Genesis II vs pre-2017 Genesis
- Thread starter Nik G
- Start date
Jon Tofte
TVWBB 1-Star Olympian
GrillGrates will definitely reduce flare-ups and even out your temperatures. I use them on my daily driver Genesis Platinum and before that the same set on a Silver C. They are a regular at SCA steak competitions, because they faithfully deliver razor sharp grill marks:
Compare fish on GrillGrates (top) with very nice cast iron piece (bottom)
Another advantage of GrillGrates is that much of the grease, etc. gets incinerated at the grate level. You do have to clean them from time to time, but your firebox will stay a lot cleaner and you will not get nearly so much grease inside.
Are their disadvantages?
Well, for one thing, although GrillGrates have plenty of holes, they still hold block a lot of heat down below. You need to adjust your settings to something more like 3/4 power or risk trapping too much heat. The grates will be searing hot, even so, as you can see.
Some people feel that using GrillGrates alters your grilling experience to the point that you are no longer "grilling" but are more like using a stove top. I haven't found that to be my own reaction. You can put a smoker box underneath (or above like in the picture), and even without one there is still sizzling smoke. Seldom any real flare-ups, though.
The most controversial aspect of GrillGrates is that they are made of anodized aluminum. The manufacturer (of course) claims there is absolutely no risk from using aluminum in this way. It is at least a reasonable argument that in a hot grilling environment, with food acids and scraping to clean your grates, that the anodized coating is likely to come off in places. That leaves you, then, with the issue of whether or not cooking directly on aluminum can cause disorders such as Alzheimer's. There are those that feel strongly that aluminum is a direct cause and can point to results they have seen. Others, including the National Alzheimer's Assoc, say that there is no causal link. It has also been pointed out that there is a big difference in simmering something with high acid like tomato sauce in an aluminum pot for hours vs. five or ten minutes of food just sitting on GrillGrates. This is a highly personal decision that each person needs to make and be satisfied with. If you have doubts, don't use them.
For me, GrillGrates deliver reliable results and are much more forgiving than any other grate material I have used. I have not been persuaded, at this point, that they pose a health threat to me or my family.
I have done side by side cooking with GrillGrates and thick stainless rods and while sometimes the results were close, the stainless rods never did better and sometimes didn't do nearly as well as GrillGrates:
Compare fish on GrillGrates (top) with very nice cast iron piece (bottom)
Another advantage of GrillGrates is that much of the grease, etc. gets incinerated at the grate level. You do have to clean them from time to time, but your firebox will stay a lot cleaner and you will not get nearly so much grease inside.
Are their disadvantages?
Well, for one thing, although GrillGrates have plenty of holes, they still hold block a lot of heat down below. You need to adjust your settings to something more like 3/4 power or risk trapping too much heat. The grates will be searing hot, even so, as you can see.
Some people feel that using GrillGrates alters your grilling experience to the point that you are no longer "grilling" but are more like using a stove top. I haven't found that to be my own reaction. You can put a smoker box underneath (or above like in the picture), and even without one there is still sizzling smoke. Seldom any real flare-ups, though.
The most controversial aspect of GrillGrates is that they are made of anodized aluminum. The manufacturer (of course) claims there is absolutely no risk from using aluminum in this way. It is at least a reasonable argument that in a hot grilling environment, with food acids and scraping to clean your grates, that the anodized coating is likely to come off in places. That leaves you, then, with the issue of whether or not cooking directly on aluminum can cause disorders such as Alzheimer's. There are those that feel strongly that aluminum is a direct cause and can point to results they have seen. Others, including the National Alzheimer's Assoc, say that there is no causal link. It has also been pointed out that there is a big difference in simmering something with high acid like tomato sauce in an aluminum pot for hours vs. five or ten minutes of food just sitting on GrillGrates. This is a highly personal decision that each person needs to make and be satisfied with. If you have doubts, don't use them.
For me, GrillGrates deliver reliable results and are much more forgiving than any other grate material I have used. I have not been persuaded, at this point, that they pose a health threat to me or my family.
I have done side by side cooking with GrillGrates and thick stainless rods and while sometimes the results were close, the stainless rods never did better and sometimes didn't do nearly as well as GrillGrates:
Well, this may be a disappointment to the folks in this forum, but I did not wind up buying a Weber. I actually found a stainless steel Broil King Baron S440 in lightly used condition with matching heavy duty cover that I pretty much stole for $175 on CL. Broil King has apparently been around since the early 1900's, is made in the USA and has a relatively good reputation. I just couldn't pass that deal up.
After researching GrillGrates it seems there are lots of excellent reviews for them. Jon Tofte appears to confirm that further. Apparently they really help even out the heat, intensify the heat (more infrared-like cooking), promote lower gas usage and help with flare-ups. Also, I figure they should really help with keeping the inside of the grill cleaner and add to the longevity of burners and flavorizer bars (Broil King calls them Flav-R-Wave) since there will be fewer drippings on there trying to corrode the parts. Basically everything I was looking for.
So, I went ahead and dropped $116 + shipping + tax = $141 and got a set of five 17.375" panels that will be 25.5" long. Should fit perfectly as replacements the current grates (not that they need to be replaced at all).
I had a really hard time dropping that kind of cash for the GrillGrates, almost half the entire price of my new rig. But then I asked myself if I would have paid $315 for a good quality used grill. Or $420 + tax for a new Q3200. And the answers were yes. So I decided to just think about it as a package deal for the total I paid. If those GrillGrates are the miracle that the reviewers say they are, then I will wind up with a very attractive grill with better cooking characteristics compared to the Weber Genesis II for less than half the cost.
After researching GrillGrates it seems there are lots of excellent reviews for them. Jon Tofte appears to confirm that further. Apparently they really help even out the heat, intensify the heat (more infrared-like cooking), promote lower gas usage and help with flare-ups. Also, I figure they should really help with keeping the inside of the grill cleaner and add to the longevity of burners and flavorizer bars (Broil King calls them Flav-R-Wave) since there will be fewer drippings on there trying to corrode the parts. Basically everything I was looking for.
So, I went ahead and dropped $116 + shipping + tax = $141 and got a set of five 17.375" panels that will be 25.5" long. Should fit perfectly as replacements the current grates (not that they need to be replaced at all).
I had a really hard time dropping that kind of cash for the GrillGrates, almost half the entire price of my new rig. But then I asked myself if I would have paid $315 for a good quality used grill. Or $420 + tax for a new Q3200. And the answers were yes. So I decided to just think about it as a package deal for the total I paid. If those GrillGrates are the miracle that the reviewers say they are, then I will wind up with a very attractive grill with better cooking characteristics compared to the Weber Genesis II for less than half the cost.
Sam Bee
TVWBB All-Star
Hey Nik, congrats on the grill! Broil King does make good grills, just make sure you take care of the cabinet as I think those are prone to rust just like the last gen Webers ( a buddy of mine had that same grill and the cabinet rusted in a couple of years because he didn't take care of it).
Chris in GA
TVWBB Pro
Nik i had a BK Regal and while it cooked good i was not impressed. The parts were cheap and low quality. The only thing they have is good warranty they sent burners for free but the cast iron grates rusted completely and turned to flakes. The grease system broke and started leaking there was no way it can be repaired i had to use a bucket. Every time it rained water got into the grill. The igniter broke every year like clockwork.
Hopefully yours will be better.
Hopefully yours will be better.
Last edited:
Mary Reyes
New member
Weber is actually a well-known brand of gas grills, Weber's products are always well-rated, either Q3200 or Genesis II, but it seems that Genesis II is popular and rated quite well among them. For more information about Genesis II, you can refer to this site:
mykitchencapers.com
Weber Spirit vs Genesis - Full Reviews & Comparisons - MyKitchenCapers
Weber Genesis vs Spirit are so similar that you may find it puzzling to distinguish one. That is why our research is going to put an end to this debate
mykitchencapers.com
Well I am hoping for better too. It did come with a BK cover that is an exact fit for that model, so hopefully that keeps most of the rain out. I clenaed the entire thing today...looks like the previous owner may have used it about 10-20 times would be my guess. The grates on this are starting to rust a little, but as I have ordered an entire set of GrillGrates that should no longer be an issue. As all my previous grills have been $300 or less, I have never had one where the ignitor lasted more than maybe 6 months. I guess I will just have to see how long everything lasts. Again, for $175 I figured you can just about get the crappiest new grill possible so still worth it on the off chance it performs well.
One thing I thought before buying the GrillGrates...even if this grill turns out to be a lemon I can always move those grates to a new rig.
One thing I thought before buying the GrillGrates...even if this grill turns out to be a lemon I can always move those grates to a new rig.
Dave in KC
TVWBB Wizard
You can lead a horse to water .....
Jon Tofte
TVWBB 1-Star Olympian
Weber is actually a well-known brand of gas grills, Weber's products are always well-rated, either Q3200 or Genesis II, but it seems that Genesis II is popular and rated quite well among them. For more information about Genesis II, you can refer to this site:
Weber Spirit vs Genesis - Full Reviews & Comparisons - MyKitchenCapers
Weber Genesis vs Spirit are so similar that you may find it puzzling to distinguish one. That is why our research is going to put an end to this debate
Mary,
Welcome to TVWBB!
