The lid says Genesis. The parts bin contains four incompatible Genesis families. The only number that matters is on a riveted plate or a sticker the factory put on the cart.
Why the badge lies
- Marketing names repeat: Spirit, Performance, Pro, 4-burner — sold for a decade across different box widths.
- Serials and model strings encode the year and the exact firebox.
- Flavorizer length, hot-rod length, and electrode clips change inside a name.
Where to look
- Weber Spirit / Genesis. Inside the left cabinet door, on the left cart frame, on the back of the control panel, or under a side table. Wipe grease. Copy the model (E-310, Genesis II E-335) and the serial. Older units hid the plate on the underside of the right table.
- Weber Q. Underside of the firebox or the rear lid flange. 1200 / 2200 / 3200 are different families.
- Char-Broil. Back of the firebox, rear cart panel, or inside the left door. Copy the entire string (46xxx, GPxxxx). Heat-plate kits follow that string more than “Commercial 4.”
- Nexgrill. Rear firebox or inside the cart. Stamped 720-xxxx plus a suffix. The suffix matters.
- Traeger. Back of the hopper, inside the hopper lid, or next to the firepot. Series plus size (Pro 575). For the hot rod, the parts diagram for that serial is the length source.
- Broil King / Napoleon. Rear cabinet or the back of the firebox. Series plus a number (Baron 490, Rogue 425).
- Built-in luxury (Lynx, Alfresco, Wolf, Viking, DCS, Fire Magic). Chassis side flange or behind the control panel — not the hood badge. See built-in model numbers.
If the plate is gone:
- Measure grate width and depth.
- Count main burners.
- Note side burner yes/no.
- Photograph burner inlets and flavorizer notches.
- Use the finder as a search hint. It is not as good as a serial.
Photograph like a parts person
- Wide shot of the plate in place so you know which cart it belongs to.
- Tight shot — flash off if it glares, flash on if it is in a cave. Every character.
- A third shot of the whole rear for burner count and side burner.
- Keep the photos in an album named with the model.
Use the number
- Type the model into the homepage finder, pick a part type, open BBQGuys or Amazon.
- Download the exploded diagram for that serial from the manufacturer’s support site.
- When the retailer photo and the exploded diagram disagree, the diagram wins.
Do not:
- Email a retailer “it’s a Weber, 3 burners” and hope.
- Buy a kit because a forum said 7636 without comparing length to your tape.
- Post the serial on a public forum. The model string is enough for almost every search on this site.
Related: homepage finder and brand pages.