Silver B Tune up/Restoration and New Grill Decisions (Napoleon vs Weber)


 
M

MikeCO

New member
I've been a happy original owner of a Silver B since 2000. In the span of 24 years I've only replaced the burners twice, the flavorizer bars once (maybe twice), the ignitor several times, and the grates twice I think. Current grates are the Weber stainless, but not the solid rod style.; so they need to be upgraded. Aside from that and some basic cleaning once in a while; I've not had to do much to it. I've been noticing the temps not very even lately and it's not heating up as well as it used to so I've been thinking of a new grill. The frame is also needing some work; where the wire basket underneath attaches underneath is rusting away a little. I need to investigate that a bit more by doing a more thorough disassembly and cleaning.

I've decided it's time for a new grill and in my research on new grills (mostly Weber and Napoleon; but more on that in a bit) I ran across this site. This is my first post here, but I've read a lot of good threads and found information and answers to a lot of my questions. In reading some of those threads I came up with a few more questions, both on the restoration of the Silver B and in choosing a new grill.

Silver B: Green Enamel
- While I've replaced the grates and some other things, I've never replaced the regulator or touched the valves/valve body at all. Could those contribute to the poor heating?
- I ran across references to the RCPlanebuyer/Burlingame Craigslist ads for Flavorizers and new grates. Still a good source? Are they more than other sources and worth it?
- Other tips for the frame repair?
- While researching the other new grills (new Genesis and Prestige 500) I saw mention of how the older Silver B E/W burner layout is better for Rotisserie cooking. While I've not done rotisserie before I'm thinking I might try it out. Wondering if then the Silver B would be a good grill to set up for that and not worry about needing that feature on a new grill (Prestige 500 for instance)

New Grill:
- Biggest thing always on the Silver B even from new was lack of really good searing ability, so was happy to see that improved on the new Webers.
- First look was toward the new Weber Genesis line probably the SA-E-330 style for the sear zone
- I read thru the recent thread on the Genesis Smart grill and gained some additional info there on this years vs last years models.
- I also find the Weber Crafted interesting for its potential, so the extra storage of the 330 cabinet would be useful. The side burner on the Weber not really a must have.
- Also on the Weber it appears the way to go is for at least the 7mm stainless grates and if possible the 9mm. but the 9mm are available for $271 from Weber either way later.
I've looked at the different reviews and comparisons for Weber Genesis and Napoleon Prestige 500 (and Rogue XT/SE), Embers Youtube etc.
- Found the IR Side burner on the Napoleon really interesting and appealing and seems to get good reviews. sounds like it's way ahead of the Weber sear zone, is that true and a big consideration?
- I don't see a lot of real comparisons/thoughts on the Napoleon Rogue vs Prestige. Any thoughts there?

Sorry for the long post, thanks for indulging me. Appreciate any thoughts or insight. At times I think I've decided on the Prestige 500, but then come back to Weber and the great experience I've had with mine.
 
RCPlanebuyer is all top line stuff. Yes, there are less expensive sources for nearly as high quality stuff.

What is wrong with the frame of your Silver B?

Yes, the East/West orientation of the burners is generally considered optimal for rotisserie grilling. It provides more even indirect heating across the whole bird or chunk of meat being cooked.

You can get much cheaper 9mm grates than Weber. I don't know if RCPlanebuyer still makes them (9mm), but if so, even his would be less expensive. Here is a 9mm 304 stainless Steel set of grates that would fit your Silver B for just over $100.

As far as the newer Weber/Napolean and others, I will leave others to chime in an that.
 
Here’s my 2 cents. If you’ve owned a reliable and long lasting grill like a Silver B, I am convinced you will be disappointed with any new Weber over time. They are, quite simply, not built to last the way they used to and most of this relates back to their use of stamped steel cabinet components and their propensity to rust out prematurely. If I were in the market, there is not a single grill in Weber’s current offering that I would consider. Napoleon seems to do a lot of the little things better than Weber in an equally priced grill comparison but they have stamped steel cabinets, too. For me, a new grill purchase would be an AOG or Fire Magic grill only because I can but them at dealer pricing. Otherwise, they are both somewhat price prohibitive. If I didn’t have those savings available to me, I’d look past the ugly-duckling appearance and buy myself a Broilmaster.
 
A lot will depend on what you want to do with the grill. If you want true all around versatility like you currently have (good to excellent high heat, excellent indirect, excellent rotisserie) go Napoleon with the IR rear burner and sear burner (though I honestly never understood incinerating my steak) but to each their own there.
If al you want is simple straight up grilling nothing more either one will do that for you. The reason for the sear burner BTW is without it the new style Webers were grossly under powered. That was my experience on cooking with one. So the searing burner was born to keep up with the competition.
But I have looked in great detail and Napoleon and Weber side by side. And I would buy the Napoleon hands down
 
Thanks for the replies.

Bruce - the frame on the Silver B.... I only remembered an issue when I moved it off the deck last summer to restain. Took a closer look and it's actually only the front bottom crossmember attachment. The nut inserts in the crossmember tube are rusted away so the crossmember isn't tight. Need to find a solution for that. Thanks for the link to the grates. I notice you've restored a bunch of these. Any input on the regulator? Is that more of a if it is bad it's really bad?

TomRC - Yeah that seems to be the case with a lot of things these days; not built as good as they used to be. But those others are definitely more than I'm willing to spend. Hard to justify when I'm primarily just cooking for me or small bbqs with friends. I looked at the Broilmaster line and the SS ones are also pricey, and the others.... meh. Don't see a lot of info on their performance and use. So I'm still in the Napoleon/Weber decision tree.

LMichaels - For the most part want a good performing grill for what it is for.... grilling. Don't need extra bells and whistles (Smart Grill, etc). I think the sear burner on the Prestige is interesting because the Silver B has just always been weak there. Could be that the new Genesis with sear zone would be plenty for me. So on the plus side for Prestige is IR sear burner, rotisserie and burner and warranty; for Genesis its Weber Crafted accessories, extra storage, and sear burner (at less heat than Prestige, but does that matter), and personal experience. But of course my experience on quality of a 24 yr old product means nothing for their product now.

While price does matter, in the range between $1000 and $1600 what matters most for me is that I'm happy with what I get and the features. I do enjoy a good ribeye and use the grill often year round for grilling steaks, chicken, burgers. Wouldn't mind exploring rotisserie and other cooking on the grill as well. If it matters either one I'll likely choose the enamel version in black or possibly indigo blue for weber.
 
Mike, I honestly have never seen that much value in the "crafted" accessories. Honestly kind of over priced for things that can be done by much more generic products that may actually be of better quality. But, Like I indicated if you have any aspirations of doing more than just grilling steaks, burgers, sausages and such, any old grill even a $400 Monument will do that just fine. But if you want to get into the finer points of cooking on a grill like rotisserie REALLY good indirect, and many other things without having to buy accessories and the budget is there, go Napoleon. Like I said I've looked at their offerings side by side to Weber. And I could not see choosing the W after doing that.
Of course, I rarely if ever touch my gas grills now since discovering the world of pellet grills. Honestly I would look into one of those REALLY well. Maybe check that new Weber Searwood. Honestly I think the tech in that shows a lot of promise
 
 
LMichaels said:
Mike, I honestly have never seen that much value in the "crafted" accessories. Honestly kind of over priced for things that can be done by much more generic products that may actually be of better quality. But, Like I indicated if you have any aspirations of doing more than just grilling steaks, burgers, sausages and such, any old grill even a $400 Monument will do that just fine. But if you want to get into the finer points of cooking on a grill like rotisserie REALLY good indirect, and many other things without having to buy accessories and the budget is there, go Napoleon. Like I said I've looked at their offerings side by side to Weber. And I could not see choosing the W after doing that.
Of course, I rarely if ever touch my gas grills now since discovering the world of pellet grills. Honestly I would look into one of those REALLY well. Maybe check that new Weber Searwood. Honestly I think the tech in that shows a lot of promise
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Good input. As I was inquiring above, sounds like my Silver B could be a decent rotisserie solution if I want it to be, or the Napoleon.

I actually hadn't considered a pellet grill and don't know much about them as it relates to the more everyday or more frequent "convenience" grilling. And do they accomplish a good sear as well? I'll take a look at the Searwood and see where it leads me. From one viewpoint it would be a better diversification of grills if I still have the Silver B.
 
MikeCO said:
And do they accomplish a good sear as well?
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Depends on what you call a "sear". Me? I am not interested in nor do I care about black lines on things. Nor am I interested in the sport of incinerating steaks. Rather, I like a nice overall crust. And quite honestly I am happy with that performance on both my pellet grills.
 
LMichaels said:
Depends on what you call a "sear". Me? I am not interested in nor do I care about black lines on things. Nor am I interested in the sport of incinerating steaks. Rather, I like a nice overall crust. And quite honestly I am happy with that performance on both my pellet grills.
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I like a good crust/sear on the outside and more rare on the inside and the carmelizing/sizzling of fats. The sear lines themselves are less important. I'll check out the new pellet grills. How do you find them for convenience grilling? ie when I'm working from home, it's easy to warm up the grill and throw on a couple of burgers or chicken thighs.
 
Well mine are especially nice for that, (I could not tell you on the new Weber but maybe a current owner can), but flareups and needing to handle and watch the food are non existent. You put it on, you cook then you eat. There is no need for constant watching or flipping. (almost takes the spot out of it :D ) But, if I am trying to do multitasking that is just what the Dr ordered IMO.
Honestly in a nutshell I love using them. I love the convenience, the flavors and the versatility. I can grill, roast, bake, smoke. What's not to love?
 
Which ones do you have? I'm just starting to look into them a little and haven't really paid attention to pellet grills at all.
 
MikeCO said:
Which ones do you have? I'm just starting to look into them a little and haven't really paid attention to pellet grills at all.
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My big deck grill is "Big Z" it's a Z Grills 1100 2B. It's a big heavy (and heavily built) monster. My "garage grill" is the Member's Mark Pro Series Pellet Grill. Gotta say I love them both (for different reasons) but both are BUILT. I mean REALLY built. Nothing flimsy about either one. I think you could shoot them with a howtizer and barely leave a dent :D
I just did a butt on Big Z Thursday and it was deeelish. I'd put it up against any butt from any cooker (stick or pellet).
 
I have restored and cooked on almost the entire Weber line up, my favorite being the Q's. That being said I absolutely love my Napoleon 500 RSIB. Mine is a 2017 that I got a deal on and restored it. I use my IR burner way more than the inside of the grill as there are only two of us, no pre-heating necessary, and I cook burgers, hotdogs, steaks, fish steaks, etc on it. The rotisserie is high enough not to have to remove the grates and you can actually use them while spinning chickens and has its own burner for really nice crispy skin. Built as good if not better than any of the newer Weber gas grills (Qs not included). Life time warranty on 2020 and later Prestige grills. The only weak part is the drip tray being a 400 series stainless instead of 300 or enamel coated.
 
My wallet is thankful I'm not shopping for a gas grill, yet the napoleon's catch my eye when I'm browsing the grill aisle at my local outdoor store.

In the Weber lineup, a front control with a sear burner is what I'd be looking at. The sear burner is a must have IMO.

@MikeCO I would keep the silver B for roti cooks.
 
So did a pretty thorough cleaning of the Silver B yesterday. And man, did it need it. Had lots of build up in the fire box, the grease tray, etc. Scraped it all down with a scraper/putty knife. Cleaned the burners, and put in new 9mm stainless grates (QuliMetal SUS304 9MM Cooking Grates). And what a difference! Now I'm sure you all are chuckling and thinking of course, a little mx goes a long way. Funny how it creeps up on you and you forget how it was supposed to be. I'd forgotten it's real performance.

So still in the market for a new grill at some point, but probably not with the same sense of urgency. Grilled up a thick NY Strip last night and it was a much better experience than last weekend. Much better heat and sear. Also gives me a renewed sense on what I may or may not need from a sear zone (Weber) or IR side burner. The Weber sear zone may be all I need. If I don't need to drop $1500 on a new grill right away, all the better. I may just look into the pellet grill or a even a Kamado Joe to add a different dimension to grilling. Will probably also look into a buying a rotisserie for the Silver B.

I'll probably do an even better cleaning this summer as there is still some build up that needs more effort to remove with a wire wheel; and some other preventative painting.
 
MikeCO said:
So did a pretty thorough cleaning of the Silver B yesterday. And man, did it need it. Had lots of build up in the fire box, the grease tray, etc. Scraped it all down with a scraper/putty knife. Cleaned the burners, and put in new 9mm stainless grates (QuliMetal SUS304 9MM Cooking Grates). And what a difference! Now I'm sure you all are chuckling and thinking of course, a little mx goes a long way. Funny how it creeps up on you and you forget how it was supposed to be. I'd forgotten it's real performance.

So still in the market for a new grill at some point, but probably not with the same sense of urgency. Grilled up a thick NY Strip last night and it was a much better experience than last weekend. Much better heat and sear. Also gives me a renewed sense on what I may or may not need from a sear zone (Weber) or IR side burner. The Weber sear zone may be all I need. If I don't need to drop $1500 on a new grill right away, all the better. I may just look into the pellet grill or a even a Kamado Joe to add a different dimension to grilling. Will probably also look into a buying a rotisserie for the Silver B.

I'll probably do an even better cleaning this summer as there is still some build up that needs more effort to remove with a wire wheel; and some other preventative painting.
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That is great. Since you are in no hurry but seam to want more toys, you may want to consider looking for a used E6 or look at the Spider Huntsman instead of traditional Kamado. There is a thread here on the Huntsman with videos.
 
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