Is this a Genesis 3000? Looking to convert from NG to propane


 
C

Charlie Garcia

New member
Hello all. Been trolling around for awhile on this site. SO much helpful information! Hoping I'm posting in the right thread for this question. Here goes.

I'm a first-time Weber owner. Recently, I picked up what I believe to be a 1990s Genesis NatGas grill from a local person moving out of their home. From the serial number, posts I've read, pics online, it could be a 3000, but I'm not sure. It also has a right-side cooktop. I took pics and am including one of the serial number, which is KN3 1189.' Apologies, as I took the pics AFTER I took much of the grill apart.

The previous owner had clearly left it uncovered for some time and their housepainter even spilled some white paint on it. Sigh. But I was told it worked great with natgas and the burners were still functional -- they included a box of new burner tubes as well. All of the original wooden exterior parts will need replacing. Of course I'm planning to repaint the black metal parts as well. The red top looks pretty good.

Here's the thing though on the conversion: I already tried to buy a set of orifices and got a completely wrong size and now I'm reading that a proper conversion would include the manifold as well, so I'd rather not make another error. I figure the experts here can point me in the right direction. I haven't yet found a manifold online on e-bay or elsewhere that looks like mine, mostly because mine has an additional hose that supplies the side cooktop.

Any ideas for next steps in the conversion? Size the orifices and just replace those? Buy a matching manifold? Thanks much in advance!

Charlie
 

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it will be best to replace the manifold, or swap valves from an LPG version Genesis x000.

I think that is a 1993 Genesis 3000. any Genesis three burner LP manifold from the late 80s through 1999 will work.
 
Charlie, that grill is a mess. It is missing a ton of parts, unless you have them and didn't include them in your pics. Your best bet is to find a similar propane grill to use the parts to complete that one. You need a propane manifold, the tank panel and scale to convert it. On a positive note, that NG manifold is valuable as they are no longer available to buy new. You can sell it for at least $50 to offset your expenses. Changing the orifices on these grills has proven to be a losing proposition so don't go down that rabbit hole. All Genesis 1000-5000 manifolds can be used with or without a side burner, there is just a plug in them that needs to be removed for it. Good luck, and don't hesitate to ask any questions.
 
Charlie, first off, I TRULY hope you did not pay for that grill or put any $$$ into it. The nicest thing you can do for it is take it out behind the barn, shoot it and give it a decent burial.
Weber has made (and still does I believe) it about impossible for a laymen to convert their grills fuel type. It is especially hard (well impossible) to do it from NG to LP.
Perhaps you can salvage the lid off that one. but the rest is awfully toasty. Best to find a "good one".
You listed your area rather vaguely but perhaps there may be an active member nearby that could help you out somehow.
 
LMichaels said:
Charlie, first off, I TRULY hope you did not pay for that grill or put any $$$ into it. The nicest thing you can do for it is take it out behind the barn, shoot it and give it a decent burial.
Weber has made (and still does I believe) it about impossible for a laymen to convert their grills fuel type. It is especially hard (well impossible) to do it from NG to LP.
Perhaps you can salvage the lid off that one. but the rest is awfully toasty. Best to find a "good one".
You listed your area rather vaguely but perhaps there may be an active member nearby that could help you out somehow.
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I dont know Larry, it can probably clean up but it needs a complete overhaul. It just looks extremely dirty and for some reason whoever spilled paint on it tried to clean it with a paint soaked rag.

If the frame isnt rusted thru and the control panels arent faded, the rest can be brought back to life.
 
DannyG said:
I dont know Larry, it can probably clean up but it needs a complete overhaul. It just looks extremely dirty and for some reason whoever spilled paint on it tried to clean it with a paint soaked rag.

If the frame isnt rusted thru and the control panels arent faded, the rest can be brought back to life.
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I guess it depends on his personal stomach for what looks really awful to me. Reminds me of the Commercial KitchenAid mixer on my counter currently. Thankfully my wife never saw it before I refurbished it. Honestly it was so bad I didn't even want to dirty my screwdrivers on it let alone eat food from it :D And to think I got the machine from a commercial kitchen. Didn't the health dept ever look at stuff?
But then all that filth enabled me to put a machine in our kitchen there is no way I could otherwise. Or I could have flipped it for a HUGE profit. But, I now have a "trophy" :D
 
LMichaels said:
Charlie, first off, I TRULY hope you did not pay for that grill or put any $$$ into it. The nicest thing you can do for it is take it out behind the barn, shoot it and give it a decent burial.
Weber has made (and still does I believe) it about impossible for a laymen to convert their grills fuel type. It is especially hard (well impossible) to do it from NG to LP.
Click to expand...
He should be able to use the correct LP manifold containing the correct orifices and regulator.
 
Larry, it’s a mess and will need some dedication to the project but, shooting it seems a bit harsh.
It’s not that much worse (aside from the manifold issue) than my first one was.
Charlie,
A good scrub up and sorting out what is good is the best place to start.
Make a list of what looks like it needs, manifold, paint, deep cleaning, you will probably need a tank scale or at least a bracket. Do you have the various side tables? Send some pictures of the inside and the firebox itself as long as the lid isn’t damaged by some sort of impact it should clean up nicely.
You are biting a pretty big piece to chew but, if you really want to do it, it can be done. There will be days when you will be covered in scuzz and say”What was I thinking when I started this!!?” But, it can be restored. It may take a while but if the frame isn’t all shot to pieces and the firebox is still good, it’s doable!
I’m in the middle of a rebuilding project that has been all summer and I’m not sure if the light at the end of the tunnel isn’t an oncoming train just about to kill me yet. But, I’m not giving up, all these folks here have been incredibly generous with their time and sharing expertise, access to parts and simple kindness to some dope in Kalamazoo that doesn’t know when to quit. You guys all know who you are and again I say thank you!
 
We have all seen worse candidates brought back to a glorious second life! I agree with seeking an LP parts grill. Ideally if you can find a another with durawood tables, it will certainly speed up the process of resurrection by not having to mess with wood! Unless woodworking is your strength like some others in here. That being said, the next one you find may end up being even better, and you have some options of which pieces to use. Having new OEM burners to start with is a HUGE plus! Everything porcelain looks like it will clean up nice! The control panel may have a little fade but it doesn't look all that bad to me!

Also, today is the day to buy some replacement parts on Amazon, as a lot of the stuff used is on sale. There is a thread in here with links to some of the stuff you will need/want.
Bruce

Thread 'Amazon Prime Big Deal Days'

I invite everyone to post up links to any Weber grill parts and accessories that show up.
This year, the Prime Big Deal Days will be on Oct. 8 and 9.
  • Like
 
Thank you all, very much! Yes, it is quite an ugly duckling and I probably shouldn't have taken it off their hands, had I known that it involved much more than a cleanup. Very grateful for all the advice. The included grates and burner tubes are dirty but seem workable, along with all of the flavorizer bars (think that's what they're called). The cooktop is in good shape.

I'm in northern NJ. Guessing online resellers are probably the best bet? Now that I know it's a 90s Genesis 3000, it will hopefully be easier to find the proper manifold. I had already bought a new propane hose and connector for a tank. As far as the wood, for now, I just want to see that I can get this grill to fire up. After that, I'll work on seeing how difficult it might be to cut my own pieces to rebuild the wooden parts, including the handle.

Thanks again, all. I'll let you know how it goes.
 
LMichaels said:
I guess we all have our own levels of "tolerance". This one is "above" mine.
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I hear ya. As a guitarist who does most of his own work on the instruments, I know it's not too difficult to find good-condition used ones out there that require minimal work to make them perfect -- because I have experience. When you've done it enough times, you know when something isn't worth the effort. Next time, I wouldn't take a freebie grill in this shape, and if it doesn't fire up right or is too difficult to make workable I'll chalk it up to experience and sell what's salvageable and chuck the rest.
 
Well, instrument repair is a language I understand, and there is a whole set of tooling and knowledge which are different group from the grill restoration hobby.
When I finish this one I’m not starting another thing of this magnitude ever!
I’ve always tried to do the hard part of a project first then the rest, at least feels easier, this thing I’ve undertaken has been constant and unrelenting!
Have fun with it!
 
Timothy F. Lewis said:
Well, instrument repair is a language I understand, and there is a whole set of tooling and knowledge which are different group from the grill restoration hobby.
When I finish this one I’m not starting another thing of this magnitude ever!
I’ve always tried to do the hard part of a project first then the rest, at least feels easier, this thing I’ve undertaken has been constant and unrelenting!
Have fun with it!
Click to expand...
Agreed, wise strategy!
 
Charlie Garcia said:
Thank you all, very much! Yes, it is quite an ugly duckling and I probably shouldn't have taken it off their hands, had I known that it involved much more than a cleanup. Very grateful for all the advice. The included grates and burner tubes are dirty but seem workable, along with all of the flavorizer bars (think that's what they're called). The cooktop is in good shape.

I'm in northern NJ. Guessing online resellers are probably the best bet? Now that I know it's a 90s Genesis 3000, it will hopefully be easier to find the proper manifold. I had already bought a new propane hose and connector for a tank. As far as the wood, for now, I just want to see that I can get this grill to fire up. After that, I'll work on seeing how difficult it might be to cut my own pieces to rebuild the wooden parts, including the handle.

Thanks again, all. I'll let you know how it goes.
Click to expand...

Charlie, just look on offerup or marketplace for a similar grill thats propane. You should be able to find one for free but dont pay more then 40 bucks for it, my opinion.

You can go crazy woth the wood (see Joshs grills) but I use cedar from Home Depot. It comes in 8 foot lengths and its basically the same width and thickness of the original slats. All you need to do is cut it to length, sand and stain. For that grill, if you got the swing up and the bottom slats you will need 30 ...

Also, tell your wife she cant park in the garage anymore because you are gonna need the space for the next 5 grills you pick up.
 
DannyG said:
Charlie, just look on offerup or marketplace for a similar grill thats propane. You should be able to find one for free but dont pay more then 40 bucks for it, my opinion.

You can go crazy woth the wood (see Joshs grills) but I use cedar from Home Depot. It comes in 8 foot lengths and its basically the same width and thickness of the original slats. All you need to do is cut it to length, sand and stain. For that grill, if you got the swing up and the bottom slats you will need 30 ...

Also, tell your wife she cant park in the garage anymore because you are gonna need the space for the next 5 grills you pick up.
Click to expand...
Lol! Right?! Thanks much. This is very helpful info, appreciate it.
 
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