Rusted summit cookbox poll


 
Eric-NH

Eric-NH

TVWBB Pro
I know the summit cookbox is s giant pain in everyone's side that owns one. They all rust out, and all in the same fashion. My question is this.... How many people have had luck with the warranty? If you didn't, why not? And if you did, were you the original owner? I picked up a free 420 last weekend with the expectation that the box would be rusted out and I was not disappointed. I went into it with this knowledge and with the idea that maybe I could fabricate a replacement. If I'm able to bend a new piece of sheet metal, hopefully from stainless, how many people would be interested? I really just love playing in the garage and have a bit of a passion for seeing Weber grills get used, restored, and enjoyed. I'm even rooting with the idea of trying to bend up some metal replacement floors. Wondering what the market is for these items and how many people are winning to get creative to keep the old ones going! Fire away guys, let me hear it!
 

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You can likely do a search for my experience with my 1st generation Summit 450. Which left me so discouraged I left the grill sitting on my front patio. Jon Tofte was kind enough to take it away and turn it into the beauty you see in his photos.
Weber talks a good game on their warranty but in my case they left me with a rusted out grill that supposedly had a 25 year warranty but no parts to support the warranty. How that was even legal is beyond me. But they did leave a VERY sour taste in my mouth
 
My Summit Platinum C4 (2005) started rusting out in 2015. I called Weber and received a replacement cookbox via the 25 year warranty.

I'm waiting until I consider the original cookbox to be unsafe before I replace it with the new one.

I would love to be able to reinforce the new box somehow before I eventually install it.
 
LMichaels said:
You can likely do a search for my experience with my 1st generation Summit 450. Which left me so discouraged I left the grill sitting on my front patio. Jon Tofte was kind enough to take it away and turn it into the beauty you see in his photos.
Weber talks a good game on their warranty but in my case they left me with a rusted out grill that supposedly had a 25 year warranty but no parts to support the warranty. How that was even legal is beyond me. But they did leave a VERY sour taste in my mouth
Click to expand...
Yeah, that's very bad business to offer a warranty but not make the parts available. If there had been a way to repair it, would you have tackled the repair yourself?
 
Lance-DjL said:
My Summit Platinum C4 (2005) started rusting out in 2015. I called Weber and received a replacement cookbox via the 25 year warranty.

I'm waiting until I consider the original cookbox to be unsafe before I replace it with the new one.

I would love to be able to reinforce the new box somehow before I eventually install it.
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What kind of reinforcement would you consider worthwhile? I plate that can be put in front to act as a guard/heat shield? Would you consider trying to replace the entire porcelain coated steel panel?
 
Eric-NH said:
Yeah, that's very bad business to offer a warranty but not make the parts available. If there had been a way to repair it, would you have tackled the repair yourself?
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I was hoping for that which is why I "parked" it rather than putting it out for scrappers. Jon found a way to save it. Hopefully it goes a good long time now. But, not finding any way myself, I was very close to simply setting it out front for the scrappers that come through now and then
 
I've had great success with warranty. The box appears to rust due to several design and human participation. The enamel used to protect the box is adequate but fails easy when scratched, dented, and water intrusion. The only thing I can see to reinforce it without cost is to follow the cleaning and care instructions. Don't use metal brush or scrapers in the box, don't slam in your grates when removing, and if you notice damage to the enamel, clean and repaint it. These are residential not commercial grills and they will require more maintenance or less use to last past the 10 year box warranty.
 
Eric-NH said:
What kind of reinforcement would you consider worthwhile? I plate that can be put in front to act as a guard/heat shield? Would you consider trying to replace the entire porcelain coated steel panel?
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Eric, @Jon Tofte had stainless plates made to cover the porcelain coated steel. He has been using them for a while now and seem to be holding up well. Hopefully he will chime in and maybe post a link to a thread regarding them to provide more info. Otherwise, just message him.
 
Fred Smith said:
but fails easy when scratched, dented, and water intrusion
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No scratches or dents. Plastic scraper used. The issue is "stress". The enamel fails around the openings This is due to the uneven stresses which take place. IN my case and that of many others the rear panel never fails. On mine it was pristine. They fail around the "teardrop" burner openings. Now, perhaps in my climate (harsh winters, rainy spring with mixes of very cold to very warm temps, snow one minute and 70 deg above the next, it hastens the failure of the enamel once it's cracked. But please don't make excuses for such a bad design and material choice
 
I actually just heard from Weber today, they are shipping me a new cookbox! I should see it in 7-10 days. I would still, however, like to pursue a fix for this issue to help other people that were less fortunate in the warranty department
 
Glad Weber is making this one right, too. They spend a lot replacing parts that they could have made right in the first place.

I had my parts made by a small specialty shop that used a low-grade heat cutter of some sort to make openings that matched my porcelain firebox on my 1st generation 1998 Summit. I used food grade, high-heat RTV to attach the thick stainless reinforcement panels to my original piece. So far, so good. While I have leftovers for the 1st generation Summit, they won't work on your newer Summit.

Front Piece with Rust Inside CLOSEUP.jpeg

Applying Stainless panels.jpeg
Inside front after clips and SS reinforements.jpeg
 
LMichaels said:
No scratches or dents. Plastic scraper used. The issue is "stress". The enamel fails around the openings This is due to the uneven stresses which take place. IN my case and that of many others the rear panel never fails. On mine it was pristine. They fail around the "teardrop" burner openings. Now, perhaps in my climate (harsh winters, rainy spring with mixes of very cold to very warm temps, snow one minute and 70 deg above the next, it hastens the failure of the enamel once it's cracked. But please don't make excuses for such a bad design and material choice
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No excuses just stating the obvious. Some of us bought these grills new and paid a hefty amount. However, very few companies are willing to stand behind their products passed a year and even in the automotive world it's 3 years, 36k miles and shrinking. I'm new to Weber and only got one because it was $80 bucks and a free one as a bonus. I also took full advantage of the warranty through the original owner who opted not too. What piece of equipment cheap or expensive has a warranty like this...


  • Aluminum castings ( 25 Year(s) ) , 2 years on paint, excludes fading - 06-14-2046
  • Stainless Steel Burner Tubes ( 10 Year(s) ) , No burn through or rust through - 06-14-2031
  • Cookbox Assembly ( 10 Year(s) ) - 06-14-2031
  • Stainless Steel Flavorizer Bars ( 5 Year(s) ) , No burn through or rust through - 06-14-2026
  • Stainless Steel Cooking Grates ( 5 Year(s) ) , No burn through or rust through - 06-14-2026
  • All Remaining Parts ( 2 Year(s) ) - 06-14-2023
 
You are a little late to this party. So I think you're missing the whole point of the discussion.
It not just a matter of them rusting but Weber not fulfilling their own so called "generous" warranty by dropping the parts and no making them available. Additionally there was no excuse for making them and continuing to make a flagship model they knew would rust out so readily. It's one thing to put something on paper, but when the paper is worth no more than what is on the roll in your bathroom then what good is it?
 
Yes, I'm definitely late to the Summit cookbox debate but I have a DE dated 2009 S450 and a cookbox and manifold on the way. The OP also has a cookbox on the way so maybe everyone's mileage will vary with how it pans out for them. I'll table this here as not to hijack this thread with a great past and present debate.
LMichaels said:
You are a little late to this party. So I think you're missing the whole point of the discussion.
It not just a matter of them rusting but Weber not fulfilling their own so called "generous" warranty by dropping the parts and no making them available. Additionally there was no excuse for making them and continuing to make a flagship model they knew would rust out so readily. It's one thing to put something on paper, but when the paper is worth no more than what is on the roll in your bathroom then what good is it?
Click to expand...
 
Eric-NH said:
What kind of reinforcement would you consider worthwhile? I plate that can be put in front to act as a guard/heat shield? Would you consider trying to replace the entire porcelain coated steel panel?
Click to expand...
I'm not interested in a replacement. I think stainless steel plates like Jon has for his Summit would be ideal. I am curious to see how well it holds up over time.
 
Just cooked on my Summit tonight. So far - about 7 months - so good. Pretty soon I am going to do a thorough cleaning, and I will post how well the plates are holding up and, more importantly, staying attached.

Preheating a 1998 1st generation Summit produces a searing high heat blast compared to a Genesis of the same size. That extra dose of heat may well contribute to the firebox deteriorating.
 
Eric-NH said:
I know the summit cookbox is s giant pain in everyone's side that owns one. They all rust out, and all in the same fashion. My question is this.... How many people have had luck with the warranty? If you didn't, why not? And if you did, were you the original owner? I picked up a free 420 last weekend with the expectation that the box would be rusted out and I was not disappointed. I went into it with this knowledge and with the idea that maybe I could fabricate a replacement. If I'm able to bend a new piece of sheet metal, hopefully from stainless, how many people would be interested? I really just love playing in the garage and have a bit of a passion for seeing Weber grills get used, restored, and enjoyed. I'm even rooting with the idea of trying to bend up some metal replacement floors. Wondering what the market is for these items and how many people are winning to get creative to keep the old ones going! Fire away guys, let me hear it!
Click to expand...
They honored the warranty for the fire box burn issue,and they even covered for a local Weber service person to swap it out. My summit was purchased back in 2010. Was replaced sometime between 17-19.
 
Michael Smotch said:
They honored the warranty for the fire box burn issue,and they even covered for a local Weber service person to swap it out. My summit was purchased back in 2010. Was replaced sometime between 17-19.
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Wow, I did not know they did that. Very nice.
 
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