My 1st Craigslist Find Summit Silver For Free


 
N

Nick Charles

New member
Yesterday I found this on Craigslist for free.
How much did this cost originally?
It needs Flavorizer bars and a crossover pipe? and it seems that rcplanebuyer doesn't make any bars for the summit?
I am trying to register it at weber but they want info like purchase date which I have no idea ( serial number is DT 0252xxx) store purchased (I put received as a gift)
What should I be doing to it to restore it?
Thanks


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Woohoo! Congrats on the find. There have been quite a few grills on Craigslist for free the last few days. I think Dads are getting new grills and getting rid of their old ones.

I've never seen a Summit like that before, you have a very unique grill. Have you tried contacting rcplanebuyer? I believe he'll make custom bars/grates. Please come back with some restoration pics and comments on your project.
 
Looks pretty good it'll clean up nice and once you put the new innards in, it will be as good as new. Congrats
 
Nice find. DT indicates that it was made in the 2003 model year, but that means it could have been purchased as new in either late 2003 or the first half of 2004. If a store had old stock sitting around, it might have been purchased even later.

Now, a bit of bad news for you. That generation of Summit grill can be expensive to restore. The flavorizer bars are a different style because they have to cover the cross over tubes which are in the middle of the burners instead of at the end. I restored a Summit Gold D and couldn't find anyone selling replacement flavorizers for a decent price. Long story short, they list for about $170+ depending on where you can find them.


Best advice I could give at this point would be for you to do a real thorough cleanup on the grill and a very careful examination before you buy any parts. What you want to see is the overall condition, determine how long you think the grill will last and figure out what parts need to be replaced. Pay particular attention to the front portion of the grill box where the burners come through and also where the front of the grates rest. While the grill box is made up of four pieces (left and right end caps of cast aluminum, front and back panels are enameled steel), it's only sold as a single unit. Additionally, check the frame very carefully for rust. Some surface rust is ok as it can be sanded down and painted. Heavy rust can be more problematic.

Then, look at the costs and see if it makes sense to restore. A modern version of that grill would be the Summit S-420 and would set you back about $1500 bucks brand new.
 
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Nick Charles said:
I believe that my flavorizer bars are 9896 for a Model 42090 and on ebay I see them advertised in this auction:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Stainless-Steel-Weber-Summit-Flavorizer-Bars-9896-/161735260950?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item25a82c3b16
Seller: summitviewpartsllc
But it also says this: ***This set only includes the 9 bars that mount front to back. The center support bar is not included.***
So will these work?

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Yes and no. Take a look at the pic you posted of the grill box with the flavorizer bars removed. Notice the smooth ledge at the front and back that the flavorizers rest on ? There aren't any ridges or nubs there to keep the bars aligned. You can see these in the firebox of a Weber Genesis.

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See how the bars fit inbetween and are held in place ?


Additionally, that cross "support" piece covers up the cross over tubes. If left uncovered, it will definitely give you hotspots directly above.

Now, if you can live with both of these issues, or figure out a way around them, then yes, those bars will work.
 
Weber does make replacement parts for these (expensive........REALLY expensive), RCPlanebuyer last I looked and saw listings for makes the FB's too. The burners are relatively cheap and no its not a very rare grill. I see them like this one listed all the time. My brother and sister in law have the exact grill. I just did a resto on it for them last summer and conversion to NG. I will tell you it is a very hot grill when cranked. Does a great job of searing steaks but when you see it along side it's predecessor (Summit 450) you can see how much Weber cheaped out on it. I'd do some parts pricing and do a SERIOUS inspection of the fire box. The brackets that hold the FBars rot away. You may find yourself so deep into it financially it won't be worth it. So before investing tons of work find out all this and price the parts. IMO if you find yourself needing to drop over $300 on it I don't think it's worth it. There are better options
 
For anyone looking for Flavorizer bars for the Summit in the future

RCplanebuyer from Ebay got back to me and said:


Hello,
Thank you for asking. I don't offer the flavor bars for this grill as completed parts. I do make a kit that you can assemble though. The kit has the 9 main angles and two 14" joiner bars. You will have to be able to weld or know someone that can to put them together. To assemble them you will place the main bars in place on the grill. Then locate the joiner bars where they belong and clamp them in place. The last thing they need is a small tack weld at each main bar to connect them. This holds the joiner bar in position and the main bars in place.
The main bars are notched to accept the joiner bars so the joiner fits as the OEM part does. Without the joiner bar the cross over ignition tube on the grill is exposed.
If I have to do the welding the price is close to the street price for a Weber part and they get very large and difficult to ship. So I don't do it.
The price for your set is $80.00 plus $12.00 shipping.
Let me know how I can help you.
RC
 
That inside shot looks really familiar DaveW...

Looks like the inside of my restored Silver C...

DaveW said:
Yes and no. Take a look at the pic you posted of the grill box with the flavorizer bars removed. Notice the smooth ledge at the front and back that the flavorizers rest on ? There aren't any ridges or nubs there to keep the bars aligned. You can see these in the firebox of a Weber Genesis.

20140613_212020.jpg


See how the bars fit inbetween and are held in place ?


Additionally, that cross "support" piece covers up the cross over tubes. If left uncovered, it will definitely give you hotspots directly above.

Now, if you can live with both of these issues, or figure out a way around them, then yes, those bars will work.
Click to expand...
 
Op I found the same grill a couple weeks ago. Kudos to you for the score. If you know someone who can weld. DIY your own parts. Btw lmichales or davew, do you guys know if the lid on this grill had a black porcelain coating? I may have gone down to bare aluminum on mine. Oops
 
Ryan C said:
Op I found the same grill a couple weeks ago. Kudos to you for the score. If you know someone who can weld. DIY your own parts. Btw lmichales or davew, do you guys know if the lid on this grill had a black porcelain coating? I may have gone down to bare aluminum on mine. Oops
Click to expand...


Pretty sure that this gen of Summit (Silver/Gold) only came with SS lid, but I could easily be wrong about that.
 
DaveW said:
Pretty sure that this gen of Summit (Silver/Gold) only came with SS lid, but I could easily be wrong about that.
Click to expand...

The next series of Summits, the revised 400/600s introduced in 2007 and still current have 'E' versions with the black porcelain lids and cupboards doors.

If you actually managed to strip the enamel back to the metal below of a lid, (which should be steel, not Al as I understand it), that's a big effort!

Are you sure you you are not talking about the painted Al sides of the lids?
 
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I'm speaking of the sheeting that's inside the lid not the outside. My outside is stainless for sure. I didn't go to town on that.
 
Kind of confused now exactly what is being talked about. Each end cap is cast aluminum and painted black which has been baked on. The hood itself (between the caps) is stainless steel. The inside of the hood is lined with another piece of metal that often discolors / corrodes / deteriorates, much the same way stainless steel flavorizer bars do.
 
Davew, yes I am referring to the lined part. That really is disappointing to hear that the lines piece discolors. But things can be done to remedy it. My dad thinks it is hot rolled aluminum.
 
OK, the hood liner appears to be some sort of steel (a magnet sticks to it quite well).
A magnet will not stick to the Al end caps, nor the SS outer hood.
 
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