Bob Erdman
TVWBB All-Star
Way to go! Everyone is in a hurry to throw out the old and bring in the new. I would get more satisfaction using it knowing the effort I put into restoring it.
Ducane Gas Grill Restoration - 5004SHNE to 1600SHNE
- Thread starter Steve-G
- Start date
Steve-G
TVWBB Fan
Once this project is done, I can then do a direct comparison between my Silver B and this Ducane. I've been cooking on the Weber for over 20 years now and know all of the nuances, so I'm pretty sure that will continue to be my go-to grill, but I'll try to keep an open mind.
Maybe this will become my favorite, and I won't have to worry about filling LP tanks as often.
Steve Hoch
TVWBB Honor Circle
Even if you only use the Ducane occasionally or as a back up grill, nice job sourcing all the needed parts and getting it working and presentable.
JSaus
TVWBB All-Star
Well, 20 years later, I was still cooking on the Weber while his Ducane had long since been land fill. I did replace the Silver B because I wanted the sear station.Once this project is done, I can then do a direct comparison between my Silver B and this Ducane. I've been cooking on the Weber for over 20 years now and know all of the nuances, so I'm pretty sure that will continue to be my go-to grill, but I'll try to keep an open mind.
Steve-G
TVWBB Fan
So much for their tagline "Buy Your Last Grill First" (unless he didn't replace it with anything).
Jay D in Jersey
TVWBB Wizard
Kind of interesting that Ducanes were great grills...until Weber bought them.
LMichaels
TVWBB 1-Star Olympian
Actually in some cases they remained great after Weber bought them. The larger SS ones they sold were actually outstanding
Jay D in Jersey
TVWBB Wizard
True. But they also made a line for Lowes that were total junk.
LMichaels
TVWBB 1-Star Olympian
Yep, they sure were. It wasn't just for Lowes BTW. I saw them all over.
Jay D in Jersey
TVWBB Wizard
This is the line I'm talking about. I had a similar model in NG....but 3 burners and no side burner. While it cooked great, it lasted 2 years before the cookbox rusted where the manifold runs. Weber did replace it though.
JSaus
TVWBB All-Star
Weber used the Ducane line as an experiment in outsourcing to China. Once they found good, reliable suppliers, they dropped Ducane and used them for the Spirit and some Genesis models. Great way to not tarnish the Weber name. They really never promoted the fact that Ducane was their product.
Jay D in Jersey
TVWBB Wizard
I get that. What I don't get is buying a brand only to let it wither and die on the vine after the experiment proved successful. Ducane might not have had the brand recognition that Weber had, but it was still solid.
JSaus
TVWBB All-Star
They could have used the Ducane name as their lower priced line. Problem was the reliability and recall issues they had. Easier to just drop the line and introduce the Weber Spirit than to try to overcome the reputation. Also, the Spirits closely filled the gap left from the Silver A/B for people who did not need a larger grill. Sadly, the prices are not what anyone would consider entry level.
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Steve-G
TVWBB Fan
Next up was cleaning up the La-Va-Grate where the ceramic briquettes sit. When I picked up the donor grill, he had about 30-40 briquettes left, but only about 10-15 were in any kind of shape to be reused, so I had to order new ones.
The grate was not in very good shape, but since a replacement is well over $100, I'm going to use it as is. These pictures are what they looked like when I received it. Even after a couple rounds of oven cleaner, it really doesn't look that much better. I didn't want to scrub it too much since some of the slats are pretty weak and I didn't want to break any more.
In addition to the corrosion, the grate was also bowed quite a bit. It doesn't quite sit properly on the tabs in the cookbox, but again, it will have to do.
Then I had to decide how many briquettes to use. Ducane recommends 1/4"-3/8" gap inbetween each one. I've also seen people post pictures of their grills with them touching each other. If I tried to stuff as many as I could onto the grate, it would require 108 briquettes (I bought 98 new ones and can reuse 10-15, so I'd be all set).
But for now, I went with the Ducane recommendation for spacing and ended up using 88 briquettes:
I'm not sure if anyone else is interested in these snippets from the owner's manual, but I find them fascinating. Between the engineering design and the marketing description, and then how they spelled it out for the end user, it is an interesting read.
It's almost the opposite of the Weber Flavorizer bars. The Weber's are designed to vaporize juices, and any excess will drip into the bottom of the grill and end up in the drip pan. The Ducane doesn't have any type of grease catch, so the "V" is inverted so that it catches all of the drippings that didn't get vaporized by the briquettes, and will eventually be burned off the La-Va-Grate.
I'm currently working on cleaning up the Sear Grids. I'm on my 3rd round of oven cleaner and scrubbing - I thought this step would go a little quicker.
The grate was not in very good shape, but since a replacement is well over $100, I'm going to use it as is. These pictures are what they looked like when I received it. Even after a couple rounds of oven cleaner, it really doesn't look that much better. I didn't want to scrub it too much since some of the slats are pretty weak and I didn't want to break any more.
In addition to the corrosion, the grate was also bowed quite a bit. It doesn't quite sit properly on the tabs in the cookbox, but again, it will have to do.
Then I had to decide how many briquettes to use. Ducane recommends 1/4"-3/8" gap inbetween each one. I've also seen people post pictures of their grills with them touching each other. If I tried to stuff as many as I could onto the grate, it would require 108 briquettes (I bought 98 new ones and can reuse 10-15, so I'd be all set).
But for now, I went with the Ducane recommendation for spacing and ended up using 88 briquettes:
I'm not sure if anyone else is interested in these snippets from the owner's manual, but I find them fascinating. Between the engineering design and the marketing description, and then how they spelled it out for the end user, it is an interesting read.
It's almost the opposite of the Weber Flavorizer bars. The Weber's are designed to vaporize juices, and any excess will drip into the bottom of the grill and end up in the drip pan. The Ducane doesn't have any type of grease catch, so the "V" is inverted so that it catches all of the drippings that didn't get vaporized by the briquettes, and will eventually be burned off the La-Va-Grate.
I'm currently working on cleaning up the Sear Grids. I'm on my 3rd round of oven cleaner and scrubbing - I thought this step would go a little quicker.
Jay D in Jersey
TVWBB Wizard
When those grates deteriorate to the point they don't correctly hold the briquettes, I think any universal grate will do the job. You might have to tighten the briquette spacing(more briquettes) but there might be a bit of over engineering going on with the OEMs.
JSaus
TVWBB All-Star
Until I got a Weber, all my gas grills used either lava rocks or briquettes. They absorbed the drippings and IMO produced more smoke than the Weber. OTOH, I got more fires with them. They need to be flipped over occasionally for burn off. It will be a fun comparison once you get done.
Steve Hoch
TVWBB Honor Circle
Looks an awful lot like a current Weber Genesis.
LMichaels
TVWBB 1-Star Olympian
Where do you think they got the idea to change it up to what it's become? They did it to maximize profits not to actually "improve". Those long burner tubes and the Xover system was expensive to produce. Much cheaper to make what they make now
JSaus
TVWBB All-Star
I think dropping the crossover ignition was a mistake. If a burner blows out it does not reignite. They kept it on the Spirit, and Napoleon has it even though they also have individual igniters. Slight cost savings per unit that adds up with volume.
Joe Anshien
TVWBB Platinum Member
Really nice work. Glad you are going at it. Nice pics.