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


 
Sam,
I too am interested in what Dave comes up with. I have his Grates, Flavorizer Bars, Z brackets, as well as custom Burner Tube set he did for me for my Junior. Dave does fantastic work and is a asset to the Weber community.

Jeff
 
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I am definitely interested as well, with the same caveat others have mentioned. I can understand these will take some serious work/labor time. Hopefully with an order for enough at one time there would be some economy of scale. I also think Dave would then have a new product that if he advertised like he does on eBay he might get more sales beyond our little group.
 
Me too! I am interested. I'd say my price range for a good stainless version would be $100-130. Above that I don't think I could justify, AKA the wife will notice to my detriment LOL. Its all about economics right? If he can keep his burden cost reasonable I think it might be doable, and we would be supporting a hard working local business and not some corporation. Plus out of say the 25 or so top posters on the forum, many of us have more than one grill that use that bottom tray. Hmmm.
 
I certainly won't be in for something over $100. But I sure would like one for my SS Platinum that I am going to rebuild next summer.
 
Trying to think in terms of labor, if I were to do it, not counting the time it takes to get the dimensions and draw it up, figuring 18ga. 304 SS

1. Shear the sheet to size: 15m
2. Cut 4 corners with a band saw, set up and cut center hole with hole saw, single piece: 1.5 hr.
3. Set up press brake and bend flange edges and center bends: 1 hr
4. Prep and TIG weld 4 corners 1.5 hr.
5. Clean and pack item 30m

Cost of 304 material: $30, depending on supplier and quantity
Shipping: $25

Keep in mind I am terrible when it comes to figuring out how long it takes me to do something, so I typically add 20%, but it depends on how automated Dave is. So I figure close to 5 hours to produce a single part, but not much more to do a stack of 3 or so.

And please don't think that I can do the quality of work that Dave does, so there's that, too.
 
Five hours for one tray? I am pretty sure he is looking for more than $20 per hour...After all, he lives in the SF bay area. Their minimum wage for flipping burgers is probably $20 per hour.
 
Yeah, by the time you get done paying for health insurance, Workman's Comp, Social Securitay (FICA), paid holidays and vacation time, 401k contributions, probably double that, or more...

But Bruce, how long would it take you to do this? The problem with SS is that it work hardens so fast if you are not careful. Once you bend it, you will not be able to bend it back, so you have to go slow. And maybe Dave has a water jet and MIG welds SS, so that would cut that time down dramatically. Those press brakes take a bit to set up, but once they are set up you can really knock out the parts. I think the one I worked on, a Niagara, could do a 12-foot bend in 1/8" mild steel, but it's been 10 years so it's hard to remember.

I'll see if I can find the group picture with it in the background...got it! It's on a DVD. I'm going to have to grab a frame.
 
1605639440173.png

Here is the slitter cutting down one of those 40,000# steel coils. I spent 27 years in the printing industry so I call them rolls, but the correct lingo is coils. That machine was the bottleneck...I think I remember it could only cut down 9 - 12 coils per day.

1605639653697.png

Quite an operation...

1605639924381.png
 
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I think Dave does his work out of his home shop on the side. I don't think he has access to water jets and the like.
 
Ahh yes, the NJ plant I worked with had 16 of those slitters. Then they would send to the St Louis plant to be bent and formed. They have over 1000 truckloads a year of rolled coils. They are a shed company, so you can imagine the scope of the material and volume they had to do.
 
I am afraid $20 per hour would turn out to be more like $60 or more. This is probably one of those things it is pretty hard for a part time or very small shop to do. Fully equipped shops will require a lot more to make it worth their while.
 
Perhaps it would be less expensive to repair and re-coat a damaged tray. Dave in KC had the hood of his SF EX4 re-coated for $125.
 
Yes, but I think shipping would kill it, unless you live nearby like Dave in KC does. Doesn't hurt to ask, though...maybe Gary could lend his expertise? I sure would like to have a light blue lid.
 
Ed Pinnell said:
Yes, but I think shipping would kill it, unless you live nearby like Dave in KC does. Doesn't hurt to ask, though...maybe Gary could lend his expertise? I sure would like to have a light blue lid.
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Dimensional weight is what kills it. Meaning if a package weighs 5 lbs but dims of the box are beyond your standard 12x12x12 box. You can be billed for a package that weighs 15 or even 20lbs!

Best advice is to not overbox the tray too much, just enough to protect it, meaning don't ship too much empty air. Carriers charge for space when the weight is less than what a truck holds. They love heavy dense stuff. Light and airy commodities are big bucks to ship.
 
The trays might fit in the Large flat rate boxes which cost about $22 flat rate to ship.
 
My gut feeling, and I may be and hope to be way off base, is in the $200 - $300 range, shipped. I hope I'm wrong.
 
Ed Pinnell said:
My gut feeling, and I may be and hope to be way off base, is in the $200 - $300 range, shipped. I hope I'm wrong.
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Ed,
I think you are probably right. You would have to have more money than me or at least be a bigger idiot than me to pay that much for even a world class grease tray!
 
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