Tell me about my CL find


 
H

Hank B

TVWBB Pro
After asking about Weber gassers in What should I know about choosing a Weber gasser? I found this on Craigslist:
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<UL TYPE=SQUARE>
<LI> No cover or tank,
<LI> igniter not working,
<LI> needs grate and flavorizer bars
<LI> cost $30 US
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[/list]

It's a deal I'm happy with. Here are some more images:

Here is the firebox with the cheesy aftermarket grate removed:

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Should there be more flavorizer bars?

Controls:

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Number in the bottom left is 8103. Does that identify the model or is it just a P/N for the panel?

Here it is with my magic grate:

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I call it magic because a couple of these were found in the shed when we moved in in '87. I cleaned this one up to use for a couple cooks in my Coleman and it seems to fit well in the Weber. If I decide I like it, I'll cut a second one to fill in the empty space on the end of this grate. It's a nice heavy cast iron grate and I can use it until I want something better.

The only ID I see on the grill is "Silver" on the handle. Is there a particular model number hidden some where?

I wonder if I can find a manual to download from Weber's web site.

Anything else any of you can tell me about this is most appreciated.

Aside for consumables like grill and flavorizer bars and perhaps the igniter, it looks pretty solid. There are a couple places on the end where a bit of paint has come off, but I may just touch that up after I clean this baby up. I can't wait to give it a whirl!

Edit: This clip fell off when I unloaded the grill and I haven't figired out where it belongs:

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That looks like a 2000-2001 Genesis Silver A and very similar to a 2002 Silver A that I recently restored. On my grill, the serial number and model number are on a sticker attached to the right side frame underneath the cooking box.

There should be five flavorizer bars. I bought stainless steel bars from an ebay vendor named "weilseams" - very happy with them.

Here is a link to an owner's manual that might be your grill:

Silver A 2000-2001 LP

Good luck with your restoration.
 
Hi Ralph,
I think you nailed it. Every detail looks like what I see in the instruction manual you linked. I even identified the clip (manifold support.)

Do you have a thread that details your restoration? Or is there a thread that covers that sort of thing?

Edit: Could not find the ID sticker. It may be gone.

many thanks,
walt
 
Walt: No, I didn't document my restoration, but there's not much to it. Disassemble. Clean everything - oven cleaner, Bar Keeper's Friend, SOS, Dawn, 0000 steel wool - whatever works. Install new burners (ordered from Weber parts) and flavorizer bars. Cook.

Search "restoration" in this forum and you'll find some samples.

Keep us posted. Good luck.
 
Walt, I just finished restoring a Silver A myself. (2003 model) I called Weber C/S and they said the burners had a 10 yr warranty and sent me a new set for free! I also got my flavorizer bars from E Bay, I paid $23.00 to the door for mine. It is fairly simple to disassemble, 2 screws by the burner knobs, the bolts holding the grill box to the frame, and unplugging the igniter, and thats about it. Any questions, please feel free to ask and I'll help any way I can. I picked mine up as a curb side rescue for free, and will be giving it to my Father in Law for fathers dady. I think I have about $40.00 in mine including the high heat paint I used.
Good Luck,
Tim
 
Thanks for the further information. I've been looking for the bars on ebay and don't see any for less than about $35 (with shipping.) Some are 16GA and most are 18GA. Need I be worried about the difference? Will the heavier bars work better? Will the slow down heat up?

The burner on mine seems to be in good shape. I need to inspect flame pattern again after dark (when I get a tank) but during the day it was OK from what I could see. I do want to dig into the igniter to see what can be done with that.

And clean out the bottom. It's a bit cruddy.

Thanks,
walt
 
Looks like a nice little Silver-A-in-the-Rough!

I am confident that once you get a new set of flavorizer bars, I am confident that it will cook the pants off your Coleman - More even heating and lots less flare-ups. (Go for the thick flavorizers - they'll last and work better - probably until you get the urge for your next grill upgrade)

Also, nice find on the "recycled" Cast Iron grates - if you need to cut-down one of the other ones, I would use an abrasive cutting wheel in some kind of high-speed device / lay the grate on top of a piece of scrap plywood or wide board while cutting, or it may crack / break where you don't want it to...

30-bucks, plus the cost of new flavorizer bars is still pretty inexpensive, and WAY better than a new "cheapo" gas grill.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Ron G.:
I am confident that it will cook the pants off your Coleman - More even heating and lots less flare-ups. (Go for the thick flavorizers - they'll last and work better - probably until you get the urge for your next grill upgrade)
Also, nice find on the "recycled" Cast Iron grates - if you need to cut-down one of the other ones, I would use an abrasive cutting wheel in some kind of high-speed device </div></BLOCKQUOTE>I have an excellent high speed device. A 4 1/2" Makita angle grinder. It's one of my favorite power tools. With the right wheel, it cuts through cast iron like butter.
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(OK, not like butter. It took at least 20 seconds to get through the three points I needed to cut.
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)

I also partially disassembled the grill to clean it up. I stopped when I got to the single bolt that holds the bottom shell to the frame. The nut was badly rusted so I cut it off with a die grinder but could not budge the bolt. I just continued cleaning with the shell in the frame. The screws holding the manifold and burners came out with absolutely no difficulty.

I use WD-40 for degreasing. It generally softens stuff up and removes pretty well with a subsequent wash of Dawn dish detergent. For outer surfaces, I just wiped it off and figure any remaining film will act as a rust preventative. There is very little rust on the frame to begin with and I hope to keep it that way. (I need to get a cover!) As far as cleaning out the inside, I mainly focused on getting the big stuff and not sweating the stubborn layer under the top.

I shined up the outside of the top with softscrub and was really surprised to see how good it looked. It must be some pretty durable stuff. There are some chips in the paint on the cast parts of the lid, but I like another boarder's suggestion to just leave them there as testament to the age and service of the grill.
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I got the igniter working. Part of the insulator is broken but it still sparks. The biggest problem is that it is rather loose in the holder which itself is partly rusted away. I may fiddle with it a bit more or just put a new igniter on my Father's Day list.

And I found a tank on Craigslist
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I called my local propane dealer and asked about certifications. They told me they are good for 12 years and anything older would probably not be cost effective to mess with. I found one listed for $15, called and went to pick it up. It had been repainted and rust was bubbling up under the paint. Something was rattling around inside and the data of manufacture was 1970
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I politely told him no thanks, I'd probably not get a dealer to fill it and headed for my car. I was sitting in my car looking up propane tanks at Sam's Club (on my phone.) I thought that if this is what was in store looking for a used tank, I'd rather not waste any more time. Before I got that far, seller came out to my car and said he had a better tank. He showed me one that was about an 8 on a scale of 1-10 and had a date of manufacture of Jan 09. I handed him $15, smiled and shook hands and was soon on my merry way with a serviceable tank.
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Once I got it filled, I hooked it up and fired up my new baby for the first time so I could season the last addition to the grate. Practically before I could turn around, it was up to 600° F.
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I cut the temperature back a bit. I need to check the flame pattern after dark. It seemed like the flame wanted to blow off the burner right by the igniter. Maybe I should have run something through the venturi and down the burner to make sure there were no spider webs.

While cleaning, I also found the ID sticker:

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I wish I could read it.
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best,
walt
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Tim (the grillaholic):
Walter, found this on craigslist near Raleigh NC. Might be worth looking into, if anything would fit your grill, maybe you talk to the guy about shipping it to you. You could always cut down the Bars if they were too long. For $25.00, its quite a deal.
http://raleigh.craigslist.org/tls/2423132303.html
Good luck,
Tim </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Thanks, Tim. I've emailed them to ask if they would ship.

They would not fit directly but Mr. Angle Grinder could soon fix that.
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best,
walt
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Tim (the grillaholic):
Keep me posted Walter, I hope it works out!!
Tim </div></BLOCKQUOTE>It's on its way.

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by AJ S.:
Hey Walt,
I can read your serial # just fine.
DD 468042
It comes up on the Weber site.

Schematic

I have a similar model
Hope this helps.
AJ </div></BLOCKQUOTE>Thanks for the help interpreting the serial number. That confirms Ralph Young's ID and your link gets me part numbers for everything I might ever need.

Tonight I cooked on it for the first time - grilled chicken breasts and roasted potatoes. Even with only three flavorizer bars heat distribution seems pretty good. Now I just need to explore cooking with gas. I've been using charcoal for decades.

thanks,
walt
 
Walter,
I am sure you have figured this out already but the Clip you showed in your original post holds the manifold on to the frame. It is held on by pressure and not screwed in. I had the same think happen when I bought home my CL purchase.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Doug Ashby:
Walter,
I am sure you have figured this out already but the Clip you showed in your original post holds the manifold on to the frame. It is held on by pressure and not screwed in. I had the same think happen when I bought home my CL purchase. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>Yes, thanks. Ralph Young posted a link to the manual which included a parts breakdown. Once I saw that it was a manifold clip, it took me about 3 seconds to figure out where it went.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by WalterWhite:

Thanks, Tim. I've emailed them to ask if they would ship.

They would not fit directly but Mr. Angle Grinder could soon fix that.
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</div></BLOCKQUOTE>The came today. He made me a little nervous when his promise to ship within 24 hours turned into a reality of 4 days (without communication.) But the bars arrived and I had no difficulty trimming them to the proper length. There were three shorter bars included in the set and I need to figure out what to do with them. Maybe I can use them under the regular bars to support a smoke box. Now I need to figure out what to grill to give them a test run.
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Is it normal for the grate to sit on top of the flavorizer bars or is my setup non-standard?
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by WalterWhite:

There were three shorter bars included in the set and I need to figure out what to do with them. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

In older Genesis Grills, there were several shorter bars set at right-angles to the long ones, in the narrower, lower part of the housing, on "steps" cast into the housing. About 95% odds that yours did not need these.

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content"> Is it normal for the grate to sit on top of the flavorizer bars or is my setup non-standard? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

NO - the grate should sit level, with the front supported by the "lip" at the top front edge of the lower housing, and the rear of the grates resting on a step or protrusions at the rear of the housing. The top of the flavorizer bars should be about 2-3 inches below your grates.

Flavorizer Bars sit E-W (the long way) in the (5) "slots" on the cast-in platforms on the sides of your lower housing:

|- -|
|bar |
|- -|
|- -|
|bar |
|- -|
|- -|
|bar |
|- -|
|- -|
|bar |
|- -|
|- -|
|bar |
|- -|
 
I see. The grate I have must be a little narrower than the factory grate which must sit just about flush with the front edge of the bottom housing. This is what I have:

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I guess I lose a little grilling area, but this seems to work OK. This CI grate is about 3/4" tall so that provides some separation to the flavorizer bars.

Edit: Oh, I see why you were explaining how the bars go in. What I said was "There were three shorter bars included in the set and I need to figure out what to do with them." and what I meant was "Since the Silver A does not use the three shorter bars, I need to figure out some alternate use for them." They straddle the opening at the bottom of the fire box so I might try setting a smoke box on them.
 
I've read about some of the competition cooks sitting canned biscuits at regular intervals over their cooking surface to see where the hot spots are on their grill/smokers before a particular competition.

Might be a good exercise on your new toy to see where the hot spots are on your grill. I've been meaning to try it on my Silver B.


Nice find and nice job getting her up and running.

Pat
 
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