Rehabbing a grill for personal use


 
Bruce

Bruce

TVWBB 2-Star Olympian
I have a question for those of you that have rehabbed grills in the past.
If you decided that you needed or wanted a gas weber for personal use, how far would you go into the rehab process? This is assuming you wanted the grill for regular grilling and not a display model.
Would you do a complete restore, to include a complete repainting of the frame, firebox and end caps? Would you grind the inside of the firebox and end caps down to bare aluminum? Would you clean the inside of the lid to bare porcelain?

Or would you simply clean it up on the outside and a quick clean on the inside and drip pan and replace the internals if necessary?

I am just kind of interested to see how people feel on this. If it was me, I would just do the quick clean up and replace internals as necessary. However, I might replace the cooking grates even if the others were still good. I just don't see there is enough benefit to completely clean the inside of the hood and grind out the fire box for a grill that is going to be black after a few cooks anyway. And if the frame was in decent shape, I probably wouldn't even bother to paint it.

Let me know what you guys would do. And no, I don't plan on putting another Genesis in my stable. :)
 
Bruce said:
I have a question for those of you that have rehabbed grills in the past.
If you decided that you needed or wanted a gas weber for personal use, how far would you go into the rehab process? This is assuming you wanted the grill for regular grilling and not a display model.
Would you do a complete restore, to include a complete repainting of the frame, firebox and end caps? Would you grind the inside of the firebox and end caps down to bare aluminum? Would you clean the inside of the lid to bare porcelain?

Or would you simply clean it up on the outside and a quick clean on the inside and drip pan and replace the internals if necessary?

I am just kind of interested to see how people feel on this. If it was me, I would just do the quick clean up and replace internals as necessary. However, I might replace the cooking grates even if the others were still good. I just don't see there is enough benefit to completely clean the inside of the hood and grind out the fire box for a grill that is going to be black after a few cooks anyway. And if the frame was in decent shape, I probably wouldn't even bother to paint it.

Let me know what you guys would do. And no, I don't plan on putting another Genesis in my stable. :)
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I have only done one Bruce working on an 1100 Redhead and a Silver C the Silver C with the side burner will be my personal grill with the redhead lid. On the Silver to me just going to spray it down with Krud Cutter wire brush lightly the inside of the firebox and be done with it actually thinking since I have a power washer might just go at it and be done.

I am cleaning a few lids on the inside now the Krud stuff works pretty good I intend to get those both to shiny and on both the frame will be sprayed as well as the lids. The 1100 will get more work inside the firebox as that will be sold the Silver not so much.

Both will have the Q grates since I got them for 30 bucks, one had some defects which Q told me to keep it and sent me a new one so for sure the good one will go on the 1100. The defects were some divots on the rods not all and one was bent no big deal for the keeper will try to straighten out the one rod that is bent.
 
That is how I started. The first I rehabbed was a Gold C for myself. Built out of one Gold C and one Gold B. And yes I went all the way. Cleaned out the fire box and the lid really good. Repainted firebox and lid sides. Added new burners, igniter and new SS flavorizer bars. Cleaned tables and knobs. The flavorizer bars I found cheap on Craigslist. And I got an almost brand new pair of cast iron grates from another free grill. Next one for myself will be the Platinum C I got last weekend.
I also want to go all the way so that I can show it to potential customers on what can be done.
 
By the way I am anal so the firebox does not have to be perfect the lid at least to start out with for me is worth the effort as well as painting the lid sides and the frame since I can see it would drive me crazy if from the outside it did not look like new.
 
With three gas grills that are in the rotation I have my E320 ng sidewinder which is our go-to grill for every day simple cooks and outside summer oven. That one is kept clean and taken care of but not a show queen.

The next one is my Gen1000 which I bought new in 1998 and restored it with all new internals and firebox down to bare aluminum and converted it to a 2000 two years ago and made it factory stock with the durawood slates. It's primary use is for doing griddle work, so the grates and FBs stay clean. Or if we have a cook that requires a lot of items it gets the call because of the two flip ups and shelfs.

The last one is the Skyline which is fully restored from frame paint to painting the side wings on the hood at this time it has the original durawood slates but I will install some nice stained slates this spring when it warms up. I've only cooked a steak on it once just to make sure it worked okay. It's in the hibernation mode for winter now. I have a set of CI grates for it that I will us when cooking with it and I have a set of budget SS grates that I put in for show that haven't been cooked on. It will only get occasional use. I grew up in Chicago so it's more of a reminder of my youth than a working grill.
The 2000 and Skyline are completely cleaned after every cook.
 
I would probably also not go that crazy on the inside cleaning of the firebox. It will be greasy soon enough and I don’t have to present it. But in my next rehab for myself I don’t have to since Webe just sent me a new fire box. 😀
And yes the outside must be nice. So I clean and repaint it. Also make sure I have all the rust spots fixed.
 
I don't go nuts on them. Like that 2000 you turned me on to................I did a nice cleanup on it. Scraped everything down internally, cleaned the burners, lubed the valves while the manifold was out for NG conversion, and scrubbed down the durawood. Function over beauty (kinda like my wife) :D Don't let her hear that though LOL. Actually she's fine. Just cracking wise
 
For the 2 rehabs I kept, I went full on as to grinding the inside of the firebox to sanding down whatever rust was on the frame and repainting it. I Even cleaned the inside of the hood with a razor blade. I also bought RC's hardware for them.
 
I go all out. I like to make mine look good and keep them that way. I also keep everything I own, and everything I sell in the same garage. Last but not least, a drill sergeant I hated at the time, but would thank now, always said "take care of your equipment and it will take care of you."
 
LMichaels said:
I don't go nuts on them. Like that 2000 you turned me on to................I did a nice cleanup on it. Scraped everything down internally, cleaned the burners, lubed the valves while the manifold was out for NG conversion, and scrubbed down the durawood. Function over beauty (kinda like my wife) :D Don't let her hear that though LOL. Actually she's fine. Just cracking wise
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Larry, I think you and I are on the same page for something like this. Rehabs and flips are a bit different though.
 
My toss in would be "It depends..." On the Skyline, I went ALL out and have already done some redoing even though it still hasn't seen a single cook yet. I am kind of like Rich on this grill. I will use it, but sparingly. Not because I don't think it will last but because I want to have it to "show off" and enjoy looking at myself;). I can't always do a complete clean after run of the mill daily cooks.

That is where the Genesis Platinum I am working on comes in. I decided that being that it was only for personal use this was the perfect rehab to go with the Sam's grill degreaser (competes with Dawn) and not bother with wire brushing the firebox. The inside of the hood has one of those heat shields. Short of replacing or removing it will never look very good again. But it is intact and wards off both the stainless turning blue and more importantly carbon build-up on the inside of the hood. (This is one thing I DON'T like about the Silver C I am currently using as a daily driver.) I am cleaning up the other parts and do want the grill to look decent. Just not expecting "flip" or "show" quality. All I want is a nice solid grill which I think the Genesis Platinum makes a great platform for.

I have removed the painted steel parts from the bottom cabinet. I have so far installed one stainless steel crossbar for the bottom back. The front one is taking a lot of time because I am trying to drill holes in it for mounting the front doors (the only stainless part that Weber made for the bottom of this grill). I decided I want to try and preserve as much of the original look as I can, so at least with front doors - even if functionless right now - it will look more original than an open cart. I am wanting to put durawood slat trays on the bottom with unpainted stainless z bars. One problem is that I don't have enough durawood slats right now. Anyway, I guess I am saying that for this personal heavy-use grill I didn't see any point in the cosmetic touches I would have done if I were trying to sell, but I DO care about the durability.
 
Yeah Bruce except on a KitchenAid. On one that ends up being a keeper I usually decide to make it a "keeper" AFTER I have rebuild it for resale and by than it's too late LOL. Sometimes I am looking at my cost of acquisition, and my potential profit margin and then I throw it out the window. The current Professional 600 sitting on my counter is one. My cost of acquisition was only $70 and it was absolutely mint (except for being a little dirty, didn't run properly PO saying it let smoke out) but it had EVERYTHING including the original box and owner's manual and the bowl chute. Well it was REALLY noisy and the motor was arcing like mad. The PO was not careful with flour and it had gotten lots of it into the motor sucked in my the fan. Did a complete disassembly on the motor, resurfaced the armature and brushes to get rid of the burned on flour, full cleaning, refilled gearbox with extreme pressure moly based grease, got it all done for sale and had wife test driving it making her famous french bread and thought damn......................that thing is too nice to sell (even though my profit margin would be fantastic). But than who knows it still could be. If I stumble into one of the large truly commercial 8 qt machines or one of the Hobart "N" types this one will go away and I will still have the profit margin plus having enjoyed it for the past however many years.
BTW if any of you all have never made mashed potatoes in one than you have NOT tasted REALLY good mash potatoes. Using the flat beater and working your taters with it starting nice and slow, incorporating plenty of butter and of course real cream and than bringing up the speed to really "whip" them you get the creamiest mash you ever ate. Guarantee you will throw away your masher
 
Larry,
I had previously wanted to follow up about blenders. Mine says “Professional 600”. As I mentioned, we got it pretty reasonably, because we were ok with the eggplant color. It is almost black and sitting in the corner blends in with our mostly black appliances.

I understood that this is KitchenAid’s “good” model. Others have told me, though, that the more recent ones like ours (maybe 6 or 8 years old) are not made with the quality parts older ones had. We have never had trouble with it, but we are not heavy users. Is what I was told true? If you work on one like ours do you use different parts to restore? Mine doesn’t need an overhaul right now, but it is interesting to learn more.
 
I tend to restore the outside a lot more than the inside. But then I go in a different direction with it as well. For example, I have a spare set of flavos, burners and grates. So I aim my crazy in that direction.
 
Jon Tofte said:
Larry,
I had previously wanted to follow up about blenders. Mine says “Professional 600”. As I mentioned, we got it pretty reasonably, because we were ok with the eggplant color. It is almost black and sitting in the corner blends in with our mostly black appliances.

I understood that this is KitchenAid’s “good” model. Others have told me, though, that the more recent ones like ours (maybe 6 or 8 years old) are not made with the quality parts older ones had. We have never had trouble with it, but we are not heavy users. Is what I was told true? If you work on one like ours do you use different parts to restore? Mine doesn’t need an overhaul right now, but it is interesting to learn more.
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Jon
The Professional 600 is exactly what is on my own counter (though not in the eggplant color it's that nice dark gloss gray). They are VERY powerful machines (almost scary powerful) as there is no "safety" mechanism so if you get your hand caught......................well I hope you like pieces of bone and flesh in your cake :D
That being said there are some very real durability issues with the model. If yours is over 5 or 6 yo IIRC it has a gearbox made of heavy plastic. Allows the unit to run a little more quietly but notorious for cracking under load and than causing major gear failures. KA upgraded the housing to cast (aluminum I think) and that is much better now though they run more noisy with the metal box. That and the crappy lubricant that either A breaks down into liquid and leaks out or B. Turns literally solid does not lubricate at all and all the gears fail.
The other weak point is the planetary. Made a little too flimsy given the extreme torque the thing can make and also sometimes just falls off into your bowl with no warning.
For grease I either use this https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B006M50RS2/tvwb-20 or this https://www.farmandfleet.com/products/533716-mystik-jt6-hi-temp-grease-with-3-moly.html
ON this model I don't worry too much that the second is not labeled "food safe" as the way the Pro 600 is made even if it were to leak from the gear box there is no pathway to food as there is with the other style (non modular) machines where the motor housing and gearbox are all one piece (like the Classic tilt head). So on my last 10 or so builds I have been trying out the Tri Flow product but the jury is out if that lube has the moxy to stand up to the very extreme loads this machine puts on it's gear train
I have made it a silent production change. So if I should see a premature failure I will repair the machines affected for free even past the warranty period. But, to date I have not had a failure from any of the machines either with the Moly or the TriFlow.
In any case with the factory grease (especially with the plastic gear housing) it is not a matter of "if" it will fail but "when"
 
I paid way too much for a blue top Silver B but, at the time, I knew NOTHING about the pitfalls which the under educated would never notice. Many thanks to Rich Dahl for enduring the many emails to help me get it in reasonable working order, my stepson and family are really enjoying it. I felt I didn’t have room for it so, when their POS grill died, grandpa delivered!

Then, I decided I needed something to do while my wife was recovering from “complete reverse shoulder replacement” and I was able to fall into an extremely dirty maroon Genny 1xxx burners were in good shape but, bars rotted out totally, other than that, it needed a serious cleaning and a new igniter. Once again, the forum got me in touch with Bruce and Larry, who pretty much held my hand through days of wire brush work and repainting. I know now that I will tear the whole thing back down in the spring and do some restoration of the frame and more “detailing”. If I find another for $20 I will snap it up and do a better job and see which I like better. If the frame and box are prime, I might swap the lid from “Bluey Louis” if I get really lucky, I’d like a 3000!
For me, the gasser is for quickies, but, I see the use of it!
 
I restored a Gold B a couple of years ago as a keeper. It came out good, but admittedly, I could have done a better job. I really wish I would have done a little better job on the frame. I'll probably tear it down again one day and get it where I want it. I cook most of my meals over charcoal, so my gasser does not see much action. It would probably be better to have it all shiny and sparkly since it's a patio queen.
 
Pat G said:
I restored a Gold B a couple of years ago as a keeper. It came out good, but admittedly, I could have done a better job. I really wish I would have done a little better job on the frame. I'll probably tear it down again one day and get it where I want it. I cook most of my meals over charcoal, so my gasser does not see much action. It would probably be better to have it all shiny and sparkly since it's a patio queen.
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I've done about 3 grills, two for myself and one for a cousin. The second (and third) time around it's much easier, faster and you can really take your time and correct what you want in exactly the way you want to.
 
I have a Weber Silver B I bought in 2001. Great grill. Can't kill the thing. Been through the normal burner/flavorizer bars/grill grate replacements over the years. This spring I plan to tear it down to the frame; fix the frame rust and repaint the frame, and repaint the sides of the lid and cook box. I just soak the interior with Krud Cutter, wire brush it, and then power wash it off. I did replace the gas regulator in today -- old one had a leak that caused a small flash fire. Thought it was a manifold leak but only a split in the hose. Will use RCPlanebuyer SS flavorizer bars #7537 from eBay and SS Quilimetal grill grates #7639 (Amazon). Replaced the burners last year. so will just clean them out. Maybe some new wheels and ignitor. Refurb will be under $150. Yeah, maybe I've spent close to the cost of a new grill over the past 17 years on replacement parts, but wife says "No" to a new $499 3-burner Weber grill :(. Anyway, I think this Silver B is better than some of the newer Weber LP models.
 
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