2001 Weber Performer Deluxe SSP restoration


 
Mike-GA said:
Correct. The original piezo ignition goes through hole in panel (and does not lock over the panel) which allows you to easily remove the loose panel to access the tank for removal.

If you use the electric ignition (Weber Igniter Kit #65737) from the Gen 5 Performer, the button's chrome bezel screws over the panel which essentially locks panel in place. In this case, you would need to unscrew bezel before removing panel to able to access tank for removal.
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Thank you so much for the explanation and options! Everything is copacetic then!
Thanks again-
 
Mike-GA said:
Best way to replace bowl is to find a very good used donor grill. When I did my SSP, I harvested the lid and bowl off a latest model Gen 5 Performer because I liked the Copper color. There are other cool colors that came on various Performers over the years you could find, like Spring Green, Slate Blue, Red, etc...

Good upgrades I used from a Gen 5 Performer are the newer ash catcher system, electric ignition (1xAAA battery), gourmet grates, and especially the bigger lid bail that allows the lid to rest at 90 degrees for better access to grates while cooking with grill lid open. These are just nice-to-haves because all the generations of Performers are awesome grills. I just like the SSP the best. :)
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the 90 degrees would be a great improvement.
 
So, picture taken mid cook, but to date this was our best chicken across our outdoor cookers, perhaps edging out the BGE. Really impressed overall! There is a lot more room to cook than on the large Egg, for sure, and temperature started at 420 and then dropped to 180 consistent through a 1hour 20 minute cook.
 

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Beautiful Grill. That looks like my 1st SSP. Restored and gave it to a friend. I was certainly not as careful on the rust removal and paining.

I just printed these and they seem like they may help keep the Frame Rail joints dry and hopefully rust free for longer than without.
Frame Rail Joint Caps

Did you paint or treat the inside of the frame tubes?

I just refurbed my 6th SSP and for the first time, I used this product inside the tubes that was recommended by a bicycle builder friend for preventing corrosion inside the tubes. Reading up on it, it is also good for coating outside rust as well, although it may wash away over time. I think in Canada, a similar product, maybe even this one, is used as a rustproofing on automobiles.

I found that it worked really well after washing off the frame as a wax type coating, applied then wiped off until the oily feeling was gone (2 or 3 wipes.) I was pretty heavy handed and used about half a can.
Fluid Film
 
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Mike-GA said:
If you use the electric ignition (Weber Igniter Kit #65737) from the Gen 5 Performer, the button's chrome bezel screws over the panel which essentially locks panel in place. In this case, you would need to unscrew bezel before removing panel to able to access tank for removal.
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You can trim the flange under the silicone cap. This nicely fills the hole in the control panel and allows the panel to lift off without removing the cap.

As well, the cap fits on the lower assembly as intended and requires a shallower press to activate.

65737
 
Peter_M said:
Beautiful Grill. That looks like my 1st SSP. Restored and gave it to a friend. I was certainly not as careful on the rust removal and paining.

I just printed these and they seem like they may help keep the Frame Rail joints dry and hopefully rust free for longer than without.
Frame Rail Joint Caps

Did you paint or treat the inside of the frame tubes?

I just refurbed my 6th SSP and for the first time, I used this product inside the tubes that was recommended by a bicycle builder friend for preventing corrosion inside the tubes. Reading up on it, it is also good for coating outside rust as well, although it may wash away over time. I think in Canada, a similar product, maybe even this one, is used as a rustproofing on automobiles.

I found that it worked really well after washing off the frame as a wax type coating, applied then wiped off until the oily feeling was gone (2 or 3 wipes.) I was pretty heavy handed and used about half a can.
Fluid Film
Click to expand...
thanks for the information! I did not paint the inside of the frame rails, but may instead, during the next restoration, go on ahead and powdercoat the frame. That’s a few years off. But I like the setup well enough, that I plan on keeping it a very long time. I may look into the frame rail caps and fluid film for the Genesis 1000 I restored (in another thread).
 
I've struggled to paint or prime the inside of the tubes on all of my restos. It really seems to me that for me the Fluid Film is the way go. I think that it is absorbed by rust and saturates it to where moisture cannot get to it.

My concern with priming/painting is that it ends up on top of rust, potentially trapping moisture underneath, as I am unable to abate the rust inside the tubes, especially the frame rails with the welded or captive nuts on the end.
 
Peter_M said:
I've struggled to paint or prime the inside of the tubes on all of my restos. It really seems to me that for me the Fluid Film is the way go. I think that it is absorbed by rust and saturates it to where moisture cannot get to it.

My concern with priming/painting is that it ends up on top of rust, potentially trapping moisture underneath, as I am unable to abate the rust inside the tubes, especially the frame rails with the welded or captive nuts on the end.
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Get yourself a cheap rifle cleaning kit. Assemble the cleaning rods and put them in your drill. Use the various brass wire bore brushes to remove the rust from the inside of the frame tubes. Then you can feel confident in putting whatever you're going to use on the inside of the frame.
 
Steve Hoch said:
Get yourself a cheap rifle cleaning kit. Assemble the cleaning rods and put them in your drill. Use the various brass wire bore brushes to remove the rust from the inside of the frame tubes. Then you can feel confident in putting whatever you're going to use on the inside of the frame.
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What a great idea, Steve! I happen to have a shotgun cleaning kit that should work perfectly. I wish I’d thought of that. I didn’t have but much surface oxidation inside that I could see, but that would have been a smart thing to do.
 
Steve Garretson said:
What a great idea, Steve! I happen to have a shotgun cleaning kit that should work perfectly. I wish I’d thought of that. I didn’t have but much surface oxidation inside that I could see, but that would have been a smart thing to do.
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Shotgun kit is even better, bigger bore brushes. The idea came to me while restoring a particularly rusty Genesis 1000. I sprayed rust reformer down all the frame tubes when I was done.
 
That's brilliant, will use this on the next one.

I did find these for applying paint/primer inside the tubes. They are long enough that you could cover the whole SSP top frame, applying from each end. Unfortunately, not compatible with the can of Fluid Film I had; the FF button came off with the stubby straw, which this needs on the can to connect. It would've worked with any of the cans of Rust Oleum that I checked. (I ended up using the Fluid Film straw to get as deep as it would go, which I think is where most of the corrosion happens.)
Spray Extender
 
Peter_M said:
That's brilliant, will use this on the next one.

I did find these for applying paint/primer inside the tubes. They are long enough that you could cover the whole SSP top frame, applying from each end. Unfortunately, not compatible with the can of Fluid Film I had; the FF button came off with the stubby straw, which this needs on the can to connect. It would've worked with any of the cans of Rust Oleum that I checked. (I ended up using the Fluid Film straw to get as deep as it would go, which I think is where most of the corrosion happens.)
Spray Extender
Click to expand...
Thanks for this! Looks like I’m going to keep this one going a long time.
 
Steve Garretson said:
So, picture taken mid cook, but to date this was our best chicken across our outdoor cookers, perhaps edging out the BGE. Really impressed overall! There is a lot more room to cook than on the large Egg, for sure, and temperature started at 420 and then dropped to 180 consistent through a 1hour 20 minute cook.
Click to expand...
oops, just caught this- I meant 380, not 180...
 
Steve Garretson said:
So, we drove 11 hours, round trip on a Sunday, to buy this grill. I’ve been looking for 2 years to find a nice Performer, and I like the older ones..
The frame is solid, but the grill requires a lot of attention overall.
👍
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FYI, I believe that this color was a special color sold through William Sonoma. Model 827996
Schematic

I forget what year mine was. I'll try to ask the guy I bought it from to ID it.
 
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