2022 Genesis burner knobs...sad


 
Chris Allingham

Chris Allingham

Administrator
Staff member
I don't like to pick on Weber too hard, but I was at The Home Depot yesterday and playing with the Mason jar burner knobs on the latest Genesis gas grills. I'm not a big fan of how they look, but that's a matter of personal taste. My issue is that boy, they do not feel solid. Very loosey goosey and they come off so easily. I know these display grills get a lot of abuse, but I can't help but think they're not going to hold up well over the years.

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Hi Chris, the knob sizes increased dramatically from 2014ish in relation to the valve stem. Pre 2014 the valves were all brass with a thick stem and now the valves are a die cast with thin iron stems.

So I see more stripped knobs and bent stems on the front control grills.

Maybe the trade off was less torque required to turn the knob…
 
The trend seems to be steadily toward bigger control knobs and cheaper and cheaper construction. Compare this newest Genesis to the original. The original had pretty small plastic knobs by today's standards - not as comfortable to use - but in terms of thickness of metal and quality of materials used on the grill itself, the early Gensis was far superior in my view. The new Genesis has acres of "stainless" shelf space, but the metal is almost unbelievably thin; maybe it just doesn't matter. The cast aluminum on an early Genesis is pretty stout - that's why there are still over 30-year-old ones still useable - while the newest cast aluminum seems really thin. I have to feel THAT WILL matter as burn-through and warping are certainly going to be more common.

In my bucket list of things to do, I bought a caliper with long enough extensions, and I want to do honest measurements of Genesis parts over the years. I will try to move this one up on my list!
 
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Agree with Jon I look at my soon to be 25 year old Genesis 1000 EX with its original knobs and thick cast cook box and all the use it has had, and it still is holding up fine. I sure don't see that happening with the newer Weber's the quilty just isn't there.
 
Jon, I agree. They are trending towards thinner, and less expensive parts. This is primarily to cut costs. But, I think Weber has come to the reasoning that it just doesn't benefit them to manufacture and sell grills that will last 20 to 30 years. Sure, people will have to swap out grates and flavorizer bars every 5 or so years, but if they can get the grill itself to last 10 years, they have met their goal. "Time for a new grill honey. I am going to go down to Home Depot and grab one of them new Genesis grills they put out last week." Not, "I just need to scrape some of this gunk out and replace the flavorizer bars and grates and she will be good as new". Instead of Weber getting $100 sale in new parts, they sell a new grill for $1000 plus. That fits what I percieve as their current business model.
 
Yep, I think it is unfortunately the business model that has been adopted - and, truthfully, that the vast majority of Weber's customers are fine with.

I had a friend in Florida who replaced his Weber grill every 5 years or so and gave me his old one, rusted from ongoing exposure to the coastal Florida sale air. He seemed fine with that amount of use, and I am sure he enjoyed getting a new Weber each time! I can see that, but I will be much more excited if I can ever get the 1998 1st generation Summit I bought from Larry finally completely finished and in service :coolkettle: . Midwest weather has turned against me, but I am still hoping for a Christmas present to myself!!!
 
If you really want the old-time Made in USA construction, I think the best - and maybe only remaining - option is Broilmaster. They still make their little changed heavy duty cast aluminum grill and offer a stainless-steel cart. They aren't stylish like Weber grills, but they are solid and very fine cookers capable of high heat and indirect low and slow.

broilmaster.com

Broilmaster | Premium Gas Grill P3XF

The Broilmaster Premium P3XF gas grill comes loaded with standard features, including the flare buster flavor enhancers.
broilmaster.com broilmaster.com

Of course, if money is no object there are a number of low-volume makers of true all-stainless grills that are built like tanks. This Blaze grill is made of 316 marine-grade stainless:

www.blazegrills.com

Blaze Marine Grade 316L 4-Burner Premium LTE - Blaze Grills

Blaze Grills provides luxury grills at affordable prices - you can't beat our excellent customer service and lifetime warranty!
www.blazegrills.com www.blazegrills.com

Even these, though, will need replacement parts - especially complex igniters and ultimately burners and heat deflectors.
 
Jon Tofte said:
Yep, I think it is unfortunately the business model that has been adopted - and, truthfully, that the vast majority of Weber's customers are fine with.

I had a friend in Florida who replaced his Weber grill every 5 years or so and gave me his old one, rusted from ongoing exposure to the coastal Florida sale air. He seemed fine with that amount of use, and I am sure he enjoyed getting a new Weber each time! I can see that, but I will be much more excited if I can ever get the 1998 1st generation Summit I bought from Larry finally completely finished and in service :coolkettle: . Midwest weather has turned against me, but I am still hoping for a Christmas present to myself!!!
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Jon, I am praying for a fine Christmas for you this year. Besides, I can't wait to see you fire it up and get some stuff cooked on it.
 
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