Should my stainless grill / flavorizer bars look like this after 1.5 years?


 

RichF

New member
Wow - the guts of my Weber look terrible after one and one-half years:

Cookbox%20Rust%20Debris%202%20IMG_0907.JPG

Rusted%20flavorizer%20bars%20IMG_0909.JPG

Cookbox%20Rust%20Debris%20IMG_0906.JPG

Rusted%20Heat%20Deflector%20IMG_0913.JPG

https://www.dropbox.com/s/sieokrx66p9m8nz/Rusted%20Heat%20Deflector%20IMG_0913.JPG?dl=0
https://www.dropbox.com/s/u8ae910qkx2h8am/Cookbox%20Rust%20Debris%202%20IMG_0907.JPG?dl=0
https://www.dropbox.com/s/9xs4k8vvbhkwuhi/Cookbox%20Rust%20Debris%20IMG_0906.JPG?dl=0
https://www.dropbox.com/s/ah19yzfbqv9ex53/Rusted%20flavorizer%20bars%20IMG_0909.JPG?dl=0

I always preheat my grill and try to scrape the grates but I have never been able to keep the stainless clean. I always cover the grill. I live in MN - not near saltwater.

I had my last Weber for 20 years and at the end of 20 years the same parts didn't look anything like how bad these parts look.

Is the stainless steel Weber uses different now? What can I do? Buy aftermarket grates?

(If the photos don't show, I had about 1/2" thick layer of rust in the bottom of my grill, the stainless grates look like a rusted, corroded mess as do the flavorizer bars.

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The flavorizer bars and burners look fine. The heat deflectors look bad. Those were not SS as OEM but enameled steel. As for your question. That generation of grill is when Weber began with the "cheapening" process of most of the components made in China of cheap steel. I remember being sadly dismayed when I was putting the new grill together for my sister and BIL they bought a few years back. Every box and component showed "Made in China". I believe only the stampings were done in the USA. Even the grates showed "Made in China" In 2010 Weber ceased being a family owned company and was sold out to a "management firm" who has no skin in the game and no soul.
BTW you can get SS replacements for those heat deflectors, and better quality FBs from RCPlanebuyer and they don't cost as much as Weber replacements made from junk steel. So no you're not imagining it. Your 20 YO Weber was a better product than your new one
 
The newer grills have more internal parts and they tend to collect more crud. The heat shields are a prime example. Like LMichaels says, the OEM parts are just porcelain coated cheap steel and don't last too long when they constantly exposed to direct flame and high heat. I also agree that the older Genesis Silver B's and Genesis 1000's were a lot more simple and less prone to problems...And I am not convinced they are any less effective at grilling than the newer ones.

If you go with some quality Stainless heat shield, flavorizer bars and cooking grates, you will probably be much happier, but be prepared to pay for it.
 
My deflectors didnt look that bad after 5 years. However I'm in California where weather isn't so punishing. Its not under a covered patio or shed, but I have a good canvas cover with vents.
 
I have a Genesis E310 that is a 2012 model. I picked it up for $50 and I didn't even realize they had heat deflectors when I opened it up. It was so full of gunk I couldn't see them with all the gunk. I bought a new SS set before I did a little digging and found the originals are still in there. I have yet to pull them out fully to look at them, but I am guessing I will still be needing the SS ones that I bought. I don't remember them being too expensive for SS. And they were direct from Weber.
 
I have a Genesis E310 that is a 2012 model. I picked it up for $50 and I didn't even realize they had heat deflectors when I opened it up. It was so full of gunk I couldn't see them with all the gunk. I bought a new SS set before I did a little digging and found the originals are still in there. I have yet to pull them out fully to look at them, but I am guessing I will still be needing the SS ones that I bought. I don't remember them being too expensive for SS. And they were direct from Weber.

I would be interested in what Weber sent (decent stainless?)and if you can remember how much they cost. I picked up a couple sets from Amazon. They were inexpensive but a little thin. I don’t think they are very good stainless either. I would like to find a reliable source because as mentioned these parts take a beating. The OEM porcelain ones rust pretty fast.
 
I don't have the info on the SS heat deflectors any more, but I think they were around $25. Yah, I would try RCPlanebuyer. If it is a grill you intend to keep, it would be worth buying from him even if they cost a little more than standard sources.
 
I buy his flavorizers including two I recently bought for my current projects, but I didn’t know he made the heat deflectors for the Genesis 300 series. I would way rather buy from him. I will message him on eBay. Thanks for advice.
 
Hey guys, anyone wanting to buy from RCPLanebuyer, you should contact him outside of Ebay. If you go through Ebay, he will be committed to doing any business with you through EBay and that costs a lot of money. He will deal direct with you if you contact him direct. Just tell him that you got referred by someone on this web site. This is not an unethical practice unless you contact him through ebay first.
Message me if you want me to give you his email address. He is good about answering email.
Bruce
 
I am the same way. I do a lot of business on fleabay because it's quick and easy but not so great for me. I rebuild, buy and sell KitchenAid mixers. I give a nice discount on rebuilt machines purchased outside of FlaeBay as they charge me an arm and a leg. www.themixerdoc.com for direct communication
 
Genesis Heat deflectors by RCPlanebuyer for Genesis 300 series 2011-2016

Gave you a good source. RCPlanebuyer on FleaBay

I got in touch with RC on eBay. He said he wanted to make some of these parts but found that the Genesis IIs had pushed aside all the prior Genesis 300s leaving him nothing to measure when he went to the store. He asked if I had a decent original I could send, so I will be mailing him one. When he has some made I will let you all know as I promised him I would. I am sure his will be head and shoulders above the ones I got from Amazon.
 
I sent the photos of my rusted grates and flavorizer bars to Weber asking if this amount of wear appeared normal. I didn't get a response to my questions other than that they emailed me a link with a video on to how to clean my grill.

I sent a PM to Bruce to get RCPlanebuyers info so I can order some quality grates and flavorizer bars.

I'm really disappointed in how much lower the quality is with the new Webers compared to my old grill. It's unfortunate that corners have been cut.
 
I personally have had pretty good experiences with Weber customer service. But I see others have not. That is too bad. I would think that flavorizer bars, cooking grates and burners should all last 5 years plus if reasonably taken care of.

RCplanebuyer will last longer than any Weber OEM or aftermarket part out there.
 
I called Weber again - apparently the CSR forgot to get back to me. They are sending me new heat deflectors, flavorizer bars and grates. I asked about the type of stainless they are using for the internals and the CSR didn't know the specifications. My flavorizer bars and grates are magnetic. I didn't think that type 304 stainless was supposed to be magnetic.

Is Weber now using a different grade of stainless steel? Should the grills be magnetic?
 
Rich, I think the good stainless (304) is NON-magnetic. It doesn't surprise me that Weber is using something else. Still better than regular steel coated in porcelain, but not as good as 304 for grill parts.

Good deal with getting them replaced by Weber. You might as well use them until they rot out, then switch to the stainless.
 
304 is definitely non magnetic. Weber used to use it but now they've gone el cheapo all the way. I'll bet it won't be too long before they go to powder coating everything instead of porcelain too AND increase the price to boot
 
If they go to the flat black powder coated hoods, then we can put them in the same class as all the other "throw away" grills. Use them for three seasons and toss them because, not only the internals are trashed, but the hood, frame and cook box are as well.
 
Mark my words. Given the management company that owns them now and their reputation it'll happen but they'll raise the prices too
 
304 is definitely non magnetic. Weber used to use it but now they've gone el cheapo all the way. I'll bet it won't be too long before they go to powder coating everything instead of porcelain too AND increase the price to boot

Thars not true of the new genesis II. I didn't test the internals but the external stainless parts are all non magnetic. And pretty robust in my opinion. I would bet the internal parts are good quality stainless too.
 

 

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