Should I purchase a Weber Spirit 320 at Home Depot?


 
A

Andy Erickson

TVWBB Pro
I'm not into gas grills, but am finally ending my search of purchasing my dad a Weber Spirit 320 and was wondering if I should purchase it at Home Depot since I heard it comes with upgraded grates. Is that true, or can I purchase it at Ace?
 
Hey Andy,

According to the website, it comes with 7mm stainless grates. If those are what the HD version comes with, I say go for it! I was in the market for that same grill, and the only thing that I didn't like about it was the east to west burner design. I prefer north to south to maintain grilling zones for direct heat.

Fantastic grill! Good luck!

Edit: Whoops, I thought you were speaking of the Genesis. Is it the Genesis, or indeed a Spirit?

Paul
 
Hi Andy

Usually the Spirit SP320 comes with a stainless steel lid, flavorizer bars and 7mm dia rod style cooking grates. This grill is available at your local True Value hardware stores and Ace Hardware stores for sure....and if at Home Depot it may have different internals. I would check it out closely, because many times Depot models are different. The Genesis E310 grills for example have cast iron grates from Depot....porcelain grates everywhere else. If you do decide to go with the SP320...check your local TV or Ace...I know they would appreciate the sale and like for us we deliver all Weber grills for free! Might get a little more than you would from Depot. Good luck!
Mike
 
The HD grills have either porcelain covered cast iron grates or cast iron grates. Neither is bad, just not stainless.

The difference between HD and Ace is (SHOULD BE) service and support, but Ace will almost certainly be significantly higher in price.

At HD, unless you should get a damaged grill (unlikely) you are done after you pay your money (for a Weber grill, an extended warrantyis a TOTAL waste). You must take care of any future issues and contacts with Weber on your own -- not a difficult proposition for many. If you are not "handy", you may prefer the Ace route, but you should seek inducements (free accessories) and you should get a lot of attention including free assembley and delivery. If you don't get that, find another one (my local Ace was a dog!).

The Spirit is a really good grill -- it's backed by an outstanding Weber warranty. How much you pay and what you expect is up to you.

Rich
 
Hey theres a familiar member from the bbq source! Hey Rich! Yooper829 here....and I have to call you on one thing from your previous post, but dont take offense, just have to defend us little dealers! Im not an Ace but Ace or True Value are usually not "significantly" higher priced on Weber grills! In our town, we the exact same price on Weber grills as HD, $399 on a spirit E210, $499 on a E310 plus we offer free assembly and delivery. We are $50 higher on a SP310 spirit compared to a E310 spirit but that extra $50 gives you a stainless steel hood, stainless steel flavorizer bars and stainless steel rod style grates. Dont think you can get an SP from Home Depot either! And then to top it off, we give you the service after the sale as you mentioned.
 
Couple more questions before I pull the trigger.

This grill will never be covered and will be out in the elements in Iowa all year long as I know my dad.

Are the stainless steel grates better than the porcelain coated cast iron grates? The reason I was leaning to buying it from Home Depot was to get the porcelain coated cast iron grates, but if the stainless steel grates are better on the SP model at Ace, then I will reconsider since you get the stainless steel flavorizer bars and hood.
 
I used a Spirit last night for the first time. I was quite impressed. It feels remarkably similar to my Genesis only not quite as substantial...but still solid.

The only thing I really didn't like about it was the pcs grates. I get ANYTHING other than those...other than that, I think you'll be very happy with it.

If I had to make the choice you are making, I'd probably the the PCCI grates unless the SS grates are the rod-style SS (which I'm fairly certain they are not). It's a sear mark thing. I was very happy with my pcs grates on my Genesis for years but once they died and I replaced them with heavy duty sear-marking grates, it's just impossible to go back.
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Actually Justin they are! In 2010 they switched the SP spirits to rod stlye SS cooking grates. They are not as heavy as the Genesis EP series grates but they still are rod style. In my opinion Andy, for $50 the SS grates, SS flavorizer bars and SS hood are worth it! Just the grates and bars alone would cost you over $150 to replace...
 
Is there somewhere (official) with specs on the Spirit SP-3x0 grills? Looking at them on Ace's web site but no specs that I can find. I checked the S-320 @ HD earlier and it just had the PCCI grates and what appeared to be PCS bars, waste of $30 just for the SS lid IMO. Will stop by the ACE near church after services tomorrow and see what I find I guess; hopefully they have one on display.

At this point I'm considering the $499 E-310 from ACE and upgrading the grates/bars to SS through that guy on ebay, assuming he's got something that fits.

As a side note, I was a little disappointed to see a routine gauge steel used on the S-320 lid w/o being double hulled or anything. But I guess if it holds temps as is, it's good enough. Perhaps an attribute of getting the Spirit instead of the higher priced stuff.
 
Rob

WAIT!! when your at your local Ace or True Value...check out the SP series Spirit grills. If your considering purchasing the E series then adding SS internals, thats gonna cost you $200 more easy! If you go with an SP you get SS rod style grates and SS flavorizer bars and the stainless lid for an extra $50. SP's sell for $549.00, but you can only get them from your local Ace, True Value or Weber authorized retailer.
 
Thanks for all the info. I ended up ordering the SP 320 from Ace to get the SS grates, flavorizor bars and hood. I think it was worth the extra money since the grill will be out in the elements all year round. My dad will be super excited.
 
Well, so much for that plan. Went by the hardware store and saw one of the many Genesis they had on display. Compared it to the Spirit and what a difference. So now I think I've convinced myself I want the Genesis EP-310. "Only" $200 more. Bleh.
 
Granted its an extra $200....but when you consider your already spending $500, and the fact that this grill will be with you for the next 10 years easily, it makes it a little easier!
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