Genesis E-310 2007 Help

[Scott-ManThings]

Picked up a couple Genesis 300 models. The green one was an instant flip...got it for $200, barely did anything to it and sold it for $400 the next day. It was upgraded with stainless steel grates and heavy duty bars. All it needed was a surface cleaning.

The black one, however, needs a little more work. Got it from an older gal for $50 and I don’t think she ever touched the thing with a brush. I still think I can get it back to new. The cart is in good shape, very tiny amounts of rust and the lid is immaculate. My questions are about the cast iron grates, gray firebox, and burners.

The cast iron grates are caked in grease/rust and I’m wondering if I should even attempt to do anything with them. Is there a product that someone uses that can renew these things without 10 hours of work? I saw a promo for a “rust bath” product that you let them bathe in and it’s supposed to do wonders..but I can’t tell if these are super pitted with rust or if the grease is so thick that it’s causing high and low points.

Next is he fire box. Is there a gray paint out there that matches the finish on the fire box? I usually use vht paint from advance auto. IÂ’ve had good luck with it. Anyone else? Anything else youÂ’d recommend?

Lastly the burners...burner holes look to be pretty clear and they fired up when I lit them. The crossover tube, however, was so bad that it broke in half when I pushed on it. It’s rusted to the other burners. I hit them up with some PB buster tonight and we will see if it’s unstuck in the morning. If I can get them apart, do you think it’s ok to use these burners again? Also, is it ok to power wash the burners and get water in them? I’ve always been afraid to do it but maybe that’s just me being over protective.

Pretty long post but I’m sure you guys will be of great assistance. Let me know what you think. Thanks!

 

[Jon Tofte]

Scott,

Great finds, and good job on the quick turnaround! I have GOT to learn how to do that. If I could, my wife would probably be much more supportive of my grill hoarding ways!

I don't see why you can't clean the burners as you suggest, but I would propose wire cleaning and maybe brake cleaner fluid wash for the inside. You may be able to find a new replacement for just the crossover piece. It might cost more than you are hoping, so at least do some comparison shopping vs. a whole new set. New burners can be a good selling point.

There is no high heat gray that I know of that matches (except I guess in Weber's secret vault). I have used VHT Ford Gray. It is close but more of a blue vs brown shade of gray. I think what matters is following through with doing all the gray parts. If you do that, most people would never notice anything other than parts all look new. Here is a similar grill to yours (other than the stainless hood and doors) that I did with that color paint:

I wish the pictures showed more of the firebox and sides, but you can see the color at least a little. If you should find something better, I am very interested. I believe there is a dark gray available that some have mentioned, and others feel that switching to black is a better idea. I guess it depends on what you like. At least with a black hood, the black trim would all match.

p.s This is my favorite of the newer style Genesis since it still has the E-W layout and the old-style Weber crossover ignition (even if prone to rust). I have one I got for free that is in way worse shape than yours, at least the bottom part. I don't know if I will be able to part with it, but I certainly need to!

 

[DaveW]

Answers in no particular order. Perfectly fine to power wash the burner tubes, just make sure there's plenty of ventilation to dry them. That said, would be better if you could blow them out with compressed air. As to reusing them, as long as they are solid, that's fine. You should be able to order a cross over tube. It's PN# 81335. https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00NI7FLFQ/tvwb-20

WRT paint for the firebox, I couldn't find a matching color the last time I did one of these. Instead, I did a color change on all the cast aluminum parts (including lower cookbox) and went with Black High Heat Ultra Rustoleum. It looked pretty good.

Lastly, those grates look like they are flaking huge bits of rust, so I'd say that they are toast. I supposed you could use a rust remover like Evapo-Rust on them, then re-season, but they'd look like hell in my opinion.

 

[LMichaels]

Only thing you can do on those grates might be to have them sand blasted and QUICKLY reseason them as CI blasted like that will rust faster than you can say "oh s^&t"! Or you can use an angle grinder and wire brush. I have salvaged a flip Q200 grate like that. As for the burners. A good wire brushing, maybe a tiny screwdriver in any holes that don't come open. A good investment is an air compressor. Watch the coupons for HF they have a small one you can typically find for $39. They also have another one for just under $100 that may be a better buy. Or watch stores for close outs and such. Even a small one is invaluable for this type of work. After a good brushing flush out the tube with some spray brake cleaner and blow dry. Don't worry it dries clean no residue. Honestly I would repaint all the aluminum black. I like that look better anyway

 

[Scott-ManThings]

Scott,

Great finds, and good job on the quick turnaround! I have GOT to learn how to do that. If I could, my wife would probably be much more supportive of my grill hoarding ways!

I don't see why you can't clean the burners as you suggest, but I would propose wire cleaning and maybe brake cleaner fluid wash for the inside. You may be able to find a new replacement for just the crossover piece. It might cost more than you are hoping, so at least do some comparison shopping vs. a whole new set. New burners can be a good selling point.

There is no high heat gray that I know of that matches (except I guess in Weber's secret vault). I have used VHT Ford Gray. It is close but more of a blue vs brown shade of gray. I think what matters is following through with doing all the gray parts. If you do that, most people would never notice anything other than parts all look new. Here is a similar grill to yours (other than the stainless hood and doors) that I did with that color paint:

I wish the pictures showed more of the firebox and sides, but you can see the color at least a little. If you should find something better, I am very interested. I believe there is a dark gray available that some have mentioned, and others feel that switching to black is a better idea. I guess it depends on what you like. At least with a black hood, the black trim would all match.

p.s This is my favorite of the newer style Genesis since it still has the E-W layout and the old-style Weber crossover ignition (even if prone to rust). I have one I got for free that is in way worse shape than yours, at least the bottom part. I don't know if I will be able to part with it, but I certainly need to!

Thanks, Jon! Very helpful tips. That Stainless is a beauty! I had already contemplated doing a black overhaul on everything. Maybe I will just go with that. My original idea was to use Dupli-Color Engine Primer (the gray matches really closely) and then do a clear coat of VHT. That seems like a lot of work to get the gray matched, though.

 

[Scott-ManThings]

Answers in no particular order. Perfectly fine to power wash the burner tubes, just make sure there's plenty of ventilation to dry them. That said, would be better if you could blow them out with compressed air. As to reusing them, as long as they are solid, that's fine. You should be able to order a cross over tube. It's PN# 81335. https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00NI7FLFQ/tvwb-20


WRT paint for the firebox, I couldn't find a matching color the last time I did one of these. Instead, I did a color change on all the cast aluminum parts (including lower cookbox) and went with Black High Heat Ultra Rustoleum. It looked pretty good.

Lastly, those grates look like they are flaking huge bits of rust, so I'd say that they are toast. I supposed you could use a rust remover like Evapo-Rust on them, then re-season, but they'd look like hell in my opinion.

Hey Dave, thanks for the info. I actually already picked up the crossover tube for $8.99 so that wasn't too bad. As for the grates, I thought the same thing. Probably just bite the bullet and get some stainless replacements.

 

[Scott-ManThings]

Only thing you can do on those grates might be to have them sand blasted and QUICKLY reseason them as CI blasted like that will rust faster than you can say "oh s^&t"! Or you can use an angle grinder and wire brush. I have salvaged a flip Q200 grate like that. As for the burners. A good wire brushing, maybe a tiny screwdriver in any holes that don't come open. A good investment is an air compressor. Watch the coupons for HF they have a small one you can typically find for $39. They also have another one for just under $100 that may be a better buy. Or watch stores for close outs and such. Even a small one is invaluable for this type of work. After a good brushing flush out the tube with some spray brake cleaner and blow dry. Don't worry it dries clean no residue. Honestly I would repaint all the aluminum black. I like that look better anyway

LMichaels, thanks for the reply. I probably won't go through the trouble to sand blast them. I have an air compressor and I will make sure to get them nice and cleaned out...

As far as the brake cleaner spray, I don't really like to put anything in my grill that has a potential to transform into something else and be relatively dangerous. I've seen a lot of posts about all the items that are being used to "clean" the grill and sometimes it makes me a little nervous. I dabbled in a little bit of Chemical Engineering in my day and certain products that are widely used for one application can be completely transformed when they are heated high enough and long enough. Tetrachloroethylene is the main ingredient in most brake cleaners...and it isn't too bad...but if it gets heated to about 600 degrees F, it produces a byproduct called phosgene. Phosgene is what they used in WWI as a chemical weapon. Now don't get me wrong...I'm sure you're not spraying 30 cans of brake cleaner in your grill, but I just like to error on the side of caution I guess.

I don't want to sound like a "do-better" or know it all but that's just my personal preference.

 

[LMichaels]

Once it dries it's gone. I am fully aware of the chemical transformation. The nice thing is it evaporates and it's completely gone. Plus I do recommend completely blowing the stuff out NOT heating it up. I would never recommend someone lighting up a burner with that stuff in it. So while I understand your concern you can go crazy worrying about little things not even realizing you do FAR worse things. Spray away BUT be sure to dry them first. Water "can" work but it's nearly impossible to get out, does not clean anything well either. You can even use denatured alcohol (basically vodka with a little methanol) and it would too work well also evaporating cleanly with no residue. I simply use brake cleaner because it works well, I keep it on hand (due to having been a mechanic at one time and still doing my own work) and it's cheap plus I don't have to go to the store and buy something else.
But honestly you worry way too much if you're worried about that