East/West vs North/South Burners

I have an S320. The burners run across the grill length wise (east/west). This is something I don’t like for two reasons. First, the burner knobs are on the side and take up a significant amount of space on the side table. Second, I don’t like the indirect grilling going from front to back.

I’ve thought about getting another grill like a Summit where the burners run front to back (north/south). I think I would be better able to do indirect. For example, I could put a pan to catch drippings on one side of the grill and put the chicken on the grate over the pan then turn the other side up and do an indirect cook. It would also give me a side table.

My question is whether I’m missing something or not. I know what I don’t like about my current grill (which by the way, I still love the grill), but I won’t know what I don’t like about a different grill without asking. I’d hate to get the new grill and then find that there’s something I don’t like about north/south burner layout.

Any comments/suggestions?

Given the choice (If I had the dough to buy a brand-new gasser) I would prefer the Front-to-Back arrangement, with four or more burners.

This would allow for creation of different heat-zones for cooking a variety of stuff simultaneously. It would also work better for indirect cooking. (With older 3-burner Webers, turning off the center burner leaves a very narrow area for the indirect cooking.)

And the knobs DO get in the way. This has been my only gripe about Weber gas grills in the past. (But they make up for it in the way that they cook!) I obtained mine used, rather than shelling-out the bucks for a brand new one. Given what I spennt, I am still VERY satisfied with my old, US-made Spirit.

However, most things that cook indirectly may work well with a rotisseree - so, you may want to try one with a basket attachment, for your existing gas grill if you otherwise like it. This may provide a much less costly option to replacing your grill.

The rotisseree is a good idea. I may look into that further. Note that the only reason I'm considering buying a new grill is because I promised my son-in-law a grill when he got a house - which he is in the process of doing. So either way, I'm going to buy a grill, I just don't know which one. If I get mine to work the way I want, I may go the craigslist route and refurbish a Weber gasser for him. We'll see.

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Jerry N.:
I have an S320. The burners run across the grill length wise (east/west). This is something I don’t like for two reasons. First, the burner knobs are on the side and take up a significant amount of space on the side table. Second, I don’t like the indirect grilling going from front to back.

I’ve thought about getting another grill like a Summit where the burners run front to back (north/south). I think I would be better able to do indirect. For example, I could put a pan to catch drippings on one side of the grill and put the chicken on the grate over the pan then turn the other side up and do an indirect cook. It would also give me a side table.

My question is whether I’m missing something or not. I know what I don’t like about my current grill (which by the way, I still love the grill), but I won’t know what I don’t like about a different grill without asking. I’d hate to get the new grill and then find that there’s something I don’t like about north/south burner layout.

Any comments/suggestions? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Hey Jerry,

I used to have the East/West Spirit gasser and just upgraded to the Genesis with the North/South burners...I have to say I LOVE it so far. I have grilled chicken indirect a few times already and it couldn't be easier. I almost only need to turn on one burner and have all the other space for food. It almost hit 350 with one burner on...And having the knobs on the front opposed to the shelf is great! Lots more work area...good luck on your choice!

I could have picked up a east-west 2010 genny for a nice discount.

no thanks-

front to back works better for me. i always struggled with my silver and side to side burners.

Tommy,
Why did you struggle? Given that I have east/west, I'd like to know potential issues that I might have if I switch. Generally I'm thinking that as Tom says that I'd like having more and easier to get to cooking area when going indirect. I'm struggling with pushing the food to the back when I go indirect and I can't really think of how I would do a chicken indirect.