NFT: Advice on Weber grills

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very happy with it.

i've had nothing but Weber grills for 30 years. no reason to get anything else.

It's awesome. Never had a grill that didnt have hot spots. what a huge difference. Scored it when Ebates had 10% cash back at Ace. Just do not but the Weber cover. The seams tear and they do not last. Buy a King Kong cover from Amazon. Night and day with the quality

We were in the market for a new grill but didn't want to drop a load of money on one.

I looked online (Craigs list) and found a used Weber Genesis grill (several actually). This one in particular was three years old and well-maintained. The guy was asking $400 and I got it for $350, including two tanks and a cover.

We've gone through buying $300 grills in the past (Char-Broil and Home Depot specials) and after having one literally catch on fire, I'm very happy with our approach.

Spent a good bit of time cleaning the grates (more than I typically do during our in own cleaning sessions). They came out good enough and even if they didn't you can buy replace grates for like $80 or so.

accept no other... depends on what you really need.. I have had several parties using only my small spirit for 10 years now. Only had to replace the flavor bars since.

Covering it does more harm than good. Makes a little moisture tent. Mine is 5 years old never been covered looks like new.

Thank you for the link. I think I may be down to the Spirit II E-310 or the Spirit 330. Debating on if the sear station and the side burner are worth the extra money.

No cover? I've always covered mine and haven't had issues. As for the moisture, wouldn't that only happen if you're not waiting for it to fully cool down before putting the cover on?

12 years old.

I have had to replace the cover, but the grill has all original parts and starts first push (sometimes with multiple burners on two clicks)

I'll go days without it being covered, but if there's any weather coming I'll cover it and it gets covered for the winter and uncovered if I use it.

I believe the Weber brand of covers are permeable unless you get the insulated one, and will not keep in a damaging amount of moisture.

I've never gotten one because I know I'd pretty much never use it, and they're just one more thing that can break.

I have had the ES-310 3 Burner for about 7 years now and aside from the yearly cleaning, only had to replace the igniter switch (which I had broken, no fault of Weber's).

This is the model I have:

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Weber-Genesis-E-310-3-Burner-Propane-Gas-Grill-in-Black-6511001/202520220

It looks like they replaced this model with their new Genesis II's:

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Weber-Genesis-II-E-310-3-Burner-Propane-Gas-Grill-in-Black-with-Built-In-Thermometer-61010001/300159098

Personally, not a fan of not having the doors and storage space in the front as I keep a lot of the cleaning products in there and some other miscellaneous stuff. To each their own.

There have been some reviews out there that the newer Weber grills have gone down in quality. I wouldn’t be able to speak to that, but back in 2010, Weber sold the majority stake of the company to a private equity firm. They also moved a lot of manufacturing to outside the US. With that said, I still think Weber is still the top grill in the market and their customer service is tremendous.

has taken a downturn recently. I've bought two grills in the past 4 years, one Genesis and one Summit, and both have been disappointing.

The Summit has hotspots and cold spots (the left side of the grill barely ever gets hot). The Genesis won't heat up past 600F, and takes forever to get there. Both off propane, both have had different parts replaced as I worked through Weber customer support, and neither has had the issues resolved yet.

I had the same two model line grills in the past for over a decade without a problem. Weber's customer support is still there, although now there's a reluctance to send out new parts that wasn't there before, IMO.

That said, not sure who makes the best grill out there these days if it's not Weber. I do regret not trying the Napoleon equivalent over the Genesis, because I had read reviews that indicated Weber had lost a bit off it's fastball before the purchase.

I have no need for anything else.

Got a 2 season old genesis on Craigslist. Love it. Use it constantly

thats how I gut my summit series

free to ignore but I'd like to miller the thread and add that the best thing I ever bought for outdoor cooking was the blackstone flattop grill. On sale for $80 last year. I won't cook burgers on the grill anyway and this thing does it all.

This, a smoker, and a small charcoal hibachi make great additions to the Weber.

I use this flattop all the time.
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In comment 14468475 oghwga said:

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free to ignore but I'd like to miller the thread and add that the best thing I ever bought for outdoor cooking was the blackstone flattop grill. On sale for $80 last year. I won't cook burgers on the grill anyway and this thing does it all. This, a smoker, and a small charcoal hibachi make great additions to the Weber. I use this flattop all the time. Link - ( New Window )

I love mine. sausage peppers and onions - I do that on there a few times a summer. I feel like the guy selling sausage outside the ballpark.

I've done hibachi (a pain in the ass, but works fine for it) and if you need to cook 40 burgers at one time, this is your instrument.

In comment 14468483 pjcas18 said:

Quote:

In comment 14468475 oghwga said: Quote: free to ignore but I'd like to miller the thread and add that the best thing I ever bought for outdoor cooking was the blackstone flattop grill. On sale for $80 last year. I won't cook burgers on the grill anyway and this thing does it all. This, a smoker, and a small charcoal hibachi make great additions to the Weber. I use this flattop all the time. Link - ( New Window ) I love mine. sausage peppers and onions - I do that on there a few times a summer. I feel like the guy selling sausage outside the ballpark. I've done hibachi (a pain in the ass, but works fine for it) and if you need to cook 40 burgers at one time, this is your instrument.

I actually got this one though, not the table top one. How portable is the table top one? I considered it for camping.

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To the woods but if you're doing fake camping, sitting outside your RV, it's would be fine. I debated getting the giant one but I have no complaints with the 22 inch. Keeps me from cooking too much at once.

with the option of taking it tailgating and what not.

is car camping. I have the Coleman camping grill with the griddle attachment, but this might be better.

Thanks!

And I only went big because we have a lot of cookouts in the summer, and I have a 3-burner Weber, but with this I can legitimately cook 24 burgers and a dozen hot dogs (at least) at one time.

so even if I use it 4 times a summer (for cookouts) the extra space is worth it to me.

But having a flattop is very appealing. So much you can do with them. Hell, I'd do my eggs and bacon that way all the time, hell with the stove.

it isn't bad at all if you buy the carrying bag.

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I actually got this one though, not the table top one. How portable is the table top one? I considered it for camping.

The only downside is the propane. It sucks it down. I used mine the first time to tailgate at a Clemson game and I went through 3 of the small Coleman propane containers. Then I just started bringing my regular propane tank and hooking that up. That wouldn't be ideal for camping though. I love the flattop though. You can do burgers, dogs, eggs, sausage, etc.

I used it for the Panthers game tailgate this year and I was cooking the peppers BigBlue in the Keys brought alongside the meats.

is my smoker. I'm all about convenience with grilling.

In comment 14468513 FatMan in Charlotte said:

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it isn't bad at all if you buy the carrying bag. Quote: I actually got this one though, not the table top one. How portable is the table top one? I considered it for camping. The only downside is the propane. It sucks it down. I used mine the first time to tailgate at a Clemson game and I went through 3 of the small Coleman propane containers. Then I just started bringing my regular propane tank and hooking that up. That wouldn't be ideal for camping though. I love the flattop though. You can do burgers, dogs, eggs, sausage, etc. I used it for the Panthers game tailgate this year and I was cooking the peppers BigBlue in the Keys brought alongside the meats.

great point on the propane, I was wondering about that. I hate switching tanks while cooking too, seems like (and it's probably in my head) the gas gets in the food.

My Weber, then started slacking 4 years ago once I moved into my new house. I hadn’t cleaned it, so the buildup was causing flare ups and ignition issues. I tackled cleaning it over the weekend and the flavorizor bars, heat deflector and heat shield need to be replaced. While I’m at it, I’m replacing the igniter. The replacement parts run close to $200. Still cheaper than a new Weber.

I'm about to grill some Brooklyn Italian and Cheese Parsley Sausage from Landi's on Ave. N. On my Weber Genesis Platitum which I've had for a decade I'm guessing. And to the other comments above, no cover despite our winter rains in Northern CA.

In comment 14468475 oghwga said:

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free to ignore but I'd like to miller the thread and add that the best thing I ever bought for outdoor cooking was the blackstone flattop grill. On sale for $80 last year. I won't cook burgers on the grill anyway and this thing does it all. This, a smoker, and a small charcoal hibachi make great additions to the Weber. I use this flattop all the time. Link - ( New Window )

My youngest son is a picky eater (in a family full of people who will eat anything). Oddly enough, his favorite food was hibachi - and I got sick and tired of paying through the nose for middling Asian food, so I picked up one of these.

It's fantastic - and makes a lot of great food, but it's no substitute for a grill (in particular a charcoal grill). The sausage and peppers, fajitas, and Japanese teppanyaki food it cranks out are awesome, though.

Yours was the first I thought of. That thing kicked butt, and seemed easy to transport and clean up.

I have a Weber tailgater grill which is good for what it's name says. I use the big tank for it too instead of all the little bottles. One thing I learned was because the hose is 4' long it takes a few minutes for the line to build pressure once opening up the tank valve. If you don't wait 2-3 mins before lighting it won't make a full flame and will never get really hot.

My main propane grill is a Kenmore.(For shame right! Let me explain) My first Kenmore I got when I was 19 in 2002 and lasted until Hurricane Irma 2017. Brand loyalty brought me back to Sears for a new Kenmore last year, yes even though they're going out of business . The outside stainless is cheaper than my old one, but cooks great and with 4 burners has much more space than 3 burner Weber. Best feature is the 1200° sear station - fun and awesome, worth the extra money. Got the grill half off during a Memorial Day sale for $300. I'd be happy with 10 years in this salty air. I guess if money was no issue I'd plop down $800 for a big Weber, but they have issues too even though most have a hard time admitting it :)

Suggestion pertaining to OP: go for the sear station, pass on the side burner.

on the side burner. I think the only time I'd ever use a side burner is to keep a sauce warm or something like that. But I do anything that needs a side burner in on the stove.

but its pretty hard to find a quality free standing grill without one.

I don't think Weber offers anything in the Genesis or Summit line without one

In comment 14469007 ron mexico said:

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but its pretty hard to find a quality free standing grill without one. I don't think Weber offers anything in the Genesis or Summit line without one

they got rid of the no side-burner option?

My Genesis (10 years old or so) has no side burner - and IIRC that was by choice.

Worst case is you get it with it and don't use it, but it probably justifies to them an increased price tag.

but my Genesis is younger.

Mine is 4 years old without a side burner. And I specifically chose a model without it.

of getting a side burner is it gives you another burner when your stovetop is already at capacity. Especially at holiday time I had all four stovetop burners going and needed another one. Just make sure someone is watching it so it doesn't burn.