Spring cleaning time.
I didn't make an AAAD post about it, but last summer my father-in-law and I dug up, re-filled, and re-set a large portion of our paver patio that was sinking.
So far, so good. We've had a LOT of water in the last few months, but the patio refuses to sink or heave, and the basement has stayed dry.
There are 2 major plans for summer 2013 - a Gut Rehab for our Weber Genesis E-310, and a Fire Pit / Patio Wall around the perimeter of our patio.
Let's focus on the first project first:
Weber Genesis Grill - Full Rehab
First things first - the Weber. We picked it up used on Craigslist, and it worked great last summer. It's still a beautiful gleaming silver and green on the outside, but some interior parts are shot.
It's not the newest model of the E-310 - ours is the 2007-2010 model, with the knobs on the side table, rather than on the front. And based on the metal box (rather than ceramic) on the ignitor, our grill is probably a 2007, and a full 6 years old.
Still, there's a lot of life left in this grill, and if we want to keep it nice, we have to treat it right. Time to take the grill apart, clean everything, replace what we can with new Weber parts, and reassemble!
Here's what we'll need:
1. A new set of burner tubes. (Weber Part #67722) This is the primary part that needs replacement. Ultimately, if the burners aren't working properly, the entire grill is useless.
In our case, the old burners are more or less rusted out. A genuine Weber replacement set of 3 burners will run us about $50.
2. A new set of "Flavorizer bars" over the burners. (Weber Part #7537) The burners on a Weber Grill each have a metal "tent", which Weber calls a "Flavorizer".
They function to keep the burners covered and free from drippings, which in turn prevents flare-ups that can burn your food. I'm not sure why this would increase "flavor", but sure, whatever Weber.
They come in 2 grades - porcelain-enameled metal, or stainless steel. Stainless are about twice as expensive - enamel are usually $35, stainless about $75.
I'd like to upgrade to the stainless. Sure, they're going to be coated in carbon within a few uses, but I'm not sure I could sleep at night knowing that someone out there has better flavorizer bars than me.
3. An Igniter Assembly. (Weber Part #67726) Our electric igniter still fires, and it worked occasionally last year, but I can tell it's on its last legs. The metal box around the spark is completely rusted away.
And it's a cheap replacement, at $16 for the entire kit.
4. Stainless Steel Cooking Grates. (Weber Part #7528) I'm of two minds on this replacement.
There's really nothing wrong with our existing cast iron grates - except for the fact that they have 6 years worth of old food grease on them, and they can't get clean no matter how hard you try.
Besides, since we're getting the stainless flavorizer bars, wouldn't it be cool to open up the grill and see nothing but gleaming stainless shining up at us? (I mean, until it all gets filthy after 2-3 uses, of course?)
These are pricey. We're talking about $120 for the set. But they're heavy duty. Full stainless steel rods.
and new for 2013:
Just think of how much HEALTHIER we're going to eat once I own this $18 steel basket. I'm going to cook so much zucchini and asparagus on the grill this year. And now I won't lose half of it into the burners.
So, that about sums it up. We're going to be spending about $200 on grill parts. But it should get me another six years worth of use.
Tomorrow, we'll talk about the patio....
Comments
Post a Comment