2018 Genesis II: Two New Grills


 
Bruce said:
Weber shows pretty well in the Consumer Reports rankings but certainly not where they should with the prices they charge.

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Charbroil seems to dominate in terms of bang for the buck.
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I thought it was interesting that they did rate the LX series Webers higher than the corresponding "regular" E series. Apparently the extra-high power burners and maybe the slightly higher hood DO impact the performance of these grills. At least CR seems to think so.

I suppose if I had that kind of money I would want the LX 640 (in black) but would remove the cart doors, side and back pieces. For me that would be the best of both worlds.
 
I love consumer reports but they aren't testing for durability here at all. To me that's the most important and distinguishing factor. I've owned multiple char broil, kenmore, and members mark grills. They all cooked pretty well when new. They all sucked from a durability standpoint. That's despite my having a covered deck and always using a grill cover. Most rusted through at the firebox of another critical area within 1 to 3 years.

People I know who have webers (even the newer ones) just don't have tbose durability issues.
 
I am going to read through the whole article and see if it offers any insight on any of that. I will try to remember to post back any thoughts I have after reading it.
 
Greg M said:
I love consumer reports but they aren't testing for durability here at all. To me that's the most important and distinguishing factor. I've owned multiple char broil, kenmore, and members mark grills. They all cooked pretty well when new. They all sucked from a durability standpoint. That's despite my having a covered deck and always using a grill cover. Most rusted through at the firebox of another critical area within 1 to 3 years.

People I know who have webers (even the newer ones) just don't have tbose durability issues.
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They did rate on "Sturdiness" which Weber did well on.
 
Greg: I have access to that article online. I do see it is dated about a year ago, but all the links in the article to grill ratings link to the current ratings that are in this month's magazine. I cannot find anything regarding ratings on Reliability, just the Sturdiness.
 
Yeah, I wasn't sold on their sturdiness test, but it does show that even new Webers ARE built more solidly than the cheap competition, at least for the most part. It looks like all the Webers did well on this "test".

A true test of long-term durability would take years. So, I guess we have to go with observations and experiences. I have said before that the biggest problem with the Genesis 300 series since 2005 is the closed-in cart. If you are going to have it closed-in and it is going to be exposed to the elements (especially my local hot, humid salt air) then the components need to be made of high-grade stainless. Ditto for the frame legs, especially if they have casters which almost inevitably clog and hold water leading to critical rust-through failure. This has been the death of many of these grills in my experience. Repair involves replacing the entire frame side - pretty costly.

The only Weber grills that came close to this were the "Platinum" versions of the old Genesis and previous edition of the Summit. The Genesis Platinum really DID have a stainless steel frame, but, unfortunately, a closed in cart made of painted steel. It rusts:p. The Summit gets high marks in my book for having a stainless frame AND what appears to be high quality stainless panels and bottom for its closed-in cart. Unfortunately, where the Genesis comes up short on the cart the Summit comes up short on its firebox - a well known problem in that it is not all cast aluminum. The porcelain steel front invariably fails at the place where the burners come in.

I think the ultimate endurance grill would be to take a Genesis Platinum, replace the grates and flavorizers with rcplanebuyer stainless, and remove the cart pieces, replacing them with two stainless tube frames between the legs. Now you have all the advantages of the classic Genesis Silver (same internal design and functionality) with the important benefit of a stainless frame and high quality stainless internals. I have been eyeing a couple of these for sale around me and if they last until after tax season I might try to get a bargain and prove my theory;)!
 
Speaking of reviews here's one of the best I've seen. This review properly placed great importance on the firebox. Specifically the difference between a steel and cast aluminium firebox in terms of durability.

They also talk about the Weber grills design greatly reducing flare ups. To me this is spot on. That's the two things I hated about my previous el cheap non webers. Namely premature failure usually rust through of the fire box and uncontrolled flare ups.

They also rightfully list broil king as a quality alternative to Weber. To me though weber is the better choice due to broil kings extensive use of low quality magnetic stainless. It might not rust through but it looks horrible after just a few years.

https://thewirecutter.com/reviews/best-gas-grill/
 
That was good. Thanks Greg. I really liked that "BUDGET PICK" at the end. That is the "cheap - disposable grill" in a nutshell. While it admittedly won't last more than a couple years, it is the perfect grill for some folks. Some, will buy that grill and just cook on it for two years and then get a new one. They won't scrap the grates, they won't clean the cook box, they won't even empty the drip pan. And that is good for some consumers. They fill a niche.

The grills in between them and the Genesis is where the lines get blurred.
 
Bruce said:
That was good. Thanks Greg. I really liked that "BUDGET PICK" at the end. That is the "cheap - disposable grill" in a nutshell. While it admittedly won't last more than a couple years, it is the perfect grill for some folks. Some, will buy that grill and just cook on it for two years and then get a new one. They won't scrap the grates, they won't clean the cook box, they won't even empty the drip pan. And that is good for some consumers. They fill a niche.

The grills in between them and the Genesis is where the lines get blurred.
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I agree. For people that can't be bothered to maintain a grill the cheapos are probably the way to go.

But what grills are there really between the webers and broil kings and the others? A while back I spent about 10 minutes in a big box store with a magnet looking over all sorts of grills. ALL the grills i looked at except the Weber and broil kings used magnetic steel for the firebox. And it all appeared to be cheap thin steel as well. IMO that's just not going to last.
 
Yah, it is kind of hard to tell how a new grill design will hold up over time. I am sure Weber didn't expect their E3xx grill cabinets to turn to rust like they did. I don't know if they addressed the problem in Genesis II models or not, but it will take time to tell if that is solved or maybe they have developed a whole new, unforeseen problem.

I am just happy to say in the Genesis 1000 and Silver B world. The few problems they have are well known and usually simple to fix. I have an E-W 310 and a N-S 310 waiting to rehab and I am not real anxious to tear into them.
 
Bruce said:
Yah, it is kind of hard to tell how a new grill design will hold up over time. I am sure Weber didn't expect their E3xx grill cabinets to turn to rust like they did. I don't know if they addressed the problem in Genesis II models or not, but it will take time to tell if that is solved or maybe they have developed a whole new, unforeseen problem.

I am just happy to say in the Genesis 1000 and Silver B world. The few problems they have are well known and usually simple to fix. I have an E-W 310 and a N-S 310 waiting to rehab and I am not real anxious to tear into them.
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I agree. Simple is sometimes best and that's why I like the vintage webers as well.

I think the cart issue is exactly why weber brought the open design back. And issues with the stainless steel looking like crap after a few years is why they moved to 300 series stainless. What other company does things like that? No other grill companies that's for sure. That's why I think weber is still the best despite moving production overseas.
 
Greg M said:
I agree. Simple is sometimes best and that's why I like the vintage webers as well.

I think the cart issue is exactly why weber brought the open design back. And issues with the stainless steel looking like crap after a few years is why they moved to 300 series stainless. What other company does things like that? No other grill companies that's for sure. That's why I think weber is still the best despite moving production overseas.
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Very good points. I don’t like the outsourcing, and I wish Weber was still the homespun family owned business it once was. But, their products should be evaluated fairly despite our emotions and in comparison to what else is on the market today. That isn’t to say that we might like a classic Genesis better than anything of today, but comparison of new products needs to be even handed and objective as possible.
 
I also do applaud the return of the open cart option, the use of at least two real wheels, and the stainless upgrades.
 
Yah, those two rear wheels is significant in my book. Just about every single older weber that I get has the two caster wheels completely seized up. I don't know why. They seem to be in decent shape, but it is like they are siezed from rust, which isn't possible being plastic. With the 4 caster wheels on the newer grill, they probably become completely immobile after a few years. At least with the two big wheels on the older ones, you can lift up the casters and move it that way.
 
Just a comment on my observations of the casters. I have purchased and rebuilt 3 Genesis 1000 series grills and all of them had the casters frozen solid. However my 17 year old genesis has the original casters and they are good as new. All I can figure is that I move my grill away from house every time I use it and probably most people park their grill where they use it so it never moves. If you want the casters to work, take your grill for a walk occasionally! I have never been able to free up frozen casters.
 
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