CL Score - Silver A - Which Flavorizer Bars?


 
M

Mike in Sacramento

TVWBB Member
I picked up this Silver A along with a full tank of propane for $25 last weekend. It's in great shape, but the flavorizer bars are very rusted out. I already have a new 6 Burner Summit that my wife recently surprised me with, so for obvious reasons, I can't be using this Silver A too much. It is a cool little grill though and I love that it only cost me $25!

Here's my dilemma and I'm probably just being cheap here, but I can get a set of the cheaper porcelain bars for $25, while a set of stainless steel bars will cost about $50. Is there a noticeable difference in performance between the cheaper bars and the stainless bars or is it just a question of longevity? I don't plan on using the Silver A that much and it will be stored in a shed, not exposed to the elements.

Spend the extra $25 or not?

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If you get SS you will have more in the bars the grill itself, funny, ha! How rusted out on the ones in there? my porcelain ones have a couple holes but not falling a part so I keep using them.
 
GGross said:
If you get SS you will have more in the bars the grill itself, funny, ha! How rusted out on the ones in there? my porcelain ones have a couple holes but not falling a part so I keep using them.
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The bars are very rusted - jagged, paper thin, holes all over, but still in one piece. I was just wondering if the heat retention aspect of having new bars is worth the money. If not, I suppose as long as the 2 burners can still be protected by the rusty bars, I guess I'm ok.
 
New bars are worth the $$$$. Frankly I have used both SS and enameled on the same grill and found no difference in performance. Only longeevity
 
You have a Summit? Put the cheap flavorizers in the little Silver A, clean it up, keep the propane bottle if you need it, and sell that little booger for more than you have in it.

If you must keep it, get some SS flavorizers from RCPlanebuyer.
 
RemoGaggi said:
Spend the extra $25 or not?
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You'll either spend it now, or in a handful of years anyway. Even living in a shed, once they start to rust there ain't no turning back.
I vote for the SS (I've purchased SS from ebay which wasn't rcplanebuyer and happy)
 
If you aren't going to use it that much, invest in a set from RCPlanebuyer and you probably won't ever have to buy another set.
 
Given the likely low usage, why not buy the cheapest set you can find? The porcelain ones will last for many years in most cases if only used a couple times a month.

My $0.02

-Tom in SoCal
 
Tom Henderson said:
Given the likely low usage, why not buy the cheapest set you can find? The porcelain ones will last for many years in most cases if only used a couple times a month.

My $0.02

-Tom in SoCal
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Tom, I could be 100% wrong about this, but I learned that propane (and Natural Gas) produces a wet/moist heat. It's why cast iron burners rust even if you keep your grill covered and you do everything you can to keep things dry. Thinking about it, I'd wager that most people close their grill lids when not in use. And that the lid alone largely keeps the porcelain flavorizers dry, yet people have to keep replacing them because they rust out. I've also known people who always keep their grill covered when not in use, but they aren't immune to rusting either.

IF (and it's a big if) all of the above is correct, then even only using it a couple of times a month and storing it in a shed won't prevent the porcelain bars from rusting and having to be replaced at a later date.
 
I haven't tried to understand it, but I have seen flames condense moisture.
But other things cause steel to oxidize quickly as well. Two of those being heat and acid, both of which the flavorizers are heavily subjected to.
If there was such a thing as re-incarnation, I wouldn't want to come back as a flavorizer bar. (Well, I guess it would be better than coming back as Rosie O'Donnel's underwear)
 
DaveW said:
Tom, I could be 100% wrong about this,.
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You are absolutely correct Dave -- Propane combustion does produce a lot of water vapor and the porcelain bars *will* eventually rust. I was just thinking that that this grill wasn't going to get used much, so the cheap bars would last a long time.

If the OP wants to keep and use this $25 grill for a long time, SS grills are the best long-term option. OTOH if he isn't planning to keep it forever, then the porcelain bars will get him a lot of good grilling for less money.

As my dad used to say, "you pays your money and takes yer choice"

-Tom in SoCal
 
The moisture involved from combustion is not the reason for corrosion. On CI burners it is simply because of moisture in the air that condenses on the burners as they cool combined with the acids from food drippings and the salt we use on the food. CI is NOT a good material for burners. As for the bars the enameled ones rust because again the acids and salts from the food also porcelain is basically glass fired on the metal. Constant heat cool cycles cause fissures to develop juices, moisture and salts work their way in and the steel is history. Good SS is nearly a lifetime investment
 
I ended up finding some (supposedly) original Weber SS bars on ebay for $35 (free shipping). I'll be into the grill for $60. I still can't complain about that!
 
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