How long does this Summit 420 have left (firebox rust)


 
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NigelG

TVWBB Member
Realistically, how much longer can this grill be used before the rusted firebox makes it inoperable? The rust on the edges is very light surface. The holes behind the dials all have some rust but seem ok except one where it is getting really thin. Everything is working, but it needs a good cleaning and frame/end cap painting now and flavor bar holding brackets, drip pan and wheels eventually. If I can get a few years out of it I don't mind the effort. If it's around a year or less I would probably try and get rid of it.

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I think a year is about what you can safely hope for. One person here used sone kind of aluminum shielding - something thicker than just aluminum foil - to make heat shielding. She reported that it was holding up for at least a while. Might be better than doing nothing. Having stainless panels with pre-cut holes like I did for my 1st generation Summit would be the longer term fix.

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Hard to say how many years it will go before all the holes open up enough as to be unsafe to use, but probably not many. I don't think I would be too anxious to spend a whole lot of time or money on it at this point.
 
Definitely not a matter of "years" more like months. I first noticed that on mine and it went from that to swiss cheese in nothing flat
 
LMichaels said:
Definitely not a matter of "years" more like months. I first noticed that on mine and it went from that to swiss cheese in nothing flat
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Dang, thats disappointing. I paid $125 and drug this heavy monster home thinking Webers last forever with just a few replacement parts :(
 
Steve Hoch said:
Hard to say how many years it will go before all the holes open up enough as to be unsafe to use, but probably not many. I don't think I would be too anxious to spend a whole lot of time or money on it at this point.
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Maybe I'll just clean off the frame rust and use clear rustoleum on those spots. Then clean it up and use it until I am scared of it lol.
Jon Tofte said:
I think a year is about what you can safely hope for. One person here used sone kind of aluminum shielding - something thicker than just aluminum foil - to make heat shielding. She reported that it was holding up for at least a while. Might be better than doing nothing. Having stainless panels with pre-cut holes like I did for my 1st generation Summit would be the longer term fix.

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Thats awesome! How did you make those and how are they attached?
 
LMichaels said:
Yeah sorry to disappoint. Just be glad you didn't pay $1500 for it
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Seriously! Kind of sours me on Weber though I have a Smokey Joe and gas go anywhere that have been great. My last large grill was a fully SS charmglow. I had that thing around 12 years, never covered it and it didn't have any rust.
 
NigelG said:
Seriously! Kind of sours me on Weber though I have a Smokey Joe and gas go anywhere that have been great. My last large grill was a fully SS charmglow. I had that thing around 12 years, never covered it and it didn't have any rust.
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I was fortunate to find a small shop that does stuff like that and who had leftover stock. They gave me a good price. Basically, they used the original firebox piece and my rough idea to laser cut the holes. I had them make the pieces just large enough to cover two burners at a time. I used red food grade high heat RTV to stick the pieces on. My grill has brackets that hold the flavorizer bars that go right across that, so that further helps hold the pieces from breaking free. I have only been using my Summit for six months, so the jury is still out on whether the pieces will stay applied. I didn't want to drill holes and use bolts, because that would introduce even more places for rust to start. The stainless they used is very thick grade, so as long as the pieces stay in place, I figure I have many years of use now.

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Jon Tofte said:
I was fortunate to find a small shop that does stuff like that and who had leftover stock. They gave me a good price. Basically, they used the original firebox piece and my rough idea to laser cut the holes. I had them make the pieces just large enough to cover two burners at a time. I used red food grade high heat RTV to stick the pieces on. My grill has brackets that hold the flavorizer bars that go right across that, so that further helps hold the pieces from breaking free. I have only been using my Summit for six months, so the jury is still out on whether the pieces will stay applied. I didn't want to drill holes and use bolts, because that would introduce even more places for rust to start. The stainless they used is very thick grade, so as long as the pieces stay in place, I figure I have many years of use now.

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Thats pretty cool. It's a shame you had to do that though.
 
NigelG said:
Seriously! Kind of sours me on Weber though I have a Smokey Joe and gas go anywhere that have been great. My last large grill was a fully SS charmglow. I had that thing around 12 years, never covered it and it didn't have any rust.
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The grill you see in Jon Tofte's photos is what he was able to accomplish with my old grill. It turned out great
 
So good news, Weber warrantied the firebox and sent me a new one! I took it apart completely yesterday and the frame does not have any fully rusted through spots so I am going to try and restore it. I'll post some pictures in a new thread. Thanks everyone for your help!
 
That at least says something positive about Weber. They could greatly reduce these warranty replacements if they would make the firebox properly in the first place. Porcelain coated steel just does not work in that environment.
 
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Jon Tofte said:
That at least says something positive about Weber. They could greatly reduce these warranty replacements if they would make the firebox propertly in the first place. Porcelain coated steel just does not work in that environment.
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Completely agree, but at least they are standing behind the part. I figure if I can get 5 years out of it it's worth the effort to fix it up
 
Hopefully the next generation Summit due out late this year will have a solution to that problem.
 
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