Genesis or Summit?


 

Jerry N.

TVWBB Emerald Member
I thought I'd like to keep my new gas grill under $1K. I looked at the Genesis line and the Summit line. I wonder if I could get some input on a few questions.

It seems to me that there's not a lot of difference between the EP-320 and the S-420 for a basic griller (steaks, chicken, burgers . . .).

Seem you have to move into the s-470 to get the infrared sear burner (for the steak, not the rotis.)

Given the two above considerations, it just doesn't seem worth it to by above the EP-320 unless that infrared sear makes one hell of a steak.

I guess I'd use the rotisserie but the only thing I would rotis. is a chicken and I can do that on my wsm.

Price isn't the object, but it's certainly a consideration. An EP-320 is about $800 which meets my original goal of under $1,000. But that $2K S-470 looks really nice. I'd say for me, it's about the steak.

Can a S-470 cook a steak better than an EP-320 to make it worth $1,200 more?


What say you???????
 
I just baught a Genesis EP320 today. For grilling purposes it will do everything i need it to do. I smoke in the WSM and use my performer or one touch for a lot of food so this is the one that fits for me. Depends on what you are going to use it for. I would save the extra money and by some more toys for your grills.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Can a S-470 cook a steak better than an EP-320 to make it worth $1,200 more? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>no way!! grill over charcoal in your WSM or even chimney will give you better results IMO

the sear burner on the s470, here anyway, is an extra tube burner, not an infrared in the grill

the infrared rotis burner is nice, I love mine, not only poultry but pork loin roast, beef roast, even done some gyro loaf on it ... that's a lot extra to pay for that though, I wouldn't just for the IR

you could buy a kettle, a Weber rotis kit for the kettle, baskets and gizmos and probably a 6 month supply or more of charcoal for the price difference
 
if the new gasser is your main grill and you really want all the bells and whistles i could see getting a summit. but i cant imagine it cooking better than a genesis. i use my 320 more than i thought i would but my kettle gets the majority of the work.
i'd like to have the front to back burners that the summit has but 320 is a great grill
 
At work we sell 30:1 Genesis over Summits, about a 3:1 Genesis over Spirits and Q's. The Genesis has the best value of grilling and looks (as much as I hate to say it.) The actual grilling (for what most people do 98% of the the time) is as good as either the Summits and Spirits, the females (and males if the truth is to be told) like the looks better than the others. Heck, I sold 2 Genesis today., based of the wives decisions, even with the knowledge that the SP-310 Spirits are going on sale next Tuesday for $400 for two weeks.
 
Jerry, do you currently have a gas grill? Do you use it a lot? I have an EP-320. It performs well, it's extremely convenient and I love it. However, since I got the Performer I find myself using this one a lot more. You just can't beat the charcoal flavor. Like Shawn mentioned, you could get a lot for that price difference. For $2000 you could get:

a) an EP-320, a Performer, EZ Que rotis for the Performer and the Genesis, AND a 26" OTG. With change for charcoal.

b) an EP-320 AND a Large BGE with nest or table with change to spare.

c) an EP-320 and an XL Primo or XL BGE.

If you do decide to get a Summit, check out this RAC link posted by Aiko on the Trading Post.
 
You do get some other toys with the S470, a smoker box with dedicated burner, lit knobs, handle lights and a James Bond pop up rotis motor holder (it folds down when not in use). The drip pan solution is pretty nice too.

I guess the other consideration is that Genesis has 3 side to side burners (and you lose a good chunk of right handle side table) where Summit has 4 front to back (not including sear burner) so you do have a little more control of where and how much heat is going to the grill.

For me if I bought the Summit I'd get the high end not the 420, all the bells and whistles ... I'm just the type that would bemoan not getting them down the road.

You can be grilling steak on a BGE in under 10 minutes. Saw a BGE rep do that in a demo, it blew me away. That's not much faster, if any, than you would be grilling on your gasser, but it sure doesn't have the surface area.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by J Pan:
b) an EP-320 AND a Large BGE with nest or table with change to spare.

c) an EP-320 and an XL Primo or XL BGE.

</div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Now that's the kind of out of the box thinking I was hoping for. I would like a BGE and frankly, I use my current grill a lot, but not for more than steaks and boneless chicken breasts. I think I'll take a good look at an EP-320.

Thanks for all the good advise.

Jerry
 
I think you'll be pleased with the Genesis. Now it's time to go look for a good deal on a BGE!
icon_biggrin.gif
 
I'm already happy with it. I like the weight of the s.s. grates, I like that it has virtually no plastic, I like how it heats up, I like how I'll be able to clean the grease trap (bottom of the grill slides out). I like it.
 
The Summit line is overpriced and not well built. Stick with the Genesis line. if you want a really high end grill, Weber isn't the way to go.This is not their sweet spot. in fact, gas grills is not heir specialty. I won a Summit 470 at work and have it for a year. Thank God it was warranty. I had the repair guys about 4 times for various fixes. A piece of crap!!
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by David Z.:
Can someone tell me what a XL Primo, OTG and BGE are? Probably a silly questions - Thanks! </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

XL Primo: Ceramic cooker
OTG: weber one touch gold
BGE: big green egg
 

 

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