Weber Spirit 500 questions


 
M

Marty G

New member
Just introduced myself and my hand-me-down grill. Dad bought it in June of 1999, still have the receipt.

Works great, but when my dad was giving it to me he said that 'it might need new burners or something?' It cooked great for him and does the same for me, however, after careful inspection I noticed that with either a single or both burners on, there is flame coming out of the length of the crossover bar. Is this normal?? If it cooks great, how would I know if I needed new burners??


Second Q, the aluminum 'pull out bottom tray' that tapers down to a single hole at the bottom, in the middle of it, the aluminum is partially melted....not sure from what. It's not stained like it was on fire. Not sure if anyone would know what would cause this to burn?? I think there has been a minor grease fire or three on this grill over the years, nothing major. Should I worry or no? No hole in the aluminum.

Oh and also, some of the flavor bars are about to rust through. Are the SS flavor bars that much better?? I guess if my dad had used SS when he replaced the originals however many years back I wouldn't be asking this question?!?! Also, on allgrillparts.com they list weber factory SS flavor bars and then generic SS 'heat angle kit.' Any reason to go one way or the other? Generic is 8 bucks cheaper.

Anyways, thanx for the help!!
 
Hey Marty,
Welcome to the site. I would take out your grills and flavorizer bars ans then light the grill. You should not have any fire on the crossover tube. Its just to get flame to the other burner tubes. Its likely burned out and needs replaced. Be sure to get the right parts as Weber changed some of those. I would reccomend getting a whole new burenr set if they are bad. As for SS flavorizer bars, everyone recomends this guy. He sells on eBay too and his prices are fair and the quality is excellent.Craigslist AD
 
Hi Marty,
Welcome to TVWBB.

I have to respectfully disagree with AJ regarding flames on the crossover tube. It should have a row of small holes facing the center of the fire box. When either burner is on full, you should see small flames from one end to the other. That's how the rear burner gets lit. However I have seen a couple that have deteriorated and have parts of the tube missing. If that's the case you should replace it. (It comes free with a set of burner tubes. but I did find one on-line vendor who sells individual parts form the burner kit.)

I don't think the heat from the propane will damage the grill but if something you're cooking produces a lot of grease and that catches, the fire box can warp and I would not be surprised to see the aluminum pan deform. I don't know how much that will affect performance of the cooker. It is a good reason to use a pan to catch grease.

Everyone seems to recommend the stainless flavorizer bars and grates because they should last just about forever. I got a set of stainless bars for my Silver A from a Craigslist seller in another state for $31 shipped. Look around and see what you can find. Porcelain coated bars at a low enough price would be good as well.
 
thanx for the replies guys....Maybe I should take a video of the flame in the crossover tube. It doesn't seem to have deteriorated, but I wasn't sure if it was supposed to have flame or not. it's not as high as from the main burner lines....but it's noticeable. Stay tuned for a video.

And thanx for the advice on the craigslist guy for the bars...anyone who works with stainless could make em up. I'll shoot that guy an email. Are the SS cooking grates preferred over the cast?? the cast grates on this spirit are the reason my dad was reluctant to pass on his 13 year old grill....if the new one had the same size grates he would have swapped them out (he tried).

Other than obvious signs of deterioration of the burners, what are signs that they need replacing?? They fire right up and cook well....flame seems even.
 
OK,
When I meant no flame on the crossover tube, I meant its not supposed to be a full on flame, like the regualr burners. Once it rots out, it won't work correctly.
The whole problem may be that the Flavor Bars are shot.
As for SS or Cast grates, thats a user preference. We have Cast on a newer grill and I love em. Of course the newer Weber cast iron grates are "coated", so they will last if you take care of them.
So, show us that video already!
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Marty G:
thanx for the replies guys....Maybe I should take a video of the flame in the crossover tube. It doesn't seem to have deteriorated, but I wasn't sure if it was supposed to have flame or not. it's not as high as from the main burner lines....but it's noticeable. Stay tuned for a video. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>Sounds like it is doing what it is supposed to do, like what AJ said. It should have a line of small flames along the length.

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">And thanx for the advice on the craigslist guy for the bars...anyone who works with stainless could make em up. I'll shoot that guy an email. Are the SS cooking grates preferred over the cast?? the cast grates on this spirit are the reason my dad was reluctant to pass on his 13 year old grill....if the new one had the same size grates he would have swapped them out (he tried). </div></BLOCKQUOTE>Grates are a personal choice. I have a nice heavy cast iron grate that I really like. I even put it on the grate on my kettles when I'm using them for grilling. The Gold B I gave to a friend has stamped stainless grates that should last a long time and perform well. The solid stainless grates that Weber puts on their higher end gassers would be pretty nice as well.

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Other than obvious signs of deterioration of the burners, what are signs that they need replacing?? They fire right up and cook well....flame seems even. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>Even flames are a good sign that the burners are doing what they are supposed to do.

Sounds like everything is working as it should.
 
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