version of the Weber Tradition cookbook (which you guys have posted here in the manuals section) was the 9th printing from 11/88. You'll see that the pic of the grill in mine has the narrow slats, but also the black burner knobs and the original side burner with the front knobs. So couple things...it would appear they switched to the narrow slats at some point probably late in '88, but also, I wonder if they ever actually made any with the narrow slats and the front knob side burners, or if the grill in my literature was just a prototype. You'll also notice the grill in my literature also has the older style fuel scale which is interesting, as I've only seen that on the wide slat grills as well.

 

[WayneC_Pgh]

Oh, I should add that my owners manual, which has a revision date of 10/88, also has the grill pictured with the narrow slats. So yea, would seem that they switched sometime probably in late '88.

 

[Steve Hoch]

So does your actual grill look like the one in your literature or does it still have the wide slats?

 

[WayneC_Pgh]

So does your actual grill look like the one in your literature or does it still have the wide slats?

I added a few pics of it here, but yes, it looks the same minus the side burner because it's a Genesis 2. I think my grill is from '89 as there is an additional addendum (see attached) in my manual from 1/89, and I also have the ANS code for 1987 (also see attached) on the bottom of my grill. I saw in another post from @Chris Allingham that his grill was a '91 and had an ANS code for 1990, so I figure this grill was before '90, or maybe a '90, but before that new standard went live.

 

[John G (Boston)]

Great looking grill!! And a piece of Weber history. Note frameless igniter button

 

[Steve Hoch]

That grill is in really nice condition for it's age, especially the wood. Nice score and good detective work on it's age.

 

[WayneC_Pgh]

Thanks, I couldn't believe the condition myself and couldn't be happier.

 

[TimA]

My god Wayne, that thing is STUNNING!! She’s a beautiful beast. Congrats.

As far as the wide and narrow slats, I was under the impression production overlapped and they made both for a year or so. Maybe not. Admittedly I’m fairly new to the Genesis collector world as these guys here made me (have 3).

Anyways, take care of that beauty and welcome!

 

[Steve Hoch]

As far as the wide and narrow slats, I was under the impression production overlapped and they made both for a year or so. Maybe not.

That could very well be true, at least for one model year anyway as they used up the previous design's excess parts inventory. It's harder to say for sure on those since you can't pinpoint manufacturing dates. I came across a Genesis 1200 Skyline grill for sale that was made in 2000 by it's serial #. Everybody has always been under the impression that they only made the Genesis 1000 series until 1999 so I guess there are some exceptions to the rule.