Refurbished/rebuilt Weber grills

[Joe Mac]

A year, or so, ago, while searching for THIS site, I stumbled across a guy (in Maryland, as I recall) who rebuilds Weber gas grills. At the time, I was only partly interested. However, in looking at new Webers, I am COMPLETELY interested.

At that time, my wife was dying of cancer and my mind was going in a million different directions (not that it has since miraculously been able to focus much better, but I am now in a position of greater need to replace, or rebuild my existing grill) and I failed to adequately note the website or how to contact that individual.

I was hoping someone here might be able to assist me in trying to find this guy. Or, perhaps, share a site (or posts on THIS site) where I can start learning how to rebuild my workhorse Weber Silver natural gas-burning 20-yr old model, whose frame has rusted, but which still ”works” like a champ (knock on wood).

*** While I’m here, may I ask if anyone else is disappointed with the tack the new, publicly-traded Weber,Inc. has taken? The entire grills, not simply cooking surface, are flimsy; the cook boxes are no longer made of cast-aluminum; the burners now run back-to-front (instead of side-to-side - best for rotisserie, indirect cooking); and many more (seemingly, at least) cost-cutting measures, I’m sure, all in the name of pleasing Wall St profiteers?

I have contacted their once incredibly, second-to-none, help line, only to find that this service has been farmed-out and the guy to whom I spoke hardly knew about the changes I was mentioning and had no clue that rotisserie might be affected by this burner realignment.

REALLY DISAPPOINTED, WEBER!

I am extremely grateful for any replies to these two concerns.

 

[ChuckO]

Really sorry about your wife Joe, cancer sucks. I'm sure you'll get a lot of good ideas here restoring your Silver

 

[Scott Smith]

Thanks for the heartfelt post. As we all know in our hearts, nothing lasts forever - not my life or your life or anybody else's. Not a Weber grill or another grill or anything else. Everything thing and everybody eventually dies.

Some die older, some die younger. We all make of our time here on earth the best we can.

Your grill rusted out in 20 years. Some die in 10, or 15. My original Weber grill is 20 and still going.

The newer Weber grills will eventually die as well. Time will tell.

There is certainly enough information on this site to rebuild your grill, if you want to direct your life energy down that route. There are also other brands to consider if you need a grill and are turned off by newer Webers and can't find the rebuilding help you seek. You could also Craigslist a new-to-you older Weber with fewer issues. Good luck and God bless.

 

[Jon Tofte]

Joe,
Welcome to TVWBB. There's a nice group of us grill nuts here who will be very happy to help with advice, etc. if you want to take on the fun challenge of bringing back your Genesis Silver. As far as classic old Webers vs. new, you are in a good place as many of us are likewise fans of the older, Made in USA Webers and also prefer the left to right (E-W we ususally say) burner setup.

Here are a few quick links to give you some great resources that we have accumulated here:

From Drab to Fab - Putting together a "How-To" Restoration Guide

In an attempt to "do it right," I've been browsing the restoration threads on this forum. In doing so, I thought it'd be prudent to collect all the various bits of knowledge into one single "how-to" guide. While no single guide can be perfect for everyone or every grill, the idea is to capture...

tvwbb.com

restored genesis silver

tvwbb.com

If you choose to take this on, we will do our best to help you with advice on repairs, parts, etc.

And, if you don't want to do that, you can let other restorers here know of your interest. Hopefully, someone would be close enough for you to work with.

I think you should give it a go yourself! It is very satisfying to see what some elbow grease, patience, and an investment in a few key parts can do!

Keep up informed and post pictures when you can

 

[LMichaels]

Condolences on your wife. The big C is just an awful thing. Lost my sister about 2 1/2 years ago. Re the grills. I would not be surprised if there is someone on this board in your area on say Bruce caliber who can build you a great example. But, yeah I fully get it on the new stuff

 

[Joe Mac]

Really sorry about your wife Joe, cancer sucks. I'm sure you'll get a lot of good ideas here restoring your Silver

Thanks, Chuck.

 

[Joe Mac]

Thanks for the heartfelt post. As we all know in our hearts, nothing lasts forever - not my life or your life or anybody else's. Not a Weber grill or another grill or anything else. Everything thing and everybody eventually dies.

Some die older, some die younger. We all make of our time here on earth the best we can.

Your grill rusted out in 20 years. Some die in 10, or 15. My original Weber grill is 20 and still going.

The newer Weber grills will eventually die as well. Time will tell.

There is certainly enough information on this site to rebuild your grill, if you want to direct your life energy down that route. There are also other brands to consider if you need a grill and are turned off by newer Webers and can't find the rebuilding help you seek. You could also Craigslist a new-to-you older Weber with fewer issues. Good luck and God bless.

Scott,

Thanks for the suggestion on the older Weber, I could likely cannibalize an older one and preserve the best of both.

And, yeah, I get it that EVERYTHING has a lifecycle (all too well). It's just a shame that Weber abandoned its principles, however unsurprising it is nowadays, cuz there are fewer and fewer principled people and businesses out there.

 

[Joe Mac]

Scott,

Thanks for the suggestion on the older Weber, I could likely cannibalize an older one and preserve the best of both.

And, yeah, I get it that EVERYTHING has a lifecycle (all too well). It's just a shame that Weber abandoned its principles, however unsurprising it is nowadays, cuz there are fewer and fewer principled people and businesses out there.

Condolences on your wife. The big C is just an awful thing. Lost my sister about 2 1/2 years ago. Re the grills. I would not be surprised if there is someone on this board in your area on say Bruce caliber who can build you a great example. But, yeah I fully get it on the new stuff

Thanks, L.

 

[Joe Mac]

Joe,
Welcome to TVWBB. There's a nice group of us grill nuts here who will be very happy to help with advice, etc. if you want to take on the fun challenge of bringing back your Genesis Silver. As far as classic old Webers vs. new, you are in a good place as many of us are likewise fans of the older, Made in USA Webers and also prefer the left to right (E-W we ususally say) burner setup.

Here are a few quick links to give you some great resources that we have accumulated here:

From Drab to Fab - Putting together a "How-To" Restoration Guide

In an attempt to "do it right," I've been browsing the restoration threads on this forum. In doing so, I thought it'd be prudent to collect all the various bits of knowledge into one single "how-to" guide. While no single guide can be perfect for everyone or every grill, the idea is to capture...

tvwbb.com

restored genesis silver

tvwbb.com

If you choose to take this on, we will do our best to help you with advice on repairs, parts, etc.

And, if you don't want to do that, you can let other restorers here know of your interest. Hopefully, someone would be close enough for you to work with.

I think you should give it a go yourself! It is very satisfying to see what some elbow grease, patience, and an investment in a few key parts can do!

Keep up informed and post pictures when you can

Jon,

Thanks so much for your detailed help! I'll keep you posted. I AM pretty handy, so I might just give it a go.

Really glad I found this site and grateful for all the responses and suggestions. Thanks very much!

I look forward to staying in touch!

 

[EmoryG]

My partner is also a survivor and has undergone many surgeries. We know and understand the ever-present anxiety that comes with it. We are sorry for your loss and extend our condolences. May the happy memories of your wife comfort you.

We had a similar issue with an aging old propane Genesis that needed new grates and flavorizer bars. The overriding factor for us was that we had added a natural gas line to our grilling area a few years ago, so we recently bought a natural gas 2022 Genesis. Eliminating the trips and expense of refilling the propane tank was the major reason we decided to buy the new grill.

I read what you wrote about burner orientation. Unlike you, I did not like the old Genesis grate size or burner zone arrangement. It was another reason to buy the 2022 Genesis: Having a larger grill area with wider burner zones for indirect cooking.

The old Genesis grill size was 17-1/2 x 24 inches (44 x 61 cm) with a total surface area of 420 square inches. The three burner zones were arranged front to back over that 17-1/2 inches, making each zone less than 6 inches (15 cm) deep.

The new 2022 Genesis grill is 19 x 27 inches (48 x 69 cm), which makes 513 square inches. The burner zones are arranged left to right over 27 inches, making each zone 9 inches wide. I like the wider zones much better for indirect cooking. For one example, foods fit better in that passive middle zone, without getting overcooked by the adjacent active zones.

 

[Jason Godard]

Sorry for your loss, Joe. Regarding your grill, alI I can say is don’t overthink it. If there is sentimental value in restoring your grill and you feel up to it, it’s possible. The group you’ve found here is wonderful and can help in all sorts of ways on your restoration journey.

On the other hand, if the process is going to cause more grief that good, or prevent you from grilling up great bbq, there are plenty of decent alternatives.

I was a gas bbq guy for 20+ years, always saying that I preferred it to ‘dirty‘ charcoal. I recently started cooking with charcoal, got a couple pits and have been toying around almost daily. I recently picked up a used Weber Jumbo Joe charcoal grill, and have been having more fun and more great bbq with that little kettle than ever before.

Im not trying to sway you to charcoal, rather I’m just saying to not get too caught up on the old gasser if it’s more trouble than it’s worth to you. I wish I had tried other methods a long time ago. I rehabbed that old Silver B three times and gave it to my daughter and son-in-law.

Good luck, keep us posted, and if there are no pictures, it didn’t happen

 

[Paul Warner]

Hi Joe

A really heartfelt introduction and sorry about your loss. You are 100% in the right place for refurbishing your Weber grill. Can i
suggest you post photos to help all willing to offer advice?, we all love the before, during and after shots!!

Good luck and look forward to seeing the progress, take care

 

[Steve Hoch]

Joe, I would definitely give restoring your grill a try on your own. You can still easily get a lot of new parts for it if needed and it's pretty satisfying to boot!

 

[Tom Russo]

Hi Joe, First I am so sorry for your loss….our grief never leaves us, but hopefully the good memories take forefront in our minds over time.

Concerning your grill, give the restoration a try. I agree that I have been very disappointed with the current state of Weber…the grills are tremendously expensive, and in my eyes, the customer service, while still good, has really deteriorated. I have 2 15+ year old gas grills (Summit Silver and Genesis Silver), an 18” WSM, a 22” Kettle and my current favorite, a 2010 Performer charcoal grill.

I am just about finished restoring my 2005 Summit Silver 4-burner grill, which I bought new in 2005…the frame rusted away, and had rust in both the firebox as well as the lid…but it still could hit 600 degrees without a problem…over the years I have collected parts that were cannibalized from older grills, as well as contacted Weber on a variety of occasions to keep her running. I also happen to have brand new, still in the Weber boxes grill lid and firebox assembly received while under warranty several years back. /

Abyway, a few years back I was able to find the exact same grill as mine but it needed a complete restoration…I took it all apart, sanded away and repaired (with Rust Reformer and high temp grill paint) any rust I found. I just put the firebox back on the beautifully solid frame. Currently I am in the middle of cleaning up the firebox and struggling with a stubborn wing nut needed to replace the grill hood thermometer. When done, I expect that grill to last another 10 years..maybe at that point I will use the brand new firebox and hood! Before I found my donor grill though I was trying to decide what I could do about the rusted frame. My idea was to essentially build a permanent structure out of cinder blocks that the firebox would simply sit in….I’m sure those who know much more about the these things might say it woiuldn’t work, but after taking apart and putting it back together, I think that might have been a real option. If money were no expense, I’m sure that you could have gone to a metal shop with the needed dimensions and had them make you a frame that would outlast us all…

Good luck on your build!!!