Neglected ol Summit


 
Nate Frost

Nate Frost

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At the inlaws for the weekend for a little r&r and saw the neglected Summit. They got this at the same place and same time i got my Genesis. Didn't realize the fire box had bolt on front and back panels unlike the Genesis box. These panels are sheet metal and the front panel is roached out. So much so that the grill grates can fall in if your not careful. One of the doors has fallen off too and the big wheels have some serious negative camber. Looks like I might need to fix it up. Anyone know he best place to get one of these front fire box panels?







At least it's deteriorating in a peaceful place. My dogs relaxing and enjoying the view of the Sacramento River and Mt Lassen.


 
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It looks like it may be new enough to be covered under warranty? Its just a phone call to find out.

Nice views of the dogs and the mountain.
 
Nate, the lower firebox is one entire part, not two and it should still be under warranty, especially if your in-laws are the original owners. Not sure what the part number is as I'm not sure which model that is. Looked like the Summit Gold D that I have, then noticed it has one less burner knob than mine. So, it might be a B6 or C6.

It would be great if you could find the serial number then we could see exactly which model it is, as well as what the year of manufacture is. If it's a 2004 or later model, the burners could still be under warranty as well.
 
Unfortunately the sticker that has the serial number is so deteriorated that you can't read the number. They never registered it either. It does look the the number started with a D.
 
Nate Frost said:
Unfortunately the sticker that has the serial number is so deteriorated that you can't read the number. They never registered it either. It does look the the number started with a D.
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Do they still have manual around somewhere ? If you can't find the serial number, that would only really affect the warranty status of the burner tubes at this point. The firebox itself is warrantied for 25 years IIRC, and that grill is much younger than that.
 
DaveW said:
Do they still have manual around somewhere ? If you can't find the serial number, that would only really affect the warranty status of the burner tubes at this point. The firebox itself is warrantied for 25 years IIRC, and that grill is much younger than that.
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The don't have the manual either. They bought 10 years ago when I got my genesis platinum which is in like new shape compared to this.
 
Nate Frost said:
The don't have the manual either. They bought 10 years ago when I got my genesis platinum which is in like new shape compared to this.
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Best case scenario is that they bought it late in the year in 2004, which would give it a serial number starting with DH. Those were sold into early 2005. It's possible you could still get the burner tubes to be covered under warranty as they could have bought the grill at the "end of the season" in Oct 2004 or even later. That would put it within the 10 year warranty time of the burners. Chances are that Weber wouldn't quibble since the timing is so close. That or they would give you a serious discount on new tubes.

The firebox is warrantied for 25 years, so it's definitely covered for the original owner. Give Weber a call and they should take care of it. Before calling, I'd take a very close look at the inside of the grill lid and see if the double walled part of it has corroded. If so, take pics of it and talk to Weber about it as well since it too has a 25 year warranty.
 
Nate Frost said:
Grates are fine but the flavor bars look not so fine. I didn't pull a grate off to actually see.
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The flavorizer bars on the Summit are pretty thick steel. Even if they look really crusty, as long as they haven't rusted through and aren't falling apart, they'll be ok. If you have to replace them, it'll probably run over $120. If you want, I'll give you the direct number of a girl I deal with at Weber. She's amazing at finding parts and then finding even better prices for them. Trips me out every time. She's like "Ok, this is how much that part is coming up for", followed by "give me just a sec..." followed by "Ok, can do it for this price instead"
 
Hate to bust the bubble but I'll lay odds Weber will not have the fire box parts. I ran in to the same issue with my Summit 450 when it was less than 10 years old. Weber said so sorry parts not available.
 
Got some better pics this morning.

Here's the rusted through front panel.

And Dave. It looks to be separate front and back fire box panels bolted to the side panels.
 
Yes, the front and rear panels do bolt on. No, Weber did not offer just the panels, just the whole firebox. Without a serial number or a receipt, I seriously doubt you will be able to get anything free from Weber. At least that has been my experience.
My '07 Summit front panel was rusted much worse than yours. I patched it with a piece of 304 SS (from a dishwasher front panel, it already had a nicely radiused 90 degree bend) and cut it and riveted it in over the existing panel. Works great. I'm hoping to find a better overall grill before the lower frame completely turns to dust.
 
Nate, yeah, it does actually bolt together, but as Greg said, Weber doesn't offer it in pieces, only as a complete lower unit. Here's a pic of the one for a Summit Gold D that I have sitting in my garage right now.


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Might be difficult to tell as the cookbox is standing on it's side, but the vertical black piece on the right of the silver part is the front plate in question.


I'm quite a bit more optimistic that Greg is as to how Weber will respond to his. It's one of their grills and it's definitely less than 25 years old, which is how long the grill box was warrantied for. I'd definitely give Weber a call if I were in your shoes and if I didn't get anywhere with the first person that I talked to, I'd call back later and talk with someone else until I found someone that would work with me. If that proved to be fruitless, I'd then escalate the issue with management.
 
I totally agree with Dave, the Summit line is their top of the line product and they know that grill is not older than 25 years, give them a call, be nice over the phone and I'm sure they will help.
 
Since this grill is my father inlaw's, any pointers on how I should go about talking to Weber? I can see that the serial # starts with DT but the rest of the numbers are only partly readable. Thanks
 
Can you call Weber from your in-law's place? Explain to them that the only readable thing is the first two letters of the serial number and that the grill was never registered, tell them that your in-laws lost the manual. I think it would be better if you pretend to be your father in law or make him call, they are not fond of talking to a third party, even if it is family (I know)
 
Nate, I definitely second Alejandro's advice on this one. Call up as your father in law and go from there. Might prove helpful if you could get a pic of the serial number plate as it is, showing the DT that can be recognized. But even without that, you shouldn't have a problem. They will probably ask you to take a picture of the entire grill from the front with the lid down, and they can determine the model from the photo. They might also ask for photos showing the rusted out parts, which you've already posted here.
 
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