Built-in/Summit advice


 
M

Mike Raggett

New member
First off, thanks to all who post on this site and give great advise. When I decided to buy a smoker last year, this site convinced me to get the WSM and it has been great. The recipes and posts on here have made it a great experience.

Now, I'm seeking some advice. I'm looking to have a built-in grill installed in my screend patio. I was shocked to see the sticker prices on the buil-ins vs stand-alones, but hope that means they're built to last. I'm trying to stay to around $2000 for the grill...much more than I had originally planned, but.....
I think I have it narrowed down to two that I have found on the web for good prices:
Napoleon Prestige II BIPT600RBINSS-2 $1799
Weber Summit S-660 NG $2199

Its an amazing price on the Summit, since it retails for $2999 at Home Depot and Lowes. But, I have seen a concern on the web about the frame lasting more than 10 years. If I'm going to have an enclosure custom built for it, I really want it to last longer than that.
I've seen some decent reviews of the Summit on here, but not too much. Can anyone expand on their experiences? How about with Napoleon?

My sticking points (at least as of this second...and they change frequently):
My wife is leaning towards the Napoleon because t is a "treu built-in". I'm concerned about CS and availability of replacement parts.
For the Weber, I sort of like the frame, since i won't have to buy doors and have a cabinet built in. I also like that You guys rave abut the CS and the availability of parts. But my concern is the longevity of the frame and i have seen threads about Weber possibling moving to lower quality material.

Thanks,
Mike
 
Welcome Mike, I'm pretty new here myself and have been having a great time learning about my WSM.

As for the built-in I have a Weber 450 built into an island/counter and love it!! The grill is about 8 or 9 years old and I rebuilt all the burners, flavorizer bars, and igniters last summer - not they they were in bad shape at all, I was just looking for a fun project and thought it was time for a few upgrades. I also repainted and topped the project off with a new cover. I can't say enough good things about the Weber Customer Service group, all parts were in-stock and not bad at all on the prices.

The frame is still as sturdy as when new and I'm sure in another 10 years or so I'll still be able to get parts again if needed. Weber is not going anywhere.

I don't know the other brand you're considering but from my experiences with Weber I'm positve you cannot go wrong with them.

Mike
 
I have a summit built in - not sure the model... about 6 yrs old... 4 burner. It's been bullet proof other than the starter doesn't work so well on occasion.

Very possible budgetary constraints would blow this out of the water, but something to consider is getting two of the smaller units instead of one big one. The versatility that provides when cooking for a large group as well as the ease of a smaller grill for the "normal" cooks for only a few people is tremendous.
 
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