E3xx/S3xx/SP3xx Caster Inserts and Wheel Upgrade

[Cody Bratton]

I am coming to the brain trust here, as I feel inept that I can't seem to source what I thought would be an easy couple pieces. The last couple weeks I have spent a good bit of time researching replacement wheels for my E330. That being said, I want to do an upgrade because one of mine has left the chat, and I roll it in and out of my garage when I cook. My biggest problem is that the one that has failed, isn't the wheel itself, but the insert that goes into the frame. Also, I just thought of this part, but I outboarded the tank during its rehab and the failed caster is on that side.

I am looking at it as if I am going to go thru the minor hassle of taking the lid off, pulling the grates, flavor bars, and laying it down on it's back, I want to just do all 4 to ensure I don't have to mess with it again, while upgrading the so-so wheels Weber used in these generation of grills.

All that being said, my inner cheapskate doesn't want to shell out $100 to replace them with the same style of wheel. I can stomach that kind of money for an upgrade.

TL/DR - ISO Caster Frame Inserts... lol

 

[Tony Coloma]

Old spirit here. The wheels definitely need an upgrade.

 

[DanHoo]

Paging @Dave in KC

 

[LMichaels]

I can't imagine this would be too difficult an issue. Simply perusing a local Harbor Freight or Amazon should turn up something useful

 

[DanHoo]

I found this thread, but I seem to recall Dave found some really nice casters for his red E330

Genesis caster upgrade at less than half the price

The casters on my Genesis 320 finally bit the dust, which was a blessing in disguise. I was never pleased with the original small plastic casters - they seemed better suited for light-duty indoor application such as an office chair on a smooth floor. Also, I wasn't thrilled with shelling out...

tvwbb.com

 

[Cody Bratton]

I asked him when he posted a pic of his beautiful collection. He said he didn’t recall

 

[Cody Bratton]

Hallelujah! Thanks to a rainy day here is southern Wisconsin and my kids sleeping in, I think I have found the replacement inserts! $3 a piece is a lot easier to stomach than $20 with a crappy wheel! I have them ordered and will update when I have them installed on new casters, time for some wheel shopping.

1-1/4" Square Socket for 7/16" Grip-Ring Casters, Fits 1-1/4", 18 Gauge Tube | eBay

1-1/4" Square Tube Socket for 7/16" Grip-Ring Casters, Fits 1-1/4", 18 Gauge Tube. Will fit the following Grip-Ring sizes 7/16" x 1-3/8".

www.ebay.com

 

[Cody Bratton]

The inserts finally came today and look like they’re going to fit very nicely! New casters are due in tomorrow! I’ll update when it’s all complete, hopefully tomorrow!

 

[Cody Bratton]

Finally got the new casters last night and I had been enjoying myself with some cocktails so I figured I’d wait until today to take this task on.

The old wheels popped out relatively easy. The old inserts were absolutely in love with the frame. So I ended up drilling out the plastic thru the holes that were in the bottom (I assume to allow water out). I will be spraying some Automotive grade cavity wax/rustproofing into the legs tomorrow from where the bit nicked the inner frame. You can also see I got a little over zealous with trying to use the drill bit like a rotozip and snapped one.

The new inserts fit right in, but not real snug. They slid in and out quite easy. So I took a hammer and a hard plastic tipped tool and tapped the square tube in to pinch them in more firmly.

Wheels popped right in and it rolls AMAZING!! They’re not the most stylish but I think they’re a definite upgrade. I also took some time and did a scrape down and quick cleaning of the fire box, flavor bars, heat deflectors and grates since I’ve got probably 50+ cooks on this since bringing it back to life last fall.

Cheers!

 

[Cody Bratton]

Update: I was rolling this into the garage tonight and I have a fairly sizable lip between my garage floor and concrete approach. One of the inserts slipped right out with the caster still attached. Then another one.

But by some act of The Matrix reactions I was able to keep it from toppling onto the new (to me) grey doors and lid! I did some further hammering of the legs to pinch the caster inserts in tighter. Side note, the edges of the stainless tables are SHARP! I have no idea how I’m not bleeding right now, but I will surely have a sore back in the morning! Still don’t know how I kept it off the ground.

Long story short, these inserts work, but some sort of not-super aggressive aggressive would be wise!

Updated pic with the new colors.

 

[LMichaels]

Update: I was rolling this into the garage tonight and I have a fairly sizable lip between my garage floor and concrete approach. One of the inserts slipped right out with the caster still attached. Then another one.

But by some act of The Matrix reactions I was able to keep it from toppling onto the new (to me) grey doors and lid! I did some further hammering of the legs to pinch the caster inserts in tighter. Side note, the edges of the stainless tables are SHARP! I have no idea how I’m not bleeding right now, but I will surely have a sore back in the morning! Still don’t know how I kept it off the ground.

Long story short, these inserts work, but some sort of not-super aggressive aggressive would be wise!

Updated pic with the new colors.

Have a look on Amazon for press in casters that have "real" wheels on them. You might be surprised what you find

 

[Cody Bratton]

Have a look on Amazon for press in casters that have "real" wheels on them. You might be surprised what you find

My biggest difficulty was finding the insert for 1 1/4” tube. I’m very happy with the actual wheel itself.