Questions about my Summit 650 resto


 
J

JimV

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Hello all! Well I am out of my comfort zone which is making this one interesting. I am restoring a Summit 650 with a weird starting mechanism and other odd gadgets. Today was the first day I really had any time with the thing and now I have a few questions. The infra red rotisserie burner is dirty and will not ignite. How do I clean it?.....how much to replace it?....are there Amazon replacements for it?.....can I jump start it somehow like with a match even though it is probably clogged? Note....it is getting a spark from the igniter but my guess is that it is too gummed up to put out enough gas to fire up.
Next question. One of the center burners would not light even after a wire wheel across the burner for a good shine. All of the other burners lit up w no problem other than me having to learn to pull the knob out after ignition because they are a lil tight right now. I saw another youtube vid where the guy also had a center burner not lighting but he didnt explain the fix, he just said it wasnt where it was supposed to be??? I am thinking the spark was not in the right spot maybe? I will remove the manifold during the next session but was hoping u could tell me what to look for.

So I will be removing all of the burners to give them a thorough cleaning as well as cleaning the cook box. I will try to figure out why the middle burner wont ignite. I will clean and or replace the infra red or sear burner located above the rotisserie. Then I will fabricate a new cabinet bottom shelf.

That reminds me of the last question. Is there anyway to tighten up the spring nipple on the top of the doors?? They both are at a slant for some reason.

Sorry for the long message and thanks in advance ....
 
Ha! Ya I am learning as I go..... These grills take up a lot of space! I did some research last night and found the Weber brand replacement for the infra red $124.00 ....not a total budget buster but would rather clean the old one. I could not find any Amazon versions so far. It is possible that a somewhat universal infra red would work but I was hoping that someone else has already been down this road. I am in the grill for $50 so far and would like to keep it that way :) I re watched the vid about the middle burner not lighting and it was as I thought. The igniter on his grill was not fastened correctly. I hope that is the issue with mine. I will follow up with some pics in a week or so. Im not sure flipping Summits is a good idea because you could probably flip two Genesis in the same period of time with the same profit and less headaches. I do however want to get my Summit badge of honor...so I am in it to win it.
 
Thanks Mack....very helpful info. I had an IR on a previous grill so I have some familiarity but this one is covered with a good film of cooking debris. I see the spark from the ignitor but I dont see any signs of it lighting. But now at least I know once I get it lit to hold the knob in for a bit to prime it. Thank you!
 
No.....yesterday was my first attempt to light the burners......I was in my shop....yet in doors so I wanted to keep it quick and safe. I have never used that knob ignitor style system before so it took a second to get used to that. When I finally got around to the IR burner I had already run the other burners so I didnt know if the gas I was smelling was from the IR or something else.....for example the one middle burner that did not lite. So all I did with the IR was push the knob in and turn......I saw the spark but nothing on the gunked up burner. I was pretty sure the gas was flowing but I probably did not allow enough gas to get through the gunk to ignite. I tried about 10 times and due to being in doors I quit to be safe. Note I have 20 foot ceilings and its all concrete and metal....but still....grill games are for outside :)
You guys have given me some helpful hints to get the IR lit.....once lit I hope to burn some crud to ash as my first attempt to get it clean.
 
Good call Tony.....so u must know your way around a Summit. Funny I wouldnt have seen it if u didnt request the pic. You kinda have to lean your head in and look down but sure enough that front metal piece is rotting away. I will fabricate a strip of steel and install over top of the rotted section.
I tried again to light the IR. I held in the knob while igniting the burner with a lighter. All I could get it to do was a cloud of blue flame from left to right and it would go out if I didnt keep the lighter on it. I assume I have to clean some gunk away to free the holes the gas flows through. Does anyone know how to remove the IR? Any vids for this...I cant find any.
I removed the manifold and all the burners. The burners are in great shape...the bars are in great shape.....the grates are as thick as my fingers stainless steel. All regular burners do light. The one in the center that isnt igniting via the spark must have clogged holes on the front of the tube cause the spark is working great.
I cant get the side burner spark working....I have always been a little confused with side burner ignitors but will give it some more time. I did start the side burner with no cover over the jet orafice......Wow was I surprised as the flames shot straight up in the air like coming out of a jet engine......is that normal??? I have never done that before with a Silver B or 300 series to know if that is normal or not.....sure seemed a bit extreme to me. I will include some pics.20220618_185612.jpg20220618_185001.jpg20220618_185512.jpg
 
Yah, don't run the side burner without the cap on it....I guess you could, but it isn't safe or going to do a very good job of cooking for you.

Consider stainless steel overlays for that panel. It will last a lot longer than regular steel. If you do indeed do create a panel, post up some photos and your review on how well that works for you.
 
Sooooo Bruce have you seen what the side burner does without the cover? The Summit literally shoots a straight 12" torch flame up in the air.........are you confirming this is normal? I will put the cap back on of course but I was just tinkering around with it. As for the panel....yes good point...I have some stainless laying around. Its just a flat panel so it will be easy to just screw it over top of the old one.
 
I have never tried to run it without the cover on it. But I would imagine that is the result you would get.
 
Thanks for the heads up Brett. Im going to just fabricate a stainless steel piece of metal across that section so the ole gal will live on. I am just flipping this grill but I dont see why this repair wouldnt work. If I was the original owner I would have Weber send me some shiny new parts.
 
JimV said:
Thanks for the heads up Brett. Im going to just fabricate a stainless steel piece of metal across that section so the ole gal will live on. I am just flipping this grill but I dont see why this repair wouldnt work. If I was the original owner I would have Weber send me some shiny new parts.
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Uh...
 
Jim, probably a dumb question but did you try and register it? Related stupidity on my part, I called weber a few weeks ago to inquire about some parts only to find out I had never registered my 1998 Genesis Platinum that I've owned since new. I couldn't believe it since I've called them many times over the years and they always gave me the impression that I had so it's definitely worth a try.
 
JimV said:
Thanks for the heads up Brett. Im going to just fabricate a stainless steel piece of metal across that section so the ole gal will live on. I am just flipping this grill but I dont see why this repair wouldnt work. If I was the original owner I would have Weber send me some shiny new parts.
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That grill doesn't look very old, I imagine all the parts are still available to make it right again. I don't think you mentioned it's age so I don't know that for a fact.
 
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