Starting to restore a Weber Genesis 2 redhead. NG to LP conversion.
- Thread starter Gary Opas
- Start date
Bruce
TVWBB 2-Star Olympian
Gary, The reason Larry says you can't go back is that he likely drilled out his orifices on his manifold. But, you can always swap in a new set of LP orifices or an entire different LP Manifold.
If you can't find a manifold/scale and panel elsewhere, let me know. I am pretty sure I have all three as I stated in my original post.
If you can't find a manifold/scale and panel elsewhere, let me know. I am pretty sure I have all three as I stated in my original post.
LMichaels
TVWBB 1-Star Olympian
There is a mechanical reason. You have to modify the valve spool (the internal part) to have it work correctly when going from LP to NG. Once you've done that you cannot "undo" it. It's why you just can't slap on orifices and expect it to be "converted"
LMichaels
TVWBB 1-Star Olympian
Bruce, in order to make an LP manifold work CORRECTLY (IOW low and medium settings maintain proper changes and flame propagation) you hae to drill (enlarge) the low/medium openings on the spool itself (the little conical part). If you don't and you take an LP manifold and run it on NG you will not maintain proper flame propagation especially on low. You will have flame outs. But, gas will still be flowing, and could build to dangerous levels under the hood, and ignite suddenly especially when you lift the hood. It's a VERY dangerous situation. That is why you cannot swap an orifice and expect it to work. If you try swapping LP orifices onto a NG manifold there is no "danger" but you will have temp control issues on low/med. What you do with the orifices themselves has no bearing on this. They're replaceable the spool valve is not replaceable
Wow! I wouldn't even think to change the sizes of the holes in the spool. Heck, until a moment ago, I didn't even know that the conical thing inside of the valve was called the spool. LOL. I wonder why the spool is not replaceable. It would be very convenient if there were replacement spools to change the 3-stop valves to continuously variable valves.
Thanks for posting those pics. At least I know what I'm dealing with now. I called 2 more plumbers this morning to get an estimate to get a gas line put in for a BBQ hookup. I'll try to decide this coming week. I do like the convenience of the NG hookup. I just don't like what they charge, where I live, to do it!
Bruce
TVWBB 2-Star Olympian
Well, for one thing, once a valve is used, it breaks itself in and changing in just the spool and not the rest of the valve would likely lead to leakage. You can change out entire valves though. Just sooooo much simpler and less prone to error to replace the entire manifold.
LMichaels
TVWBB 1-Star Olympian
If you're handy try doing it yourself. It's not that hard especially now with the modern piping we can get. Like CSS2. I used that to install my tankless water heater 15 years ago. They use a tremendous amount of gas (up to 200k btu) and I had to enlarge the supply line to it. As I only had a 30k BTU tank heater prior to it. With care it was pretty easy. Even my furnace installer complemented me on how professional it was when they were putting in my new furnace a couple years ago. It just really seems like robbery what some of these installers charge. Hell they don't even thread their own pipe anymore!
Anyway NG is cheaper to operate the grill on, you never run out and when you figure in gasoline saved not going to get the LP bottles filled and so on, plus the convenience. I don't care how many tanks you have. You will always run out in the middle of a cook, forget to have a spare or some other PIA moment
BillSmith
TVWBB Pro
I agree that it’s not hard even black piping assuming you are not doing new threads and you are careful to check for leaks.
I agree that it’s well worth it. I would suggest running 3/4” piping so that you can hook up several appliances if desired. The up charge will not be that much more. I’m able to have two grills and a stove hooked up at the same time.
See this post if you want to know how much I spent putting in a NG line.
Dual Fuel Ovens.
Really? I thought I just saw a KitchenAid one at my local store. I have not looked at Bosch offerings though. Sorry, I meant Whirlpool and Bosch specifically. Yes, KitchenAid does still make duel fuel.
tvwbb.com
The only disadvantage of NG is that there is not much of a used market for it. It’s harder to find donor grills or if you want to get a specialty item like pizza oven, turkey fryer, etc. A lot of manufacturers do LP only.
I'm semi-handy, but not confident enough with plumbing to do my own gas work. I'm more of the shower diverter, washing machine shutoff valve, cracked sink trap kind of DIY'er for plumbing.I agree that it’s not hard even black piping assuming you are not doing new threads and you are careful to check for leaks.
I agree that it’s well worth it. I would suggest running 3/4” piping so that you can hook up several appliances if desired. The up charge will not be that much more. I’m able to have two grills and a stove hooked up at the same time.
See this post if you want to know how much I spent putting in a NG line.
Dual Fuel Ovens.
Really? I thought I just saw a KitchenAid one at my local store. I have not looked at Bosch offerings though. Sorry, I meant Whirlpool and Bosch specifically. Yes, KitchenAid does still make duel fuel.
The only disadvantage of NG is that there is not much of a used market for it. It’s harder to find donor grills or if you want to get a specialty item like pizza oven, turkey fryer, etc. A lot of manufacturers do LP only.
I don't think I need more than 1 BBQ hooked up. We don't entertain at the house much; especially now that my parents have passed. The small groups we get now can be handled by 1 BBQ.
One thing that is pushing me toward LP is that my wife and I might be looking to move in another 6 years or so, once my daughter graduates HS. If it were 10 years ago, the cost of putting in a NG line would have been more of a no-brainer.
I noticed that the 7 mm Hisencn grates, which were 13 bars/grate at the time of the last review on this site, now have 16 bars/grate. They also claim to have finished edges. I wish I could find a reasonable set of 8 or 9 mm bar grates for this grill, but can't seem to find any under $100. Does anyone have any leads on a cheaper source? If not, I might go with the Hisencn. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0823BGYRG/?tag=tvwb-20
Last edited:
Bruce
TVWBB 2-Star Olympian
These are as good of value you will find in the 7mm grates category: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B083QPHF5N/?tag=tvwb-20
BillSmith
TVWBB Pro
It’s good to know your limits. The only gas work I’ve done is to connect the drier up and the valves & quick connects to the stubs. But I let the plumbers do the rest.
We do a lot of veggie roasting in the summer. So one grill is an oven while the other one is for grilling. Sometimes I have both going as ovens where I also make pizzas, breads, cobblers, etc. I like to keep the heat outside in the summer even with central AC.
That is a good value! Their description is wrong, though. They claim to have 18 x-bars/grate, while the pics clearly show 16. Still, that's comparable to the others that cost a little more. Thanks!
It is mindblowing that the Riversedge warming rack is the cheapest stainless steel rack I can find at $41.99 on Amazon. Considering how much smaller it is than the BBQ grates, one would expect it to be cheaper. Is there a stainless steel lid rack available anywhere for this BBQ?
Last edited:
Jon Tofte
TVWBB 1-Star Olympian
These are somewhat thicker and made of 403 (not the cheaper 430 but not the better 304) stainless. They do feel a little more substantial:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00TG3AXOU/?tag=tvwb-20
That's a big jump from $30 to $75. Myself, if I was willing to spend $75, I would go another $25 and get the ones from BBQParts.com. They are what they claim to be. US made, 304 stainless and 8mm thick. Of course, if money is not an issue, you can't beat Dave Santana/rcplanebuyer.
I did a review of a lot of grates, including this one as a later add-on. Some of the info is now out of date, but this still gives you a broad overview of the range of options.
Stainless Steel Grate Throwdown Challenge Results
I am still hoping someday to make my first "This Old Grill" episode, but hurricane and family stuff make that unlikely for a while. So, I decided I should at least publish my findings here so that you all can review them and maybe ask some questions. I did a separate page on each set of grates...
tvwbb.com
Last edited:
I think that I have solved the mystery of the model #. It appears that this is a Genesis 2000 without the casters installed. I found the manual, when cleaning out my Dad's filing cabinet today. Also, judging from the serial number without a date code, this is a 1993. The version of the manual is dated 8/92.
Attachments
LMichaels
TVWBB 1-Star Olympian
If it was a 2000 with the casters not installed it would be lopsided severely. I still believe you have a 2 there. Late in production they were nearly identical. Really the only 2 differences being the casters and the flip up tray table support. The 2 had a rod you had to insert into a hole on the leg. The 2000 a sliding support.
I know that you guys know these BBQ's like the back of your hand. I just am having trouble not believing the manual for the 2000 that came with the BBQ we bought my parents and I have on my lap, at this moment. The manual for the 2000 shows a swing table and it has the hole in the frame. Is it possible that the1993 Genesis 2000 had the swing table, while the later years had the slide, as you indicated? I mean, you see the cover to the manual, above. It clearly says what moodel it is and shows a swing table in the picture. I included the page, from the manual, on installing the swing table.
I'm going to do 2 things today. I'm going to use a level on the grates to see if it slants to the left (missing casters). I'm also going to call Weber and see if they can confirm the model for me, using the serial number.
Attachments
