Another Free Genesis 1000 LX

[Grant Cunningham]

Here's a question. What's the difference between cast iron and stainless grills, flavorizer bars, etc.? Why do some elect stainless?

Stainless flavorizers are the only way to go. I got this set from that big shopping site. They're the right lengths and quite thick:

Amazon.com

Now the grate thing: there are stainless, cast iron, and porcelain coated cast iron. The grates in my Genesis 3000 were porcelain coated cast iron, and I believe that was standard on at least some Genesis models for a period of time.

Stainless are fine. Cast iron are fine, as long as you understand the seasoning and maintenance (which anyone with a cast fry pan should!) Between them, toss a coin — either works pretty well.

The porcelain coated CI are a different thing entirely; they're fine as long as the porcelain is intact. A chipped one will rust under the porcelain and cause more loss. Personally, I'm not at all keen on having porcelain slivers in my burgers, so when the coated grates on my 3000 showed some porcelain loss, I replaced them with stainless.

 

[Grant Cunningham]

Here are two sets of SS grates from Amazon that I would recommend. If you want to spend more, you can get beefier grates, but these should do well for most people.

Amazon.com

I have this set, and they're a lot of bang for the buck. And, unlike some others, they're the right length!

 

[Bruce]

Yah, those were one of the sets I recommended. They are slightly longer front to back and perfect for some of the older grills that suffer from the slight bowing out of the cook box along the front. Some of the other sets will nearly fall in on those cook boxes. But the Honsgo grates fit great and even on a perfect cook box, they will slide around a whole lot less which can get annoying.

 

[Roy-Parallax]

Stainless flavorizers are the only way to go. I got this set from that big shopping site. They're the right lengths and quite thick:

Amazon.com

Now the grate thing: there are stainless, cast iron, and porcelain coated cast iron. The grates in my Genesis 3000 were porcelain coated cast iron, and I believe that was standard on at least some Genesis models for a period of time.

Stainless are fine. Cast iron are fine, as long as you understand the seasoning and maintenance (which anyone with a cast fry pan should!) Between them, toss a coin — either works pretty well.

The porcelain coated CI are a different thing entirely; they're fine as long as the porcelain is intact. A chipped one will rust under the porcelain and cause more loss. Personally, I'm not at all keen on having porcelain slivers in my burgers, so when the coated grates on my 3000 showed some porcelain loss, I replaced them with stainless.

Thank you, Grant. Is that a pretty good deal at $53?

Reading the reviews, some say they're heavier gauge than the OEM bars. Others claim they're lighter.

 

[Jon Tofte]

Thanks Bruce. I'm going to stick with my cast iron grates. Was saying I'm open to stainless flavorizer bars. When I checked Amazon it looked like there too the cheap ones tend to be light and thin gauge. The thicker ones are more expensive.

I would not bother with flavorizer bars that are 18 gauge - or worse 20 gauge - thin. The best ones are made by Dave Santana aka “rcplanebuyer” - his eBay handle. I have also had good luck with ones made by Qlimetal found on Amazon. Read the specs carefully. You want 304 stainless and 16 gauge.

 

[Grant Cunningham]

Thank you, Grant. Is that a pretty good deal at $53?

They're the best compromise of quality and cost I've found.

Reading the reviews, some say they're heavier gauge than the OEM bars. Others claim they're lighter.

They're most definitely heavier.

 

[Roy-Parallax]

I would not bother with flavorizer bars that are 18 gauge - or worse 20 gauge - thin. The best ones are made by Dave Santana aka “rcplanebuyer” - his eBay handle. I have also had good luck with ones made by Qlimetal found on Amazon. Read the specs carefully. You want 304 stainless and 16 gauge.

Checked both sellers. Nether show flavorizer bars available for the 1000 series. Sent each of them a message to find out if they might be available and, if so, the price.

 

[Roy-Parallax]

They're the best compromise of quality and cost I've found.

They're most definitely heavier.

What do you see as the compromise? In what ways did they hold the price down?

 

[Grant Cunningham]

What do you see as the compromise? In what ways did they hold the price down?

They're 16ga as opposed to the 14ga some of the custom makers (like rcplanebuyer) use.

 

[Roy-Parallax]

They're 16ga as opposed to the 14ga some of the custom makers (like rcplanebuyer) use.

What gauge were the Weber stainless bars?

 

[Grant Cunningham]

What gauge were the Weber stainless bars?

I don't have the originals to measure, but if they were even 18ga I'd be surprised - more like 20ga. And of course they were carbon steel coated with porcelain, which easily flaked off and allowed rust to set in.

 

[Roy-Parallax]

I don't have the originals to measure, but if they were even 18ga I'd be surprised - more like 20ga. And of course they were carbon steel coated with porcelain, which easily flaked off and allowed rust to set in.

Kinda weird given that Weber had such a reputation for high quality in those days.

 

[Roy-Parallax]

I would not bother with flavorizer bars that are 18 gauge - or worse 20 gauge - thin. The best ones are made by Dave Santana aka “rcplanebuyer” - his eBay handle. I have also had good luck with ones made by Qlimetal found on Amazon. Read the specs carefully. You want 304 stainless and 16 gauge.

Unfortuately Qilmetal wrote back to say he doesn't do flavorizer bars for the 1000 series.

 

[LMichaels]

Weber ones (at least old Weber) were 16ga. As for cast iron vs SS grates. They cook IDENTICAL providing you're using the same "mass" of metal. IOW if you compare heavy CI grates to the stamped stainless OEM Weber no contest the CI wins hands down. BUT, if you compare a set of grates CI with say a mass of 5lbs to the same mass SS ones absolutely no difference in cooking (grate marks) ability or ability of food to "release" from the grates. And in one major aspect SS wins hands down. Ease of maintenance. I like CI stuff as much as the next guy. But if I am doing steak on the stove top I will 90% of the time go for my high quality tri-ply stainless pans over my CI ones. I get the exact same crust, same release, and MUCH easier handling. Yeah CI is great stuff but lots of that is legend rather than actual performance facts

 

[THyde]

Plus, stainless is just easier to clean and it doesn't rust. I have RCP grates, they weigh about as much as my Jeep's doors and they never, ever rust. They just cook incredibly, and with a Char-Gon, they clean up great (see what I did there?) too.

 

[Bruce]

Before the question gets posted, here is the Chargon. With this and a quality set of SS grates, you can clean them real well in a couple minutes. No worries about steel or copper brush bristles either. Oh, and it basically never wears out.

Amazon.com

 

[Jon Tofte]

Before the question gets posted, here is the Chargon. With this and a quality set of SS grates, you can clean them real well in a couple minutes. No worries about steel or copper brush bristles either. Oh, and it basically never wears out.

Amazon.com

A GREAT tool in my opinion!

 

[Jon Tofte]

Weber ones (at least old Weber) were 16ga. As for cast iron vs SS grates. They cook IDENTICAL providing you're using the same "mass" of metal. IOW if you compare heavy CI grates to the stamped stainless OEM Weber no contest the CI wins hands down. BUT, if you compare a set of grates CI with say a mass of 5lbs to the same mass SS ones absolutely no difference in cooking (grate marks) ability or ability of food to "release" from the grates. And in one major aspect SS wins hands down. Ease of maintenance. I like CI stuff as much as the next guy. But if I am doing steak on the stove top I will 90% of the time go for my high quality tri-ply stainless pans over my CI ones. I get the exact same crust, same release, and MUCH easier handling. Yeah CI is great stuff but lots of that is legend rather than actual performance facts

Yep, Larry, I totally agree you are right. I am a sentimentalist and still love cast iron.

 

[JSaus]

What gauge were the Weber stainless bars?

Can't tell you the gauges, but the original stainless bars on my Silver B burned through in just a few years. The replacements were 16 gauge, thicker and lasted until I got rid of the grill maybe 15-16 years later.

 

[Roy-Parallax]

Before the question gets posted, here is the Chargon. With this and a quality set of SS grates, you can clean them real well in a couple minutes. No worries about steel or copper brush bristles either. Oh, and it basically never wears out.

Amazon.com

Does it work with cast iron too?