Weber 670 in the Rain


 
S

ShaneH (Hawkman)

New member
I read a review that if the Weber 670 is left in the rain, the grease pan floods... Can anyone comment on that? I had a Broil Master p3 and never had any problems with rain getting in it. I was considering getting the 670.
 
I have seen the same reviews. I just ordered the 670 . will keep it covered though. Hawkman do you have the 670 and if so how well does the sear zone work
Tony
 
Hi Guys
Can you post a link to these reviews. I am intrigued as I have not heard any complaints about the 650, however in Australia we generally keep our BBQs under cover. Especially if we have paid a lot of money for them.

Regards
 
No I don't have the 670. Was thinking about getting it. Was concerned with water getting in. My wife seems to leave the cover off after cooking, which you would want to do if still hot. If a rain is then coming, you may be in trouble.
 
Originally posted by Phil Hartcher:
Hi Guys
Can you post a link to these reviews. I am intrigued as I have not heard any complaints about the 650, however in Australia we generally keep our BBQs under cover. Especially if we have paid a lot of money for them.

Regards
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Here is one from Amazon...
I purchased this grill as a replacement for an older weber and returned it as defective. the replacement also was flawed and was taken back. There is a serious disgusting design flaw on this model. there is a large gap all along the attachment of the grill to the cart that leaves a one inch opening around it. In ANY rain storm water leaks in here, runs down the grease trap catcher and fills the grease pan that sits in the cabinet. In a short time your entire cabinet fills with a flood of rotting greasy overflow and water destroying anything inside. Weber claims to know nothing of this and asked for photos to analyze but if you search on line for this problem you will see many many people have had it and demanded refunds from weber. Their only answer is to leave the grill covered at all times when not in use-- this is just unacceptable for a $2000 grill. Beware!
 
Originally posted by Phil Hartcher:
Hi Guys
Can you post a link to these reviews. I am intrigued as I have not heard any complaints about the 650, however in Australia we generally keep our BBQs under cover. Especially if we have paid a lot of money for them.

Regards
Click to expand...

Here is another review about water getting into the grill.
My only complaint is that if left uncovered with the grill closed, water leaks into the grill and down into the grease trap. I forgot to cover it one night and it rained. The grease trap overflowed all over the inside of the grill and out onto my deck. What a mess! So it's a great grill, but the cover is not an optional accessory.
 
Guys
I contacted Weber USA as this model has not been released in Australia to find out what the problem was
The following was my email and their response.

(I wrote)
Good morning

I am considering a S670 or the S640 (built in BBQ).

When researching this I found negative reviews and many comments suggesting that the S670 had an inherent design flaw. I believe that this would also be applicable to the S640. Given that this would be located in the open this is a considerable negative.

Please advise if this inherent design flaw has been addressed and what has been done by Weber to rectify it.

The following are two of the reviews.................

(Weber Repied)

Dear Phil,
Thanks for choosing Weber. There has to be vents for proper air ventilation or the grill would over heat. This is why we recommend using a cover when not in use.
If you have additional questions or comments, please do not hesitate to contact us. If replying via email, please leave this message intact as it will help us to respond faster.

Thank you for choosing Weber/Ducane.

Sincerely,

Sean
Weber/Ducane Customer Service
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I trust that this will answer some questions. As I said in my earlier post. In Australia BBQs generally are kept under cover. My thinking is that next year the design will change. It would be very difficult for Weber to change their design this year.

Regards
 
I got the same response from the same agent. I don't think Weber has taken responsibility for it. They say keep the grill covered. Not possible when it is still hot and starts to rain. My Broilmaster never had those issues and was 50% less.
 
I was just looking at a review for a Summit S-420, and the reviewer complained about rain water getting into the grease trap. It would appear that all of the Summits have the same design flaw. Therefore, I will just go with the Genesis 320 if I decided to buy the gasser this year.

Actully, I was going to buy the Genesis early this year, but then I bought a Performer, and now I am wondering if I need the Genesis. The Performer is an incredible grill.
 
As I said earlier, I had not heard of this problem with the Summit and I am always getting customer feedback. Most BBQs in Australia are under cover in a Pergola, and the last time it rained was in 2003 (well almost) We have just started to get some rain in the last few months the dams are now up to 33% full compared with 29% full 3 months ago. They are talking about reducing the water restrictions so that we can water the garden 2 days a week between 6 am and 8 am.
I have demonstrated the S650 and I found that it was an awesome BBQ to use, the Rotis works real well and great searing with the SS rod grill. I guess that it is not very often that you would grill in the rain. My Genisis is always covered when not in use so I don't see much of a problem.
All that said, I would watch for a design change next year to overcome the problem.

Regards
 
Originally posted by Gary McD:
I was just looking at a review for a Summit S-420, and the reviewer complained about rain water getting into the grease trap. It would appear that all of the Summits have the same design flaw. Therefore, I will just go with the Genesis 320 if I decided to buy the gasser this year.

Actully, I was going to buy the Genesis early this year, but then I bought a Performer, and now I am wondering if I need the Genesis. The Performer is an incredible grill.
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I too will look at the Genesis 320. I looked on consumer reports and it is #1. But customer reviews said the stainless steel is only high quality on the lid. The rest doesn't pass the magnet test which means it is the lower quality stainless which can rust.

I should of kept the broilmaster.. I just wanted to come back to Weber.
 
Shane the lid of the Genesis 320 is guaranteed for 10 years. I was orginally looking at one of stainless steel Genesis models, but CS from Weber told me to save my money and buy the E 320. They told that is because everything is covered for 10 years.
 
I have the E320 and have nothing but praise for it. Mine will go to 650 F after 15 minutes and I have had it to nearly 700 after 20 minutes when "burning off" the crud prior to an in-depth clean.
Mine has the PCI grill which is good, however I have cooked on both the SS rods and PCI grill and think that the SS rods are marginally better. I will change to SS when the time comes to replace them.
The only con would be that I use the side burner regularly so I sometimes don't have enough work surface on the BBQ.

Regards
 
For what it is worth, I went to a store that has a few webers and did the magnet test. Here are the results.. i would like to test the 670.

<LI>
  • S450 - Passed everywhere except the burners & flavorizer bars
    <LI>S320 failed everywhere except for the lid. Grates even were somewhat magnetic.
    <LI>Ep320 It was stainless and had a side burner and was around $500. Passed everywhere except for the side burner cover, grates, & flavor bars.

    So it seems that the cheaper 329 (or whatever model that was I saw) is better made than the more expensive S320.

    The S450 looked really good, but I would like to know how the 470 or 670 fairs.
 
The magnetic test on stainless steel without knowing the grade is somewhat nugatory.

The SS used for weber grills is food grade 304 SS.

The following information may help with your understanding. Use of SS in BBQs is not to provide amagnetic properties but to be corrosion resistant as they are subject to continual adverse environmental conditions

Magnetic permeability is the ability of a material to carry magnetism, indicated by the degree to which it is attracted to a magnet. All stainless steels, with the exception of the austenitic group, are strongly attracted to a magnet.

Austenitic Grades

All austenitic grades have very low magnetic permeabilities and hence show almost no response to a magnet when in the annealed condition; the situation is, however, far less clear when these steels have been cold worked by wire drawing, rolling or even centreless grinding, shot blasting or heavy polishing. After substantial cold working Grade 304 may exhibit quite strong response to a magnet, whereas Grades 310 and 316 will in most instances still be almost totally non-responsive.

The change in magnetic response is due to atomic lattice straining and formation of martensite. In general, the higher the nickel to chromium ratio the more stable is the austenitic structure and the less magnetic response that will be induced by cold work. Magnetic response can therefore be used as a method for sorting grades of stainless steel, but considerable caution needs to be exercised.
Click to expand...

The bottom line is it depends on where it is on the BBQ and the manufacturing process as to the magnetic properties. The cheaper BBQ may have been made from the same grade of SS but had less polishing and therefore was less less magnetic.

We do not rely on a magnetic test when doing a quality audit on SS ship components.

Regards
 
Originally posted by ShaneH (Hawkman):
Well I bit the bullet (no pun intended for this forum) and ordered the 670 Natural Gas. May the good grilling lords be with me!
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Shane
We would be extremely interested in hearing from you regarding how well it works and satisfies your requirements.

Regards
 
I got the 670 delivered today.. pretty much is assembled fully. Have to put on the side tray and burner and install the grates.. will post back more as I get into it. Oh, it doesnt like to roll over grass.. it digs into the grass.. once on concrete, very smooth rolling and very HEAVY. The shipping weight was 300 lbs.
 
Everything was a breeze to install for the 670. The only thing missing was the 2 door magnets which Weber is sending. It gets hot fast. The searing station gets REALLY hot.

The only thing I don't get is the cover. It has vents directly over the 2 side tables. When it rains, water will go right onto the side tables and my guess is into the side burner.
 
Shane
Congrats on the new S670. I am sure you will love it as much as I love mine. A couple of things I have found out so far. As you have seen the sear station is amazing I cant imagine a IR system working any better. The smoke box does lose quite a bit out the side but it still seems to give food a smokey flavor and it smells great when cooking. ps dont put the wood chips towards the front it will give your lid a smoke stain on the outside. The grates are solid( a great trick to clean them is to get them hot, dip a brass brush in water and scrub down the grates works amazing) the rotis works great as well as the side burner. Quick question on your doors, I thought my magnets werent working then I relized the black plastic protector needed to come off. I did have two issues that weber c/s handled quickly one was a scratch in the lid they sent a new one and a burner that wouldnt light most of the time. they sent me a new manifold witch I opted to install myself
All in all this is a top quailty grill that will last for years and years
Happy grilling
Tony T
 
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