What is the worst looking "free" grill you still took?


 
A

AndySo

TVWBB Member
Just for fun, what is the worst conditioned free weber (whether you knew it beforehand or not) that you ever took for whatever reason (parts, because you already traveled there, had room in the vehicle, whatever)? Bonus if you have photos!
 
I grabbed a 2017 Genesis II E310 three years ago. It had been run into by a car or something similar but the cook box was still straight and clearly used very little. The lid was missing though. But the frame was pretty bad off. I kept all the good parts off it that I could.

I also picked up an old Genesis 1 that was propped up against a fence so it would not collapse. The frame was completely rotted out. I picked up a Genesis Silver B once where a tree branch had fallen on it and caved the lid in.

If not too far out of the way, I will always grab a Genesis regardless of the condition. Just a few spare parts of them make it worth while if they are free.
 
I got a redhead for free in Florida from a guy who agreed to hold it for me until after April 15 (remember when THAT was the tax deadline?!!) He was on the west coast of Florida, so it was a long road trip that I combined with taking my wife to some more enjoyable things for her while we were there. It looked decent in the pictures, but plenty of frame rot. My wife said to me, "We came all this way for THIS:oops:?!!!"

Worst of all, though, check out this firebox:


Genesis Firebox disaster 2.jpg

Genesis Firebox disaster 1.jpg

Before I picked up this junker, I didn't even know that an aluminum firebox could get so bad!
 
Jon, I just picked up a grill a couple weeks ago that was almost that bad. Who knows if that was a flaw in the aluminum casting order foot was just what they've work cooking in it.
 
Actually I think it may be dues to the plain steel flavo bars reacting with the aluminum and food acids while ones with SS bars would not do this
 
I'm waiting on these folks to go to "free," but they are still working their way down from $100. Just dropped it to $50 and then $40 this week. Curious how the base managed to survive so well while the rest of it is totally demolished. And what are those grates?

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Free is good as long as you don't have to drive more than a few blocks to pick it up... LOL
 
I know! Lol! The picture makes them look better than they are though. They are already sold, person is on the way now
 
AndySo said:
Whoa, did you know it was like that beforehand and still took it?
Click to expand...
I got hit by a tree in a storm. The guy had lots of other damage and I would guess insurance made him whole.

The grill was in good shape before the accident. I grabbed some parts and scrapped the rest.

The irony was the floor panel was not rotted and in good shape
 
BPratt said:
I got hit by a tree in a storm. The guy had lots of other damage and I would guess insurance made him whole.

The grill was in good shape before the accident. I grabbed some parts and scrapped the rest.

The irony was the floor panel was not rotted and in good shape
Click to expand...
That's how I got my first Weber. My wife would never have allowed us to spend that kind of money, so we always had junky gas grills. After a hurricane in Florida, an old redhead with a mildly dented hood got pushed out to the road by someone a few blocks from us. I told my wife we were stopping and loading that thing up in our van. She was mortified, but that old grill began my hobby of restoring Webers. I had hardly any tools - or knowledge - at the time. You should have seen me hand sanding and wire brushing rust off the original cast iron grates! I had to order some parts (back then x000 parts were still available) and I repainted the gray slats. I did finish eventually and finally discovered how nice it is to grill on a Weber instead of throwaway grill :coolkettle: .
 
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Here is my contribution....

These 4 photos were the ad that I came across... I had hoped to get a decent cookbox, but turns out that was the worst one I've ever seen. I don't even know how that could have happened.... the cookbox left side bolt looked like )(
ad1.jpgad4.jpgad2.jpgad3.jpg

This is what it really looked like.... no propane tank or any of the accessories (baskets) that were in the photo.
reality1.JPGreality2.JPGreality3.JPGreality4.JPG

In the end, all I managed to salvage is the manifold, knobs, control panel, piezo igniter, thermoset tables, lid end pieces, cross bar burner tube, tank scale, drip tray (which was in really good condition considering what the cook box looked like) and the wheels/axle.

Is there any value in the frames or any reason to hold onto the frames? Other than the left support frame which is totally rotted out the rest of it looks to be in decent shape (just minor surface rust).
 
I keep a few parts of the frames that I can use to fab into other frames, such as the left side rotted out crossmember.
 
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