Weber Spirit Special Edition 4420201

[Michael]

Hello all. Just curious if anyone has any details or tips on this grill. I picked it up locally (with a propane tank) for $30. I can’t find a lot of information on it but looks like it is from 2013, so not that old. I cleaned it up a bit, and bought some new parts and overall it is looking pretty good.

It’s a Spirit and says Special Edition, but the internal on the lid says genesis, and the burner tubs seem to be genesis as well.

Is this a Spirit with some Genesis parts?

I replaced the burner tubes, warming rack (hasn’t arrived), ignition, grease tray (expensive) and the other grease pan and holder.

Wish I could get the grates a bit cleaner and do a better job on the firebox and hood, but I figured it will just keep getting used, so it’s good enough.

This is my first Weber gas grill so any tips or input would be appreciated. Or if there is something else I should change let me know.
Thank you.
(Have a charcoal 22” I found too, but I will post in that forum)

 

[LMichaels]

This was basically a Chinese made Genesis from back when Weber was actually making the Genesis in the US

 

[J Grotz]

I think your grill is a 2012 special edition model sold at Ace Hardware. Your grill has e/w burners. In 2013 the Spirit line had switched to n/s burners. Take a look at page 19 of the Weber 2012 Premium catalog.
https://tvwbb.com/docs/2012weberpremiumproducts.pdf

I thought these were made here of leftover Genesis parts because the Genesis line switched to n/s burners for 2012, but I could be wrong. Nice score, by the way!

 

[Michael]

Thank you both. That would make sense for Weber to use the Genesis parts to make a “premium” Spirit instead of letting them just sit.

I did think it was odd that the burners did have the flame facing up on 1 and 3. They face in. They do look nice when they are all shiny.

 

[Joe Anshien]

Hello all. Just curious if anyone has any details or tips on this grill. I picked it up locally (with a propane tank) for $30. I can’t find a lot of information on it but looks like it is from 2013, so not that old. I cleaned it up a bit, and bought some new parts and overall it is looking pretty good.

It’s a Spirit and says Special Edition, but the internal on the lid says genesis, and the burner tubs seem to be genesis as well.

Is this a Spirit with some Genesis parts?

I replaced the burner tubes, warming rack (hasn’t arrived), ignition, grease tray (expensive) and the other grease pan and holder.

Wish I could get the grates a bit cleaner and do a better job on the firebox and hood, but I figured it will just keep getting used, so it’s good enough.

This is my first Weber gas grill so any tips or input would be appreciated. Or if there is something else I should change let me know.
Thank you.
(Have a charcoal 22” I found too, but I will post in that forum)

Excellent score! Nice grill.

 

[J Grotz]

With the e/w burner layout, these grills are amazing with a rotisserie. Here's a compatible one, or keep an eye out on the usual selling sites:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B014419I7G/?tag=tvwb-20

 

[BPratt]

That's a nice grill. The burners, flavor bars and cooking grids are common to the older E-W Silver/Gold Series and Spirit series.

Easy to work on

 

[Kelly C]

Nice pick up Michael and welcome to the forum!

 

[Jon Tofte]

Michael,
I have felt for some time that these grills are kind of classic Genesis grills in hiding. Don't get me wrong, they don't have the robust, simple frame or made in USA construction. However, they DO have the classic Genesis layout with E-W burners and a crossover ignition. And as BPratt points out, they will accept internals and grates from a Silver B/C or similar Genesis. So, rust problems with the cabinet - especially the bottom - not withstanding, these grills do have merit as being the very last Weber to use much of the original 1986 design concepts. That special edition also includes some pretty nice Weber stainless grates that are worth the $30 you paid by themselves.

If you have a really rusty bottom take the advice I got from Dave in KC and just spring for a new one from Weber. Then put your effort into the rest of the grill. Keep us updated with progress pictures!

EDIT: Yes, WELCOME TO TVWBB!

 

[Bruce]

Yah, great deal. How is the inside of the cabinet. If it isn't full of rust, you are lucky. And if you are keeping the grill, then doing the cleanup on it like you did is just fine. Like you say, it is just going to get dirty again anyway.
Welcome to the forum.

 

[Michael]

Thanks everyone. I will add some more pictures tomorrow. I don’t recall any rust on the inside. And yep, this one is for me. The large grease container was a bit rusted and actually had a hole in it, and the smaller one with the holder on the left was in bad shape, but I replaced both of them. The only other place I remember seeing rust is on the manifold frame where it connects to the grill. I think the screws were put in backwards (according to the burner tube instructions) but that wasn’t a big deal. However I could not remove one of them due to rust, but I was still, thankfully, able to get the manifold off without damaging anything. Instead of the screw going from outside in, it was going from inside out. So with it not being able to be removed, I had to wiggle the manifold frame off/past the one screw to get it off.

 

[Sam Bee]

Yah, as long as the cabinet is not rusted out then you got a great score and a keeper for sure.

 

[Michael]

Adding a few more pictures. I haven’t done anything else to it. The flavorizer bars look pretty crummy, but I read as long as they are not breaking or have holes, they are fine.

 

[Jon Tofte]

Looking really nice already, Michael! You definitely were blessed to find one with that nice of a cabinet inside. Must have been kept out of the elements. You might want to do a thorough cleaning of the cabinet parts, touch up any rust you do find and coat well with a good car wax to hold off the moisture and the rust that it brings. Doing that seasonally should give that grill a much longer life. A dry storage place is the most helpful it that is possible.

Since you are keeping this grill, I don't see any reason to swap out those flavorizer bars right now. They look totally find to me. Eventually you can look at replacement when they really need it. I recommend either Dave Santana ("rcplanebuyer") or Qlimetal (on Amazon), both of which are 304 stainless and 16 gauge. Dave may be more expensive, but you are supporting an American craftsman. At the same time, the Qlimetal ones are also very nice and a cut above a lot of the import replacement parts you see. Again that is well down the road.

I say get 'er done and fire it up! You got a great deal on a not all that common Weber model.

 

[Jon Tofte]

Oh, a couple tips I have learned here: On the hardware, like those manifold screws, make sure you are using 304 or better (non-magnetic) stainless. Then pickup a stick of Loctite Never Seize and use it on all the threads so if you ever have to remove or replace again you won't have the problem you did with this one. If any of your bolts are regular steel (magnetic) replace them.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0029SZIUI/?tag=tvwb-20

 

[J Grotz]

That is one clean grill! You mentioned the manifold. Definitely remove it, sand off the rust, and repaint it with high heat paint. As Jon just posted use stainless hardware. McMaster-Carr is a good online source if you don't have a good hardware store nearby. Jon also recommended cleaning and waxing to prevent rust.

Since this is a keeper, it might be worth your time to disassemble the whole grill so you can really examine all the hidden areas of the cabinet. It's also a good chance to replace hardware that holds the firebox to the frame. And then replace all of the hardware with 304 or better stainless. you can download the owner's manual from Weber; there's usually a hardware list in there.

If there are interior channels in the vertical supports (I'm thinking where the casters plug in), you might even consider spraying rust encapsulating paint in them. If there is rust there, you wouldn't know it until it was too late.

 

[Michael]

Thanks everyone.

What is the best way to get the bolt out that attaches the manifold (rusty part) to the firebox? I couldn’t remove it even with a power (battery) tool. Figured I would leave it since I was able to maneuver the manifold off, but it wasn’t super easy.
In the one picture you can see the rust where it attaches to the grill. I can get the nuts off, and I replaced those, but the bolt on the right is stuck good.

 

[Michael]

Looking really nice already, Michael! You definitely were blessed to find one with that nice of a cabinet inside. Must have been kept out of the elements. You might want to do a thorough cleaning of the cabinet parts, touch up any rust you do find and coat well with a good car wax to hold off the moisture and the rust that it brings. Doing that seasonally should give that grill a much longer life. A dry storage place is the most helpful it that is possible.

Since you are keeping this grill, I don't see any reason to swap out those flavorizer bars right now. They look totally find to me. Eventually you can look at replacement when they really need it. I recommend either Dave Santana ("rcplanebuyer") or Qlimetal (on Amazon), both of which are 304 stainless and 16 gauge. Dave may be more expensive, but you are supporting an American craftsman. At the same time, the Qlimetal ones are also very nice and a cut above a lot of the import replacement parts you see. Again that is well down the road.

I say get 'er done and fire it up! You got a great deal on a not all that common Weber model.

Thanks. I looked at both flavorizor options you provided. Dave’s would be my fist pick, but the Qlimetal on Amazon have some used like new for almost half the price. My only concern is they are more then likely returns which is fine if they just ordered the wrong ones....but hopefully someone didn’t get these and return a low quality set for a refund. Not sure if I could feel or tell the difference since I haven’t seen them before.

 

[Jon Tofte]

Is the bolt so rusty that it is rounded and won't stay in a socket?

First try would be to use PB Blaster and let it soak for a day to see if that loosens it up enough.

Some suggest applying heat (carefully, if you have access to a light duty torch).

If that doesn't work the last resort is to cut it off. It may not be worth all this since you got it off and on without this effort. If PB Blaster doesn't work, I might just live with it for now. But definitely do the other excellent rust prevention steps J Grotz suggested. You don't want to put in those nice parts and hard work only to have rust start popping our everywhere else!

 

[Jon Tofte]

Thanks. I looked at both flavorizor options you provided. Dave’s would be my fist pick, but the Qlimetal on Amazon have some used like new for almost half the price. My only concern is they are more then likely returns which is fine if they just ordered the wrong ones....but hopefully someone didn’t get these and return a low quality set for a refund. Not sure if I could feel or tell the difference since I haven’t seen them before.

I have had consistent great luck buying Amazon returns. Dave is everyone's first choice. He does top drawer work. But for something like these flavorizer bars, I would have a hard time passing up half the price for 304 stainless, 16 gauge bars that are even finished rather nicely.