Warped Fire Box


 
S

Sam Conni

New member
I have a Genesis of recent age (3-4yrs) and over the last few months noticed that the grates no longer fit correctly. I came to realize finally that the fire box had warped and recently its gotten much worse. Called Weber and without hesitation they told me they would send me a new one if I was comfortable changing it out myself. No big deal for me to do so. They said it was unusual for this to warp.

So is it unusual ?
How do I prevent it from happening again?
Could I line the new one with some ceramic material used to insulate wood burning ovens or maybe spray it with 2000F Ceramic coating and cure it?

I recall having an incident of grease burning in the pan below the grill - does that get hot enough to do this damage?

Thanks all.
 
It's not something I've heard of, but things I can think of that might do that would be excess heat, excess cooling (like spraying water on it while hot) or a defective casting. maybe differential heating - like one side excessively hot while the other is cold - could do that as well.
 
Well I got the new firebox and was surprised to see a completely detailed instruction booklet on how to replace the firebox. Why exactly would they have those great directions if it was such an unheard of thing?

Not complaining, just curious about how they act like they never had a warped firebox before.
 
Well I have never heard of that problem either, but now I'll keep an eye on my Genesis firebox.

How long did it take to change it?
 
Nope, I've never heard of it either. That's the great thing about Weber customer service. If something is wrong they'll usually do what they can to make it right. Hopefully you just had a defective one and all will be great with the new one.
 
Originally posted by Gary McD:
Well I have never heard of that problem either, but now I'll keep an eye on my Genesis firebox.

How long did it take to change it?
Click to expand...

If I wasn't going to clean any of the parts like the burners the entire replacement would have been about 30 minutes as you can short cut the directions they provided. I spent about 90 minutes because I cleaned a lot of the other parts.
 
Have you ever modified the grill in a way to retain heat and/or smoke? For example, blocking any of the back vent to hold in smoke or foiling the grates to increase heat? Do you usually fire up the whole grill or do you use half of it for a lot of meals?

I'd like to know what caused this.
 
I've seen a couple of warp firebox on Genesis Gold B made in the 05'.

I don't know the detail, just the result of it.

Here's a picture of Genesis Gold B '05, right side.

1312784014-764.jpg_m.jpg


and from front.

1312784681-586.jpg_m.jpg


Vincent.
 
It's not uncommon. I've seen a number of warped fireboxes. Always due to overfiring. Usually NG models and someone left it on for hours or days on high.

The things just aren't made for that kind of service.
 
Mine did the same thing. I used a block of wood, a jack, and prayer to get it back. I chickened out before it was perfect but got it "good enough".
 
I read this post last night and those images of that melted grill got stuck in my head. To those with grills looking like that I think you better check all your gas lines, regulator, etc. I would even go so far as to recommending replacement. You melted a metal box, how do you think the rubber hoses are fairing? I would also highly recommend cleaning out the bottom of the grill on a regular basis. The tray slides out easy and a cheap plastic putty knife is all you need to scrape out all the fat and burnt stuff. From those photos I am of a belief that either the grill was on at full bore for way too long as previously suggested, or there was more than designed for fuel present, either by way of faulty regulator or serious amounts of fat trapped in the bottom pan. Keep it safe guys so you can live to eat more Q!
 
Originally posted by Phil S:
Mine did the same thing. I used a block of wood, a jack, and prayer to get it back. I chickened out before it was perfect but got it "good enough".
Click to expand...

So they'll bend a little bit? I just got a use Silver A and I went and got the SS flavorizer bars and the SS grates. Cleaned it up and when I put the grates on, they will almost not rest on the grate lip. Looked at it and it seems a little warped because the ends sit better than the middle. I was thinking about taking a tie down strap around it and give it a little hug.

How did you use the wood and jack? Was it pushed in in the middle? Mine is bowed out in the center.
 
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