I purchased 2 Webers to restore or refurbish. Need advise.


 
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AaronLedet

New member
I purchased 2 Webers to restore or refurbish. Need advice.

This is my first post, so bear with me. After spending $600 on a Broil King 3 years ago and putting it out on the trash recently, I decided I didn't want to spend that much on another throw away grill. I began searching the internet and came across this forum. I had a Weber genesis, purchased new in 2006 or 7, not long after Katrina (I live in New Orleans). That was a beautiful grill that I refreshed several times before finally setting it to the curb. It was only the cart that was, I thought at the time, irreparable. After scouring the restoration pages of the forum, I realized that I needed to restore an older Weber. I began my search, and soon found this grill, which I purchased for $100.00. It was the stainless steel cart that hooked me, but I soon figured I may have made a mistake.

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It checks a lot of boxes,some on the good side, (stainless steel cart, bottom, sides, stainless panel where the burners go through, perfect grates, good flavorizer bars, seems like good burners, lights right up, not much to buy), some on the bad side. (It's a Summit, rust in the fire box, mostly on the back side, front has rust at the edges and the porcelain has started to crack a little, but it is not rusted through)

So, after I realized this grill may not work, I began looking again and within a week I got this Genesis with stainless steel cart:

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This one was $140.00 but needed flavorizer bars and new grates. I thought it was quite heavy when we loaded it on the truck, and when I got home I realized there was a new, full propane tank inside, so that was a good surprise. It doesn't really need a full restoration. As I said, the cart is stainless steel. Believe it or not, the sides and rear are in very good shape and the bottom has some rust, but no holes and is very solid. The plastic shelves, knobs, and burners are in excelent shape. I ordered new flavorizer bars from RCBuyer, and decided to go with Grill Grates, which have already arrived. I am planning on masking and painting the fire box on the frame, sanding, rust proofing, and painting the sides and bottoms, and calling it a day. Do you guys think this is a good plan? Anything I should do differently? As for the Summit, I would really like to use this grill. I don't need to spend much money, but is it worth bothering with with the rust? Is there any way to slow down the rust? If not, any ideas what I can do with the summit cart? Will a Genesis fire box fit on it? Would it be hard top put the Summit side burner on the Genesis if I decide not to restore it? Any help will be appreciated.

Aaron
 
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I am not as familiar with the Summit and am skeptical that it would be a good rehab candidate, but it sounds like you have a Genesis Platinum Stainless steel frame on the other grill. That is ideal for rehabbing.

If you really want to rehab it to the point of repainting the cook box, I highly suggest you remove it from the frame. Once you remove the burners and manifold, there is only one bolt holding it in. Once out, it is a lot easier to clean and paint. There are a lot of threads on this forum dealing with rehabbing Genesis grills and you will find a ton of other tips for fixing that Platinum up.
 
Once there are some pictures, you will get plenty of advice! And welcome to the forum!
Before I finished writing of course Bruce (Who has helped me through a restoration or two) has already chimed in with what will probably be good advice!
 
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Yah, pics would help but it does sound like you have a Genesis Platinum B/C. If you're not able to salvage the cart (although it sounds like you probably can) then making it an open cart is another option and once refurbished that grill should last you a very long time.
 
Again, I'm new to posting on forums and I was having trouble with the pictures. It looks like the pictures are up on my end. It may be a goofy question but are they showing up now?
 
Wow Aaron! TWO Platinum grills - what a way to start out on this board :cool:! Welcome to TVWBB.

If only Weber had made the Platinum Summit with a cast aluminum firebox like the Genesis Platinum or made the Genesis Platinum with all stainless cabinetry like the Platinum Summit!

I think you were fortunate to get a very restorable Genesis, so I think you were right to start with that. Like you, I put my GrillGrates on my much less nice Genesis Platinum. As to the Summit, maybe you should go slow and see if you can ultimately make it workable again over time. I believe Weber still supports parts for these. Maybe they will treat you right and give a good deal on some key replacements.

Both of your grills are among the best Weber has made.
 
Nice Genesis Platinum. This looks much better than the two I got. This is a grill to preserve. You might be able to slow down the rust on the floor panel but eventually it will rust through. I did not even bother to replace my floor panel with another Weber panel and built a slatted custom wood floor.

The Summit is a bit trickier and the parts are more expensive. And the typical firebox issues. I got a similar one a few weeks ago. Came out of storage where it was sitting for years. Including about 1/16" grease built up. So basically rust free under all that grease. I am almost done with the restoration and will put it up for sale once I am back from my overseas trip.
 
Yeah the Summit can be a stinker. Looks like the cabinet floor is shot and likely the fire box as well. The Genesis may be just the ticket though
 
I would probably do the wood slat floor as well, but up here, you cant even find one with reasonably restorable side and back panels. Its all open cart up here.
 
Actually, the Summit has not been cleaned up at all, so it looks much worse than it is. It has the stainless steel floor and side panels., and they are in good shape. I also have all the knobs which are near perfect, and the plastic is all in great shape. I took the front panel (where the knobs go) off to get a better look at the fire box, so in the pictures it looks like it is missing, but I have it and it is in great shape. It lights up and the burners seem to work well. The flavorizer bars are discolored but have no rust and will last a good while. It has the heavy duty stainless grates which are near perfect. I don't think I need to buy anything but the igniter. Cleaned up, I think the condition will be near that of the Summit. But the firebox has the rust, and I just dont know what to do. I have the documentation for the Summit, and I called Weber. They let me register it, but they said the firebox would have to be rusted all the way through for them to warranty it. I asked them if they had the parts, they checked and said they didn't. Just don't know if it is worth putting the effort into if there is nothing I can do about the fire box.
 
I am sorry if I am not being clear on the condition of my grills.

On the Genesis, I was trying to figure out to what extent I should restore it, and should I remove the firebox to repaint it. I have decided I am going to take the fire box off and do a complete restoration on it.

The Summit is my big question. The Firebox has rust spots. I may not be understanding what we mean by "rusted through". There are many spots where it has rusted through the porcelain, but it has not rusted completely through the metal, not even close. The largest rust spot is shown in one of my pictures. To me, it would seem like the firebox is still usable at this point, but I know it is at the point where it is going to continue to deteriorate, and I'm not sure how quickly that will happen. Someone mentioned that these fireboxes can even be dangerous, so that makes me cautious. Other than the firebox issue, the rest of the grill is in excellent condition. I'm just trying to figure out what to do with the grill.
 
If the Summit is something you want to keep and use I would try to snag a new fire box while Weber is still making them available because once they're gone you will be in the boat I am in. A wonderful grill that is useless
 
Yes I am going to contact Weber again this week. If that doesn't work I will probably just make a table out of the cart. What a shame.

Took the Genesis apart today though. I am shocked at the simplicity of this grill. That one is going to be and easy restoration.
 
Called Weber again, the back and front of the firebox are only covered for 10 years and are out of warranty. They don't have any firboxes to send me, even if it was covered. Looks like I will have a nice stainless steel cart to go along with my Genesis.
 
That’s really a shame. Sounds like the generation 2 Summits are going the way of the first generation like Larry has talked about. That leaves just the current generation which in my view is too heavy, too complicated and too prone to rust. I am hoping a Summit II is in the offing and that it will show evidence of Weber learning from past mistakes.
 
Hello Aaron. I am new to this site and am looking for a left hand swing up table assembly for my Summit Platinum D6 (part #87495). If you have a compatible shelf, would you consider selling it to me?
 
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