Question Regarding Difference between Natural Gas/Propane Burner Tubes


 
Yang

Yang

TVWBB Member
Hi Everyone:
I'm in the process of converting my genesis E-330 2016 model from LP to natural gas. Instead of raising concern, I plan on replacing the manifold, the complete side burner, and getting a natural gas regulator/hose. While shopping for parts, I noticed that for some reason, there are different sear burner tubes for the different models. In the past I always thought the burners don't need to be changed and just the orifice/knob/regulators. Does anyone know the difference between the two tubes? I don't want to spend extra when my current burners are practically brand new. Thanks for clearing it up for me.

Natural Gas Sear Burner Tube: https://www.grillparts.com/weber/2011_genesis_300.asp?product_id=62798
Propane Sear Burner Tube: https://www.grillparts.com/weber/2011_genesis_300.asp?product_id=62753

Edit: Now I'm seeing that the regular stainless steel burner tubes also have different part numbers for Propane and Natural Gas. I really don't want to buy a whole new BBQ just to use natural gas but at this point, replacing the parts seems extremely expensive.

Propane: https://www.grillspot.ca/weber-oem-stainless-steel-3-burner-tube-kit-propane-62752
Natural Gas: https://www.grillspot.ca/weber-oem-stainless-steel-3-burner-tube-kit-natural-gas-62799
 
Thanks for the tip LMichaels, I understand that you're the expert on this forum in this matter so I'll proceed with replacing the parts without the tubes.
 
Hey Yang, How did you grill turn out after converting? I have a S-345 which is a Costco number. Same thing as the S-335 but with some added bonuses. Anyway I pulled the part list and it shows different part numbers for the burner tubes for all 5 burners (3 grill burners, 1 seer burner and 1 side burner). Of course there are different part numbers for the manifolds as they have the correct orifices for NG. I sent some emails to both Weber and a part company asking about the tubes. Weber won't tell you anything and the part company said they thought the burner holes were different size and something else could be in the tube but they weren't 100 percent. Anyway I don't thinks its a big deal after seeing LMichaels post but was wondering how your flame looked? I was also looking at just buying this as its not a bad price. https://bbqfuelconversions.com/shop...version-kit-for-weber-genesis-ii-s-345-costco
 
Paul - hawkn7 said:
Hey Yang, How did you grill turn out after converting? I have a S-345 which is a Costco number. Same thing as the S-335 but with some added bonuses. Anyway I pulled the part list and it shows different part numbers for the burner tubes for all 5 burners (3 grill burners, 1 seer burner and 1 side burner). Of course there are different part numbers for the manifolds as they have the correct orifices for NG. I sent some emails to both Weber and a part company asking about the tubes. Weber won't tell you anything and the part company said they thought the burner holes were different size and something else could be in the tube but they weren't 100 percent. Anyway I don't thinks its a big deal after seeing LMichaels post but was wondering how your flame looked? I was also looking at just buying this as its not a bad price. https://bbqfuelconversions.com/shop...version-kit-for-weber-genesis-ii-s-345-costco
Click to expand...
Keep in mind that "kit" may NOT work safely. You're going to throw $120 on a crap shoot, for what is actually about $50 worth of parts. After all the stuff we've put out there I still can't believe people fall for this. Good luck and know it's only a 50% chance of working SAFELY. That is the key. SAFELY
 
I went the other way NG to LP on a summit. Once i replaced the orifice and regulator (or in your case the whole manifold) then I needed to adjust the air inlets a bit to get the flame right on the existing burners. (pulled the old rusted screws out with lock pliers and replaced so I could adjust them easily) for what that is worth, just my experience.
 
You really should not need to adjust the air shutters. In all the conversions both ways I have done for people I have never once touched the air shutter on a properly working burner (meaning clean inside and out with no clogged ports and clean spider guards). Now my history with doing them I have converted maybe 15 or 20 both ways. So maybe the next one will be the oddball but I doubt it
 
LMichaels said:
Keep in mind that "kit" may NOT work safely. You're going to throw $120 on a crap shoot, for what is actually about $50 worth of parts. After all the stuff we've put out there I still can't believe people fall for this. Good luck and know it's only a 50% chance of working SAFELY. That is the key. SAFELY
Click to expand...
Good info. I just joined this forum and haven't ran across the info you're speaking off. Looks like i have a lot ore reading to do. So basically the only way to do it correctly is to buy a replacement manifold from Weber then? Thank you
 
LMichaels said:
Definitely do some research. If you are still in question feel free to pm me as well
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Will do and thank you. I know you mentioned above that the LP and NG burner tubes are probably the same but I find it interesting that Weber not only list them as different part numbers but they actually cost different.
 
Paul - hawkn7 said:
Will do and thank you. I know you mentioned above that the LP and NG burner tubes are probably the same but I find it interesting that Weber not only list them as different part numbers but they actually cost different.
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Yeah I don't know why they would do that other than profiteering. Did you ever notice NG grill costs more than LP? Even though it has less parts. Riddle me that Batman LOL
 
It is probably because they sell far fewer NG grills. Pretty much any product goes down in price the more they can sell of them since a lot of the fixed costs per item goes down, the more they sell.
 
LMichaels said:
You really should not need to adjust the air shutters. In all the conversions both ways I have done for people I have never once touched the air shutter on a properly working burner (meaning clean inside and out with no clogged ports and clean spider guards). Now my history with doing them I have converted maybe 15 or 20 both ways. So maybe the next one will be the oddball but I doubt it
Click to expand...
You could be correct, or my orifices could have been a bit off on the sizing but either way that seemed to work for me they were blowing a bit hard(flame off the tube) metered the air a just bit and brought them right back in play.
 
Buying a new manifold is the way to go, the safe way to go. For $100 or whatever it cost is worth not blowing up in your face and pay thousands in hospital bills or some other catastrophe.
In summer of 2019 i saw and try to buy from CL the latest Genesis II grill but it was a conversion gone bad. The wise members on this forum steer me clear from it.
I thank them for that.
 
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Paul - hawkn7 said:
Hey Yang, How did you grill turn out after converting? I have a S-345 which is a Costco number. Same thing as the S-335 but with some added bonuses. Anyway I pulled the part list and it shows different part numbers for the burner tubes for all 5 burners (3 grill burners, 1 seer burner and 1 side burner). Of course there are different part numbers for the manifolds as they have the correct orifices for NG. I sent some emails to both Weber and a part company asking about the tubes. Weber won't tell you anything and the part company said they thought the burner holes were different size and something else could be in the tube but they weren't 100 percent. Anyway I don't thinks its a big deal after seeing LMichaels post but was wondering how your flame looked? I was also looking at just buying this as its not a bad price. https://bbqfuelconversions.com/shop...version-kit-for-weber-genesis-ii-s-345-costco
Click to expand...
Hey Paul:
Sorry that I've been absent, the conversion was a complete success, in order to convert it, all you need are the following 3 things:

1) Natural gas manifold Assembly - 70057
2) Side burner assembly - 67776 (A little harder to find because it's discontinued, luckily its the same side burner found on many used weber gas grills you find on kijiji).
3) 1/2 inch natural gas tubing with a reducer to 3/8 (Pretty much everything found here - https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B07QWL1YK7/) These components can be purchased separately from kijiji/whatever second hand market you reside in for fraction of the cost. For example I purchased a natural gas conversion kit for a completely different bbq on kijiji for $30. They all work the same as long as it contains the 1/2" quick connector, 1/2" tubing and 1/2 to 3/8 reducer which plugs into your bbq.

Things to keep in mind:
- You don't need a natural gas regulator because as stated by LMichaels/others, the pressure is already reduced when entering your home.
- You also don't need natural gas burner tubes/sear station tubes despite that weber sells them under different part numbers. The flame looks completely blue with an occasional orange tip with my original propane burners.
- Weber will refuse to sell you the part unless you provide them with a serial number of a natural gas e330/e335 lying around. Luckily I have a close family friend with that information lying around. It's literally the only company I've dealt with where they won't sell you something despite the fact that you're willing to pay full price for it.

Hope this gives you all the information you need to convert your bbq.
 
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LMichaels said:
You really should not need to adjust the air shutters. In all the conversions both ways I have done for people I have never once touched the air shutter on a properly working burner (meaning clean inside and out with no clogged ports and clean spider guards). Now my history with doing them I have converted maybe 15 or 20 both ways. So maybe the next one will be the oddball but I doubt it
Click to expand...
I can vouch for LMichaels. I also did not have to adjust my shutters at all.
 
Chris in GA said:
Buying a new manifold is the way to go, the safe way to go. For $100 or whatever it cost is worth not blowing up in your face and pay thousands in hospital bills or some other catastrophe.
In summer of 2019 i saw and try to buy from CL the latest Genesis II grill but it was a conversion gone bad. The wise members on this forum steer me clear from it.
I thank them for that.
Click to expand...
Keep in mind that for the e330, you need to change the manifold for the side burner as well as the main burners (each are over $100 here in canada). the side burner is a hard to obtain because many sites are claiming that its discontinued. However, weber themselves told me that they'll be getting more in stock. Furthermore, it's the same side burner used in many summit/older models of weber that you could easily find on kijiji. Despite the high cost of conversion, my BBQ is literally a brand new as I've used it for a less than 5 times since I got it. Furthermore, I bought so many accessories and parts for it that I don't want to let it all go for a big loss if I sell it on Kijiji. Finally, A part of me feels like this line of genesis is the last good genesis released by weber as subsequent models are made in China. The third point might not be a good argument (because many good things comes from China). However, it just gives me a happy feeling knowing that I own the last weber that's still made in North America.
 
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