Afterburner Aftermarket Infrared Burner for Genesis II, so far it's HOT!


 
I am in the same mindset as Larry on this. How does the IR burner not get all gunked up?
Some other questions:

1. Are you still going to flip the E310? Or does the addition of the Afterburner make it a keeper?
2. You mention "this is one of the 3 key reasons I use a Napoleon Prestige 500RSIB". What are the other two?
3. What is the advantage of an IR burner? I assumed it would be to give a good sear or crust on the outer surface, but your video did not seem not show that.

Great informational video, BTW, and I especially loved the "flame kiss" aspect!!!
 
Also, do you know if they are available for the older generation Webers like the Silver B's and 1000's?
Boy, that sure seems like it would take up a lot of real estate with EW burners. Just sayin'. I'd rather have half-griddle, if all it does is sear.
 
I am in the same mindset as Larry on this. How does the IR burner not get all gunked up?

Also, do you know if they are available for the older generation Webers like the Silver B's and 1000's?
I have an IR Sideburner on my Broil King, it must be because of the intense heat. It completely carbonized and burns off any drippings.
 

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I have an IR Sideburner on my Broil King, it must be because of the intense heat. It completely carbonized and burns off any drippings.
And therein is the crux of the situation...the sideburner is in addition to the main burners, not a replacement. Giving up that much main burner area for a sear burner is a reach for me on a EW grill, unless there is some other purpose I don't know about (very likely!)

EDIT: I'm a critical thinker (that's an apology, not a compliment to myself because I always feel like I'm raining on somebody's parade) and I know I've got to be coming across as Mr. Negativity here! But this isn't suitable for a grill that uses flavorizer bars where you can't arrange the bars so as not to cover the Afterburner, like the early Genesis models or the Silvers.
 
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I have an IR Sideburner on my Broil King, it must be because of the intense heat. It completely carbonized and burns off any drippings.
From what I have read, IR burners generate intense heat that is used to put a char or crust on the surface of whatever protein, or to cook thin proteins quickly to avoid drying out. They don't offer any particular advantage over other heating methods for cooking thicker proteins that take time for heat to penetrate completely. Used to be the thinking was to sear or char first to seal the surface, then cook at a lower heat setting to cook to the desired doneness, but reverse searing, where the searing is done after the doneness is achieved, is the current vogue. I'm not an expert, so tell me if I'm wrong!
 
Ed, I enjoy following the train of thought at least. Gives me a good idea of where your thinking comes from and helps it all make sense.

In any event, regarding sear burners, I don't know what I would do with those. My 2000 gets pretty close to 600 degrees at the grates if I heat it up good, I don't know that I would really want any more than that.

All that being said, if there were those awesome burners for the thousand east west Genesis grills I would totally get them.

Even without them though, if I want to sear I just floor the 2000 for 20 minutes, put the meat on and at that time turn it down. Sears good that way, and then I'm cooking the middle for a little while.
 
I am in the same mindset as Larry on this. How does the IR burner not get all gunked up?

Also, do you know if they are available for the older generation Webers like the Silver B's and 1000's?
It all vaporizes when you have the burner on high. I only have ones for the Genesis 2.
 
Some other questions:

1. Are you still going to flip the E310? Or does the addition of the Afterburner make it a keeper?
2. You mention "this is one of the 3 key reasons I use a Napoleon Prestige 500RSIB". What are the other two?
3. What is the advantage of an IR burner? I assumed it would be to give a good sear or crust on the outer surface, but your video did not seem not show that.

Great informational video, BTW, and I especially loved the "flame kiss" aspect!!!
I still have the Genesis II to keep "playing" with the IR burner.
Rotisserie burner and height of the rotisserie so I can run it with the grates on.
I like the ability to cook with a 1 minute warm up and it is really close to cooking over an open flame.
 
And therein is the crux of the situation...the sideburner is in addition to the main burners, not a replacement. Giving up that much main burner area for a sear burner is a reach for me on a EW grill, unless there is some other purpose I don't know about (very likely!)

EDIT: I'm a critical thinker (that's an apology, not a compliment to myself because I always feel like I'm raining on somebody's parade) and I know I've got to be coming across as Mr. Negativity here! But this isn't suitable for a grill that uses flavorizer bars where you can't arrange the bars so as not to cover the Afterburner, like the early Genesis models or the Silvers.
I need more testing on low setting. I believe it will go down quite low so I do not think you will be giving much up in terms of space but more testing needs to be done in that area....Why I still have the Genesis II in my garage. The problem for me is I cleaned up that grill to flip it now I need to get it greasy with some more cooks. Not to mention it is in the detached garage and my Broilmaster is on the attached screen in porch and so much more convenient to run in and out.;-)
 
I need more testing on low setting. I believe it will go down quite low so I do not think you will be giving much up in terms of space but more testing needs to be done in that area....Why I still have the Genesis II in my garage. The problem for me is I cleaned up that grill to flip it now I need to get it greasy with some more cooks.
One potential advantage I can see with the E310 is that you can easily swap the burner/Afterburner in and out if needed, if the Afterburner tends to clog up on low. I really like the open flame aspect! But I'd like to see some serious crust on that burger next time.

Maybe crust is like hot sauce...my wife thinks black pepper is hot!

Not to mention it is in the detached garage and my Broilmaster is on the attached screen in porch and so much more convenient to run in and out.;-)
To me, and maybe my age is showing, but convenience is paramount! I must go in and out a dozen times during a 2 or 3 hour cook.
 
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One potential advantage I can see with the E310 is that you can easily swap the burner/Afterburner in and out if needed, if the Afterburner tends to clog up on low. I like the open flame aspect!
That is true as it does install in a minute or two. With the Napoleon I just pre-heat it for a minute or two and what ever is there vaporizes. I have used it quite a bit and still clean. I do plan on taking it apart and giving the whole side burner a good cleaning once or twice a year with the rest of the grill. The Genesis 2 makes that real easy as there are no screws.
 
Have you had the occasion to compare that IR burner to the Weber Sear Station? Of course, it heats much faster, but does it sear better?
 
Have you had the occasion to compare that IR burner to the Weber Sear Station? Of course, it heats much faster, but does it sear better?
I do not have a Genesis 2 with a sear burner but as I understand it, the Weber sear burner is just an extra burner between 2 others.
 
I wonder if they have one for the east/west burners?

Thanks for the the video. Those burgers looked great will be on the lookout for them on the next costco run.
 
I do not have a Genesis 2 with a sear burner but as I understand it, the Weber sear burner is just an extra burner between 2 others.
I have an E330 with sear station and it gives a nice hot area and gives a nice overall sear, not just grill marks. I like that you can sear and move to a cooler area, but you first have to heat the entire grill then light the sear burner. Takes a while until it is ready. It costs you a couple hundred bucks to get that feature on a new Weber, so the aftermarket conversion is quite cost effective.
 
From what I have read, IR burners generate intense heat that is used to put a char or crust on the surface of whatever protein, or to cook thin proteins quickly to avoid drying out.

Not really.

Infrared burners generate intense radiation. Which is different than temp/heat.

The idea here (a fine one imo) is cooking via radiation rather than convection. Not just getting higher temps.

Gassers cook mostly by convection (i.e. a flow of hot air). That's not the perfect grilling method for a steak. Charcoal, in contrast, cooks mostly by radiation.

Because radiation is a great grilling method, high end gas grills often add an IR burner. Joe's gizmo is a clever way to add IR capability to a mostly convection Weber Genesis.

Note that the Weber sear station burners just add more heat via more convection. The sear burner is just another gas tube -- it isn't an IR burner (which is what the fancy grills have).

Here's a pretty good explanation of how convection, radiation and induction differ.

 
From what I have read, IR burners generate intense heat that is used to put a char or crust on the surface of whatever protein, or to cook thin proteins quickly to avoid drying out.

Not really.

Infrared burners generate intense radiation. Which is different than temp/heat.

The idea here (a fine one imo) is cooking via radiation rather than convection. Not just getting higher temps.

Gassers cook mostly by convection (i.e. a flow of hot air). That's not the perfect grilling method for a steak. Charcoal, in contrast, cooks mostly by radiation.

Because radiation is a great grilling method, high end gas grills often add an IR burner. Joe's gizmo is a clever way to add IR capability to a mostly convection Weber Genesis.

Note that the Weber sear station burners just add more heat via more convection. The sear burner is just another gas tube -- it isn't an IR burner (which is what the fancy grills have).

Here's a pretty good explanation of how convection, radiation and induction differ.

So would you describe this as a game-changer for a Genesis II? I wondered why Joe bought ten of them...

I'm not sure I would be able to tell the difference in a taste test between a steak cooked via conduction vs convection vs radiation, although I do prefer the taste of food cooked over charcoal. It seems like Meathead stops short of saying that food tastes differently when cooked via the various methods, although I had a case of TL;DR and only skimmed that article.
 
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