Another 56" Vieluxe Restore

[MikeNowak]

Hi all! Thanks for allowing me to join. I'm not necessarily a "grille aficianado", but I am mechanically inclined and like to tinker with things. My brother purchased a Vieluxe grill a few years ago and I was amazed at the quality of it--I did a little bit of research and started to learn about them. Recently, I have been scouring marketplace hoping to stumble on one--lo and behold, one popped up about an hour and a half away from me! Natural gas and looked like it was in good shape. I immediately reached out and picked up the grill yesterday! Original owner said it worked fine except for the igniter(s)...all valves turn easily and I hear the gas coming through, but I have not lit it yet. Came with all the original parts--rotisserie spit with motor and bracket, drip pot, and even the coveted original Vieluxe cover!

I have already reached out to RCplanebuyer about getting some new flavorizer bars--mine are complete, and I even have a few extras, but they are all a little rusty.

I did some research on the site, but I may have missed some info, so forgive me if I am asking some questions that have been answered before, but here are some questions I have:

What is the best way to clean this grill being that it is all stainless including the firebox?

Any advice/tips on disassembly? I'm not going to take it all the way down, but probably want to remove the burners to clean it out real good.

I was going to ask if anyone had a copy (digital or hard) of the owner's manual, but I called Weber Customer Service and they are going to email it to me! Funny story--the customer service rep had never seen or heard of this grill before and she remarked how beautiful it was!

Troubleshooting the igniter--I know to check the batteries first, but is there a way to check voltage on the wires to see where the drop is?

Does anyone know of a comparable size griddle insert that would fit this grill? Looking to take out one of the grates and replace it with a griddle, but keep the other two grates in place

Replacement thermometer--any suggestions? I was reading another thread where someone bought one, but it was slightly too large.


That's it for now until I start digging into this thing...looking forward to a fun partial restoration project! I appreciate any and all help that is offered. Here are some pics:

 

[R Chin]

Welcome to the club!

Flavorizer bars are generally used until they fall apart - rust wouldn’t bother me as long as they serve their function

Any griddle insert that will fit the OG Spirit 300 will work. I bought the full griddle from Weber that is the corrosion resistant steel like on the Slate line

I’m probably the one that wrote about the thermometer. The 3” tel-tru does NOT fit. I was going to ask weber if they could source original. If not, I checked and the thermometer on my weber Kamado is 2-7/8” - that is close enough but I would need to figure out mounting to make it flush with bezel

Please post any documentation you receive as there are a few of us that could probably make use of it

Good Luck
Ray

 

[LMichaels]

Looks to be in pretty incredible shape! Nice grab there

 

[Jon Tofte]

Welcome, Mike!

Definitely a nice grab! Great to have someone else going down this path with me. Be sure to look at the top of the gas grill section for "sticky" threads including ones about the Vieluxe. I hope you will "tag" yours as well. Lots of good advice from those who have gone ahead of us including @R Chin (Ray) who has already posted above.

Keep the pictures coming. We will all so our best on suggestions for how to preserve these amazing pieces of Weber history. I have wanted one for years.

 

[R Chin]

Be especially careful with the burners as they are unique in design and material (SR18 stainless steel)

You can probably leave the burners in place and scrape around them. I probably won’t touch mine until the crossovers need to be replaced. The entire grease trough removes for easy cleanup

I really think people are prematurely going through burners and flavorizers by preheating on high - then walking away for a long long while. Personally, I’ve always preheated on low with a couple of inverted foil pans to hold the heat at grate level - then when actually ready to cook - scraped before adjusting to desired cooking temp

 

[MikeNowak]

Welcome to the club!

Flavorizer bars are generally used until they fall apart - rust wouldn’t bother me as long as they serve their function

Any griddle insert that will fit the OG Spirit 300 will work. I bought the full griddle from Weber that is the corrosion resistant steel like on the Slate line

I’m probably the one that wrote about the thermometer. The 3” tel-tru does NOT fit. I was going to ask weber if they could source original. If not, I checked and the thermometer on my weber Kamado is 2-7/8” - that is close enough but I would need to figure out mounting to make it flush with bezel

Please post any documentation you receive as there are a few of us that could probably make use of it

Good Luck
Ray

Thanks Ray...your thread was very helpful for me. I mainly wanted to get the bars in case someday Dave stops making them--you never know. I asked Weber about the thermometer, and of course they said there were no parts available for it. Here is a couple pics of the laminated card that came with the grill

Welcome, Mike!

Definitely a nice grab! Great to have someone else going down this path with me. Be sure to look at the top of the gas grill section for "sticky" threads including ones about the Vieluxe. I hope you will "tag" yours as well. Lots of good advice from those who have gone ahead of us including @R Chin (Ray) who has already posted above.

Keep the pictures coming. We will all so our best on suggestions for how to preserve these amazing pieces of Weber history. I have wanted one for years.

Thanks John...I've been following your thread as well! Here are some more pics I took after some cleaning of the inside. Burners look to be in great shape...I can tell they are definitely beefy. Crossovers look a little corroded, but I'll see how they perform when I hook it up. I'm super psyched that the stock drip pan cleaned up really well! The support plate(not sure what it is called) where the flavor bars sit has a couple cracks, but everything is still supported really well, so I don't think Im gonna mess with it.

 

[Jon Tofte]

Mike,
You are definitely blessed to have gotten a Vieluxe in much better condition than mine. From burners and flavorizers to the drip pan, your parts look like they are virtually all reuseable.

I haven’t been able to do a lot of disassemby yet, but almost all of my internals are clearly toast. Tonight I cleaned up my drip pan. It is too far gone as well.

I am getting a stainless kitchen pan of almost identical dimensions.

Cooks Standard Classic 2 Quart Stainless Steel Saucepan with Lid, 2qt Pot Mini Sauce Pan, Silver - Walmart.com

Buy Cooks Standard Classic 2 Quart Stainless Steel Saucepan with Lid, 2qt Pot Mini Sauce Pan, Silver at Walmart.com

www.walmart.com

 

[R Chin]

I don’t think you need to replace the flavorizers… if you do decide to order spares, consider just the bars without the tack welded shields covering the crossovers - they will be much cheaper (and Dave has stacks of them ready to go)

You should order spare crossovers (whenever you order other parts from Weber) as those are definitely considered consumables and there is no accessible port for lighting manually with a match - hence the super long “roach clip” to reach the burners for grate level.

The grease pot will eventually start leaking - the previous owner lined mine with aluminum foil hoping for the best

I found a replacement that matched the diameter of the holder, but it was too tall to maneuver into position. In the end, I had to get a smaller pot that was shorter - it can shift within the holder, but the pot is always comfortably under the discharge of the grease trough. I got it at ikea - stainless with non-stick coating

 

[MikeNowak]

I don’t think you need to replace the flavorizers… if you do decide to order spares, consider just the bars without the tack welded shields covering the crossovers - they will be much cheaper (and Dave has stacks of them ready to go)

You should order spare crossovers (whenever you order other parts from Weber) as those are definitely considered consumables and there is no accessible port for lighting manually with a match - hence the super long “roach clip” to reach the burners for grate level.

The grease pot will eventually start leaking - the previous owner lined mine with aluminum foil hoping for the best

I found a replacement that matched the diameter of the holder, but it was too tall to maneuver into position. In the end, I had to get a smaller pot that was shorter - it can shift within the holder, but the pot is always comfortably under the discharge of the grease trough. I got it at ikea - stainless with non-stick coating

Cool thank you...yes I'll use it with the flavorizers as they are now, then hopefully have spares for when these eventually give up the coast. How come you are recommending not to get the tack welded shields for the crossovers?

You must have read my mind as I already placed an order for some new crossover tubes lol...just ordered today

Yes I can see a couple spots of corrosion on my grease pot...I'll probably order one like Jon has shared above.

My next step is to troubleshoot the igniters--everything looks pretty good from the outside, but I'd really like to figure out how this system works without reinventing the wheel.

 

[MikeNowak]

Mike,
You are definitely blessed to have gotten a Vieluxe in much better condition than mine. From burners and flavorizers to the drip pan, your parts look like they are virtually all reuseable.

I haven’t been able to do a lot of disassemby yet, but almost all of my internals are clearly toast. Tonight I cleaned up my drip pan. It is too far gone as well.
View attachment 116681
I am getting a stainless kitchen pan of almost identical dimensions.

Cooks Standard Classic 2 Quart Stainless Steel Saucepan with Lid, 2qt Pot Mini Sauce Pan, Silver - Walmart.com

Buy Cooks Standard Classic 2 Quart Stainless Steel Saucepan with Lid, 2qt Pot Mini Sauce Pan, Silver at Walmart.com

www.walmart.com

Thanks Jon...yes I was happy just to get a Vieluxe, and even happier to see how good of condition this one was in!

 

[R Chin]

Cool thank you...yes I'll use it with the flavorizers as they are now, then hopefully have spares for when these eventually give up the coast. How come you are recommending not to get the tack welded shields for the crossovers?

You must have read my mind as I already placed an order for some new crossover tubes lol...just ordered today

Yes I can see a couple spots of corrosion on my grease pot...I'll probably order one like Jon has shared above.

My next step is to troubleshoot the igniters--everything looks pretty good from the outside, but I'd really like to figure out how this system works without reinventing the wheel.

So…Jon and I have Summit 450’s which were sold at same time as Vieluxe - my grill (and I’m assuming Jon’s) has never had a problem with the crossovers (in the rear) getting fouled with drippings - even without shields over them

The next generation of Summit (gold and platinum) moved crossovers to the middle and those definitely needed to be shielded from grease. But that created flavorizer bar assemblies that cost more than grates - and frequently needed to be replaced cuz the shields would break off

Dave can make whatever you need (he has a binder of fabrication drawings for every Weber part he comes across) I just don’t think the shields are needed, based on our experience from the Summits and the smoke vent of the Vieluxe is located right over the crossovers anyways

 

[Jon Tofte]

Cool thank you...yes I'll use it with the flavorizers as they are now, then hopefully have spares for when these eventually give up the coast. How come you are recommending not to get the tack welded shields for the crossovers?

You must have read my mind as I already placed an order for some new crossover tubes lol...just ordered today

Yes I can see a couple spots of corrosion on my grease pot...I'll probably order one like Jon has shared above.

My next step is to troubleshoot the igniters--everything looks pretty good from the outside, but I'd really like to figure out how this system works without reinventing the wheel.

Can you post a link of where you bought your crossovers? Mine are all gone except one that is down to dust!

 

[MikeNowak]

Can you post a link of where you bought your crossovers? Mine are all gone except one that is down to dust!

Sure thing here you go:

Crossover Tube 63664 - OEM Weber - eReplacementParts.com

Buy the official Weber Crossover Tube 63664 replacement - Use our model diagrams, repair help, and video tutorials to help get the job done.

www.ereplacementparts.com

 

[LMichaels]

Mike, looks like one of the "carriers" for the flavorizer bars appears to be shot. I think you can sub in the same parts from a Summit maybe even as late as 2nd generation for it. Otherwise it looks like you snagged yourself a real gem there. Nice that Weber chose to include a cover for the rotisserie burner like I have on the Wolf. I see so many other units with IR rear burners, no cover and they get all grease and carbon fouled. Looks like Weber really thought this one out.
Do it right and you're gonna have an heirloom lifetime grill there.

 

[MikeNowak]

Hi all...making progress. Did a little more cleaning--having trouble getting some of the stubborn carbon build up off the exterior of the grill...I welcome any suggestions anyone has to clean it without scratching.

Also discovered the spit rod and forks that came with it are not the originals--I have two motors--one looks original, and the other looks similar. I thought I remembered reading somewhere that a newer Summit grill has the same spit rod and forks?

Lastly for now, there is this little counter like thing in the compartment where the propane tank would go (mine is NG). Any idea if this came with the grill, or someone added it on? It fits like a glove and doesn't look like it was homemade--right now, it's just covering up the extra gas hose in the bottom.

 

[R Chin]

No idea what that is…

What’s it made of?
Does it fit over the burners or sliding shelf?

 

[MikeNowak]

No idea what that is…

What’s it made of?
Does it fit over the burners or sliding shelf?

Hmm I’ll have to see how it fits on top…this is where I found it and it fits well.

 

[LMichaels]

I think it's simply something home made the original owner concocted

 

[R Chin]

Kind of looks like a cutting board…

 

[Jon Tofte]

I am guessing that shelf thing is just something the seller added in. Almost wonder if they tried to put a propane tank in there!

When you have time, you might post pictures of the two rotisserie motors. (Mine was missing this!) The original had a stainless exterior. It was probably a Weber one, but maybe no Weber name(?)

Does the spit that you have not fit your grill?