Genesis Silver B vs Spirit E-330, old vs new


 
JSaus

JSaus

TVWBB Wizard
I bought my all stainless Silver B back in 2001 and had no complaints. After 12 years, I rebuilt the guts and grate as I saw no reason to buy a new one. A couple years ago, I had to replace the rusted drip tray and catch pan assembly. After 19 years and 11 months, the supports that hold the drip tray rusted out and it fell off. Yes, I could just screw on a couple aluminum tracks, but I was frustrated so I started looking at a new grill. My search lead me to the Spirit E-330 as I could not justify the extra cost for the comparable Genesis and did not really need the extra size. After 4 months of use, I want to share my thoughts of the differences.

First of all, the cooking area is pretty much the same, so nothing lost there. The cook box on the new grill seems thinner, but since it is aluminum, I see no problem with durability. The lid now has a liner and is much cooler to the touch. I would assume it holds heat better when closed. The old grill was open cart and this is the cabinet style. The new cabinet looks great but not as practical as I thought. Hefting a propane tank on the scale inside that cabinet is a bit of a chore and once in there it pretty much fills the cabinet leaving almost no storage space. I prefer the open cart and basket to throw my stuff in on the Silver B. I also miss the folding composite side tables on the B. You lose a lot of space, especially if you are using the side burner. After 20 years I had no cart rust and I hope this cabinet fares as well.

As far as cooking, the most obvious difference is the burner orientation and the sear station. In my use, I vastly prefer the new orientation with the tubes running front to back to the old side to side style. The new grill gives me a lot better area for indirect cooking as opposed to the narrow area on the B. The new grill also seems to heat more evenly across the grates. Temperature control seems about the same on both with medium registering 350 degrees on both. The sear station is a favorite feature for me. Rather than having to heat the entire grill on high to sear, you can have one side to sear and a cooler section to slide the steak over to. This is great as my wife and I do not agree on how a steak should be done. The new feature allows you to get all your steaks done at the same time while getting a great sear on all. You will not appreciate it until you use it. My old grill had stainless grates and I prefer the cast iron to the stainless for heat retention and evenness of searing. The new electronic ignition has lit every time, but my old piezo ignitor usually did too.

All in all, I prefer the functionality of the new grill. Only time will tell if the durability is as good. If Weber could drop the new cook box in the old cart, it would be my perfect grill.
 
Last edited:
The silver b was a much better made grill. The spirits, hell even the gennys and summits rust now. The metal isn’t anywhere near as good. Lots of people prefer the E/W burner orientation but it’s all preference. I’d be hesitant to buy a new Weber grill that isnt a Q or charcoal, but they do cook very well. Just don’t expect another 20 years lol
 
JSaus said:
I bought my all stainless Silver B back in 2001 and had no complaints. After 12 years, I rebuilt the guts and grate as I saw no reason to buy a new one. A couple years ago, I had to replace the rusted drip tray and catch pan assembly. After 19 years and 11 months, the supports that hold the drip tray rusted out and it fell off. Yes, I could just screw on a couple aluminum tracks, but I was frustrated so I started looking at a new grill. My search lead me to the Spirit E-330 as I could not justify the extra cost for the comparable Genesis and did not really need the extra size. After 4 months of use, I want to share my thoughts of the differences.

First of all, the cooking area is pretty much the same, so the few square inches I lost do not make any difference to me. The cook box on the new grill seems thinner, but since it is aluminum, I see no problem with durability. The lid now has a liner and is much cooler to the touch. I would assume it holds heat better when closed. The old grill was open cart and this is the cabinet style. The new cabinet looks great but not as practical as I thought. Hefting a propane tank on the scale inside that cabinet is a bit of a chore and once in there it pretty much fills the cabinet leaving almost no storage space. I prefer the open cart and basket to throw my stuff in on the Silver B. I also miss the folding composite side tables on the B. You lose a lot of space, especially if you are using the side burner. After 20 years I had no cart rust and I hope this cabinet fares as well.

As far as cooking, the most obvious difference is the burner orientation and the sear station. In my use, I vastly prefer the new orientation with the tubes running front to back to the old side to side style. The new grill gives my a lot better area for indirect cooking as opposed to the narrow area on the B. The new grill also seems to heat more evenly across the grates. Temperature control seems about the same on both with medium registering 350 degrees on both. The sear station is a favorite feature for me. Rather than having to heat the entire grill on high to sear, you can have one side to sear and a cooler section to slide the steak over to. This is great as my wife and I do not agree on how a steak should be done. The new feature allows you to get all your steaks done at the same time while getting a great sear on all. You will not appreciate it until you use it. My old grill had stainless grates and I prefer the cast iron to the stainless for heat retention and evenness of searing. The new electronic ignition has lit every time, but my old piezo infighter usually did too.

All in all, I prefer the functionality of the new grill. Only time will tell if the durability is as good. If Weber could drop the new cook box in the old cart, it would be my perfect grill.
Click to expand...
Have you thought about unscrewing the tank scale and putting it on the right side under the shelf? That would open up your whole cart for storage. Very good review and thank you for the observations. If you do not use a rotisserie the N/S is a much more convenient layout I think. If only weber would offer a dedicated rotisserie burner on their Spirit and Genesis lines like most other manufacturers
 
It is great to have a review from someone who recently made this jump and can give an unbiased view from real experience.

I would agree with BobbyG that the old Silver was made a lot better - and proved its quality by giving you two decades of use! The newer ones have more flash and obviously still cook well. I think a lot more falls on you now to keep that new one very clean and dry. The thinner aluminum DOES worry me; even older, thicker fireboxes can burn through, so this is even more likely now.

I think you should enjoy your new grill and make the most of it. Just keep that cabinet clean and dry and chase away the first signs of rust. If you do that you should be good for a long time to come.

If I am correct, you should be able to swap your old grates - or any classic Genesis grates with that 3-burner Spirit. At least you have a lot of options should the original ones start to fail.
 
Jon Tofte said:
If I am correct, you should be able to swap your old grates - or any classic Genesis grates with that 3-burner Spirit. At least you have a lot of options should the original ones start to fail.
Click to expand...
No, the dimensions and size are different on the B and the E-330. B is a little wider and not quite as deep.

Edit. Seems they are the same area and dimensions. I do prefer the cast grates vs the old stamped stainless on the B.
 
Last edited:
Joe Anshien said:
Have you thought about unscrewing the tank scale and putting it on the right side under the shelf? That would open up your whole cart for storage. Very good review and thank you for the observations. If you do not use a rotisserie the N/S is a much more convenient layout I think. If only weber would offer a dedicated rotisserie burner on their Spirit and Genesis lines like most other manufacturers
Click to expand...
I believe I saw an article about mounting the tank outside and considered that. I had two concerns. First would be the imbalance on the small castors vs large wheel like on the open cart. The other problem is the big hole under where the tank goes would have to be covered.

I agree with you on the rotisserie. I used to have a big Jenn-Air 5 burner grill with the rear infrared burner for the rotisserie and it worked great. I just did not use it much. In fact, I almost exclusively used my Weber except when I had large gatherings. I sold it a few years ago when we downsized to a 55+ community.
 
Last edited:
JSAUS: Thanks for that feature by feature comparison. Much appreciated. But I have a feeling after 12 years, you wont be as happy as you are now. You noted the lack of rust after 12 years on your Silver B. Don't expect the same from the newer cabinet style grill. It will rust unless you live in S. Arizona.
You noted that you like the N/S burners as apposed to the older E/W burner grills. But, if you ever intend to do rotisserie cooking on your grill, you will find it not as effective as the older grills.
 
Bruce said:
JSAUS: Thanks for that feature by feature comparison. Much appreciated. But I have a feeling after 12 years, you wont be as happy as you are now. You noted the lack of rust after 12 years on your Silver B. Don't expect the same from the newer cabinet style grill. It will rust unless you live in S. Arizona.
You noted that you like the N/S burners as apposed to the older E/W burner grills. But, if you ever intend to do rotisserie cooking on your grill, you will find it not as effective as the older grills.
Click to expand...
It was actually 20 years without rust except for that track. Live in St Louis area and always had a cover on it. I will probably not buy a rotisserie as I really never used it on other grills I had. Can't do much better than those $5 Costco chickens. Go ahead, flame me for that. I suppose with the new layout, you would have to use all three burners on a lower setting, but that would be the only advantage I can see to the old layout.
 
JSaus. Yep, you got it on the roto reasoning. But, hey, a roto chicken is pretty darn good. Here is one of mine.


Duo Chickens:

 
Bruce said:
JSaus. Yep, you got it on the roto reasoning. But, hey, a roto chicken is pretty darn good. Here is one of mine.


Duo Chickens:

Click to expand...
Those look great. I enjoyed the chickens I did on my monster grill but for me it was more of a novelty than a necessity. Still a proper burner on a Weber would be a welcome addition.
 
Jsaus I don't rotisserie either so the burner orientation doesn't matter to me either. I do appreciate your side by side comparison of the classic genesis to a newer weber grill. I'm an owner of 2 of the older genesis grills. But I have friends, family, and neighbors that have newer genesis and spirit grills. They all seem to perform very well and have been durable so far.
 
Greg M said:
I have friends, family, and neighbors that have newer genesis and spirit grills. They all seem to perform very well and have been durable so far.
Click to expand...
My biggest concern was durability as I read a lot of complaints about rust. Good to hear a positive remark. My son's 10-15 year old Genesis cabinet is rusting out, but he does not take good care of it. I hope mine fares better.
 
I have no doubt the new(er) Genesis and Spirit line will perform well. Hell even a $199 special will "perform" when new. It's longevity you pay all that extra $$$ for
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

 

Back
Top