How to best fix floor on a >2007 Genesis

[Jon Tofte]

Stefan,

I do agree the quality slipped and the durability definitely declined. The biggest problem of course is the painted steel cabinetry and frame. Some of the other issues are due to making things more complicated. More parts for the control panel, electric starter with separate igniter for each burner...Then there are the very common problems with the hood pins seizing that you experienced. I think that may be because they were trying for tighter tolerances or maybe the heavy hood is a factor. Since a lot of people evaluate a new grill by how heavy the hood is and how tightly it swings, this may have been a calculated response on the part of Weber.

The classic Genesis with its simple igniter, smaller and not so heavy hood and lack of stainless “bling” seems out of date to some people who only look at the surface. The enduring simple and solid construction and classic charm of the original Genesis grills - particularly of those with real wood - still win out to me. Having said that, I used a SE 330 for five years and appreciated its capabilities. These are still way better grills than the big box store chinajunk specials that are destined for the landfill after a couple years use.

 

[Stefan H]

Can you post the price from Weber when you get it? This seems to be a common issue

Ok. Just came off the phone with Weber. The floor pan is about $77 with shipping . So only a little cheaper than ereplacementparts. Not sure yet if I want to spend that much money or build a wooden slab floor which will NOT rust again going forward. I don't know if a "homemade" floor is better to sell than an original floor. But almost eats into my margin.... ;-)

 

[Bruce]

I am thinking of wooden floors going to be a tough sell. Not that it won't be as good or better than another steel floor. But it just won't look right to some buyers

 

[Brian B Atlanta]

I totally agree with Bruce they are looking for the modern look and that will not give them that. Its a pity cause Jon had the solution from his guy that made the stainless one bottom piece, maybe Jon can share what he paid for that can only guess it was more than $77.00 but maybe that guy could sell a bunch of those on ebay or whatever. Might not be worth his while though as you have said Stefan most people when it falls apart will just kick them to the curb.

The other thing is how many people would even bother to think about fixing that piece if a solution was available, us maybe but I could tell you my neighbor would not have a clue even if that part was available in stainless.

 

[Kevin Coulombe]

I would suggest something along the lines of tieng the frame together with aluminum angle iron and then laying some sort of aluminum slats for a floor. I agree with Bruce, the wood is going to look strange with the rest of it.

 

[Jon Tofte]

I will try talking to my friend again, but so far I can’t even get him to bend the last few pieces he had laser cut months ago. Our exchanges have been trading of tax work for parts and sometimes he feels guilty about dragging his feet. I honestly have no idea what a realistic selling price might be. He never bills me. I suspect it may be more than some would want to pay, at least if all you are looking to do is flip the grill. I am sure that 304 sheet stainless isn’t cheap and then it has to be laser cut and finally the folds bent. It all adds up. I have tried to convince him to market this as a product, but he is sell/retirement minded and never seems interested.

One thing for sure is that this is the class way to fix these grills and actually substantially improve them. Alleviating the primary source of rust definitely raises the quality and life expectancy of the Genesis 300 series grills.

 

[Stefan H]

I know a wood floor would look weird. But building something out of aluminum slats may bring me in the same price range. I need to spend sometime thinking about it while I fix the other parts. Lol.

 

[Stefan H]

One thing for sure is that this is the class way to fix these grills and actually substantially improve them. Alleviating the primary source of rust definitely raises the quality and life expectancy of the Genesis 300 series grills.

I agree with you Jon. But the question is, do potential buyers realize that and are they willing to pay for that? Yes it is a “Weber” but it is also a commodity. But I am probably overthinking it. lol

 

[Greg M]

Stefan,

I do agree the quality slipped and the durability definitely declined. The biggest problem of course is the painted steel cabinetry and frame. Some of the other issues are due to making things more complicated. More parts for the control panel, electric starter with separate igniter for each burner...Then there are the very common problems with the hood pins seizing that you experienced. I think that may be because they were trying for tighter tolerances or maybe the heavy hood is a factor. Since a lot of people evaluate a new grill by how heavy the hood is and how tightly it swings, this may have been a calculated response on the part of Weber.

The classic Genesis with its simple igniter, smaller and not so heavy hood and lack of stainless “bling” seems out of date to some people who only look at the surface. The enduring simple and solid construction and classic charm of the original Genesis grills - particularly of those with real wood - still win out to me. Having said that, I used a SE 330 for five years and appreciated its capabilities. These are still way better grills than the big box store chinajunk specials that are destined for the landfill after a couple years use.

That's a really honest and fair assessment of the classic weber gassers vs the newer models. I agree with that. It will be interesting to see how the genesis II models do in terms of durability as they age. I'm betting on somewhere between the two.

 

[Sam Bee]

So is this one even worth rehabbing and selling? I'm waiting on the seller to see if it's still available...

https://seattle.craigslist.org/sno/zip/d/weber-stainless-steel-grill/6610239134.html

 

[Stefan H]

No this one is not worth saving it. On this one it is not just the floor but also the side frames and the backpanel which are toast. This basically means replacing the whole cabinet. not sure what weber charges for the both side frames but at ereplacementparts the left frame is $193:
https://www.ereplacementparts.com/left-frame-p-1476604.html
The right frame = $250
https://www.ereplacementparts.com/right-frame-p-1476624.html
Rear panel = $75
https://www.ereplacementparts.com/rear-panel-with-hardware-p-1476426.html
Floor panel = $90
So just for the cabinet we are talking about $600. Then it might need grates, flavorizer bars and burners....
For all that money you get a brand new Weber Genesis.

This can only be used as donor grill for hood, manifold, side burner and may be some interior parts if they are still good.

 

[Stefan H]

That's a really honest and fair assessment of the classic weber gassers vs the newer models. I agree with that. It will be interesting to see how the genesis II models do in terms of durability as they age. I'm betting on somewhere between the two.

I like to see that too. Since they are now proving 10 year warranty I hope the quality is better. I like the open frame concept, the large wheels... The only thing missing: East - West running burners...

 

[Jon Tofte]

Stefan,

I agree with your assessment. It is sad, because it could still be a nice grill if the cabinet had been made out of high grade stainless.

In assessing these for rehab potential, pretty much the dividing line to me is whether the side frame pieces are shot, usually with leg bottom(s) rusted off. As you noticed, replacing these with new parts is prohibitively expensive.

I have mentioned that I have been blessed to be able to use stainless replacement bottoms and backs that my friend made in his shop. I wish so much he would be interested in doing more of these. Even without that, though, Bruce's recent restores show that you can salvage these parts as long as they are not completely rusted away like the one you asked about. Nothing can bring that back. A little missing metal on the back wouldn't really hurt anything and would probably go unnoticed. The bottom is more important since it helps give stability to the whole grill. It is not an overly complicated piece to reproduce. I hope to see what I can do to get my friend to quote a price on a limited production of bottoms to see what it would really cost.

 

[Kevin Coulombe]

I restored a side using some aluminum angle iron, I cut it to length, used some rivets to attach it to the side and then fastened another piece of angle iron to the first, making a sort of S shape. It worked quite well, but I don’t think mine was quite that bad. I reinforced a leg as well for good measure.

 

[Stefan H]

Well this one is a funny ad too. "slightly damaged...
https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/256426138249579

 

[Jon Tofte]

Well this one is a funny ad too. "slightly damaged...
https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/256426138249579

That one is a joke! $15 might be more in line, and for that I wouldn't be in any hurry!

Here's one I got for free; it will be tough to get it back to optimal:

And here's a few gems typical that I see online:

If you can turn one of these around properly, it is a good feeling. It is easy to see, however, why some just do not like these. That's a little bit a shame, because I think these grills (particularly the E-W first generation ones) DO have merit. Real stainless construction is what was needed and unfortunately Weber chose to stop using good stainless when they abandoned the Genesis and Summit Platinum grills and went to the 300 series Genesis and 600 series Summits in 2006. Had they used 304 stainless frames and cabinetry almost everyone would be extolling how great these are.

 

[Sam Bee]

Yup, I didn't get the grill but am glad because that's something I don't have time to deal with right now and I don't want to deal with it.

 

[Brian B Atlanta]

Sam, it looks like its gone already maybe someone got it for parts no idea what you could have done with that floor. It had to be a parts grill.

 

[Bruce]

Yeah lots of these e310 Grill are nothing more than Parts Grills. I have one in my inventory right now

 

[Stefan H]

That one is a joke! $15 might be more in line, and for that I wouldn't be in any hurry!

Here's one I got for free; it will be tough to get it back to optimal:

And here's a few gems typical that I see online:

If you can turn one of these around properly, it is a good feeling. It is easy to see, however, why some just do not like these. That's a little bit a shame, because I think these grills (particularly the E-W first generation ones) DO have merit. Real stainless construction is what was needed and unfortunately Weber chose to stop using good stainless when they abandoned the Genesis and Summit Platinum grills and went to the 300 series Genesis and 600 series Summits in 2006. Had they used 304 stainless frames and cabinetry almost everyone would be extolling how great these are.

I always liked the copper color. And it is a shame that they rotted out so bad underneath.