Buying spare parts for early Genesis models - which parts will go first?


 
P

PaulD

TVWBB Member
Wondering if it's smart to stock up on parts, in case they stop making them.

Which are the most at risk?
Burner tubes?
Valves/manifold?
Regulators?

What prompted this is, someone is selling a propane regulator for $5. Is this worth it? Or does something generic exist that takes its place?
regulator.jpg
 
You can buy new generic ones all day long for $10. Don't need to stock up on them.
It might be prudent to have a spare manifold with valves but really, they are pretty simple items and I wouldn't worry too much. If you have a spare laying around, then hang on to it, but don't spend any money to stockpile one.
Burners are readily available. I wouldn't worry about them at this point. Again, if you have a spare set, then hang onto them. Otherwise, I wouldn't worry about it.
Burners, grates and flavorizer bars are the three consumables that you will typically have to replace a couple or more times during a grills life. At this point they are still all available new or from other grills. If you have the older Genesis 1000-5000 or Genesis 1-5 grill, then the flavorizer bars and maybe burners are getting a little less available, but still no problem finding them really. Silver B&C grill parts are all readily available.
 
I am with Bruce. What is getting a lot harder are unique pieces to the older models. Unfortunately, that includes the large slide-out grease tray for the 1-5, and x000 models. You have to have that to grill, and they are not being produced by anyone that I know of. Old style control panels would be another example.
 
Good points, all around.
Grease tray - totally forgot about that one.
Manifold, valves, and control panels - nice.
On the grates and flavorizer bars, I'm a fan of the RCPlaneBuyer stuff, so as long as he's around, we're good.
 
Ditto on the sliding grease tray, that part is no longer available (OEM or third party) and you'll eventually have to change it out...later rather than sooner though.
 
Not sure if someone enterprising who has access to fabrication might start making them. Maybe worst case is to find a backing tray that fits and modify it
 
I looked for the x000 series parts: manifold, burners, flavorizer bars over $200
Drip tray about $50
Other misc parts another $50 so about $300 a great grill for at least 5 to 8 years.
Thats about $5 a month if it last 5 years, thats very reasonable for a great cooking grill.
At the end of the day what is also important is how WELL it cooks.
In the sub $500 category gas grill i think there is no better cooking grill than the x000 series, when properly restored.
 
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Chris,
I guess that's what keeps us in the game with these old grills. I am a little worried, though, that some of the parts are going to be really hard to find especially as the supply of donor grills with salvageable components dwindles.
 
That will happen Jon. Fixing up a 1000 will be a tough task in 10 years. But, by then, we will have a bunch of Genesis E3xx grills and even Genesis II grills hitting the market. But, then, you have to wonder just how rehabbable an E310 or Genesis II will be when they are 15 to 20 years old. I suspect the frames will be a nightmare to find parts for and will be the one part that just about every one of them will need replacing on.
 
I think you are exactly right, Bruce. I can't see Weber supplying frame parts for very long after they come out with the Genesis III or whatever. And, few of the old ones floating around are very likely to be able to have their frames reused.

It sort of reminds me of when I was in high school in the late 70's. What are now referred to as the "Colonade" GM cars - Olds Cutlass, Pontiac Grand Prix and Chevy Monte Carlo were the rage. (Thanks to my Dad inheriting a big Pontiac Catalina, I was blessed to drive a Colonade - a nice maroon Buick Century with a white vinyl top.) I used to think that 20 years later in the 90's that restoring these would be the rage like restoring '57 Chevy was in the 70's (and which still goes on). Well, I was way off. My generation saw cars as something to use and replace. Not a lot of 70's Colonade cars to be seen at car shows - although they do have their fans.

I think people buying even a Weber grill new today figure it will be with them for a time and then in the landfill. But back when the original Genesis came out it was a high-priced to drool after choice. Add to that it's rugged build and you have the '57 Chevy of grills. I will bet some people will still be restoring them 20 years from now. It will be too late for me by then, but I hope some survive for a long, long time.
 
Gary - bassguitarist1985 said:
Making the bottom drip tray needs a mold and a metal press to make the tray. Any competent metal shop would be able to make it. Its just the initial pre-work to get a viable replacement.
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The shop owner would have to be convinced a market existed to justify the setup cost and the ongoing cost and hassle of shipping to people in different places. I think that has stopped a number of these ideas from becoming a reality.
 
Jon Tofte said:
The shop owner would have to be convinced a market existed to justify the setup cost and the ongoing cost and hassle of shipping to people in different places. I think that has stopped a number of these ideas from becoming a reality.
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Totally agree Jon its not going to happen. Except for us on this board what market is there really for something like that, flavorizer bars obviously are not exactly rocket science nor are grates and there are already people manufacturing those so they got their initial costs covered so really the only thing that stops them from continuing to manufacture them is demand.
 
Gary - bassguitarist1985 said:
Making the bottom drip tray needs a mold and a metal press to make the tray. Any competent metal shop would be able to make it. Its just the initial pre-work to get a viable replacement.
Click to expand...
This is not a trivial task. If you think it is, draw it out on paper and lay it out flat. Notice that your pattern resembles an iron cross, and notice those large triangular gaps in the 4 corners? That is excess metal that will need to be removed or displaced.

The pan will need to be drawn, like a pot, or cut out and welded. It's not going to be cheap for the hobby market. Our best hope is that someone makes disposable drip pan liners, like the disposable 5x7 drip pans that we have.
 
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Ed Pinnell said:
This is not a trivial task. If you think it is, draw it out on paper and lay it out flat. Notice that your pattern resembles an iron cross, and notice those large triangular gaps in the 4 corners? That is excess metal that will need to be removed or displaced.

The pan will need to be drawn, like a pot, or cut out and welded. It's not going to be cheap for the hobby market. Our best hope is that someone makes disposable drip pan liners, like the disposable 5x7 drip pans that we have.
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Didn't realize it was much more complex. Exactly how not cheap are we talking? Like double the cost of the OEM ones?
 
Gary - bassguitarist1985 said:
Didn't realize it was much more complex. Exactly how not cheap are we talking? Like double the cost of the OEM ones?
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Like anything else, it's a numbers thing. There is economy in scale. How many are you talking about? 100? 1,000?

The other thing is copyright infringement. A manufacturer would have to design them differently than Weber made them to avoid licensing issues. And if the demand was great enough, wouldn't Weber jump back into the market? I assume they still have the tooling and machinery, which seems likely.

I'm fairly certain that drip pans for the old Webers aren't profitable enough to reproduce...yet...but there's always hope.
 
Ed Pinnell said:
Like anything else, it's a numbers thing. There is economy in scale. How many are you talking about? 100? 1,000?

The other thing is copyright infringement. A manufacturer would have to design them differently than Weber made them to avoid licensing issues. And if the demand was great enough, wouldn't Weber jump back into the market? I assume they still have the tooling and machinery, which seems likely.

I'm fairly certain that drip pans for the old Webers aren't profitable enough to reproduce...yet...but there's always hope.
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I don't understand everything about copyright infringement. It does seem like there are plenty of parts suppliers for Weber grills, 57 Chevys, etc. I am pretty sure Weber has no interest in going back to make old grill parts. They are looking ahead and are leaving the old Gennys to us hobbyists. They don't even keep parts in stock for some grills still under warranty. Ask Larry about that😫. I don't see Weber getting in the way, but I agree totally with your assessment that creating the large drip tray would not be an easy or cheap undertaking. The target market is just not large enough to get anyone to take a chance at it. It would be very hard, I think, to sell even 100 of them.
 
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