Grates upside down?


 
Yeah, Larry, I have to agree that those grates do not look right "pointy side up." On the newest ones on the Spirit II that I posted, however, it would seem (as confirmed by Chris) Weber has gone back to making them usable either way.
 
No burger I ever cooked on the genesis 1000 would slip though the grates except maybe the time I tried smash burgers. Now, Asparagus I have even had an issue with on RCP grates when they get turned sideways.

Oh, and I agree that the guy selling the two burner spirit should not own a grill. It looks like a loaner car from a mom and pop auto mechanics shop and he nearly turned it into a a flaming pile of plastic and stainless steel.
 
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LMichaels said:
IMO the difference between the RCP grates at 3.8" and tighter spacing is light years better than 8MM and .43" spacing. The 8mm is "livable" but close to 1/2" between bars is IMO verging on unusable. My gosh flip a burger wrong and it'll fall through!
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Of course everyone is entitled to their opinions. However, according to Bruce, the distance between rods on RCP grates is .415". The distance between my BBQParts grates is .428". I think it's going a bit far to say that a difference of .013" makes the difference between universal praise (RCP grates) and "unusable".

Now, the Uniflasy grates I used for a while had a spacing of .667, and that was enough to be pretty irritating.
 
Bruce said:
No burger I ever cooked on the genesis 1000 would slip though the grates except maybe the time I tried smash burgers. Now, Asparagus I have even had an issue with on RCP grates when they get turned sideways.

Oh, and I agree that the guy selling the two burner spirit should not own a grill. It looks like a loaner car from a mom and pop auto mechanics shop and he nearly turned it into a a flaming pile of plastic and stainless steel.
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Bruce, this may help while grilling asparagus and other things that could fall through...

https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000WEIIOE/tvwb-20

I have one and like it so far...no more asparagus trying to escape. If you can wait till after grilling season, Walmart usually clears them out at $5 so I picked up a few.
 
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DaveF in IL said:
Of course everyone is entitled to their opinions. However, according to Bruce, the distance between rods on RCP grates is .415". The distance between my BBQParts grates is .428". I think it's going a bit far to say that a difference of .013" makes the difference between universal praise (RCP grates) and "unusable".

Now, the Uniflasy grates I used for a while had a spacing of .667, and that was enough to be pretty irritating.
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In another post you posted a measurement showing nearly 1/4" difference which is where I am coming from BUT it's more than just the raw "gap" from one bar to the next. The extra large diameter helps a tremendous amount with keeping food from being sacrificed as it changes the whole geometry of how it sits on the grates and helps to keep it from falling through.
I know I am a bit of a grate "snob" BUT keep in mind the grates are the main part of the grill you actually interface with. If you have a struggle with juggling food so it doesn't fall through or to keep from sticking because the grates are inferior than a truly great grill becomes mediocre at best while a relatively mediocre grill with excellent grates becomes far more than what it is. That is why it's the main place I splurge on with my grill(s)
 
Sam Bee said:
Bruce, this may help while grilling asparagus and other things that could fall through...

https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000WEIIOE/tvwb-20

I have one and like it so far...no more asparagus trying to escape. If you can wait till after grilling season, Walmart usually clears them out at $5 so I picked up a few.
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I also have a Weber grill pan, mine is square with all 4 sides the same height. It works well for smaller vegetables. That pan would work well for corralling asparagus spears.
 
Chris Allingham said:
Well, I was about to write a strong defense for wide-side up, but first decided to READ THE SPIRIT II OWNER'S MANUAL!

"The reversible cooking grates empower you to be even more creative with your dish. The thin side of the cooking grate is ideal for delicate food such as fish and shrimp, while the wider side creates a thick sear mark enhancing the flavor of your food."

So these grates are MEANT to be used on both sides!
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Doesn't work with the gourmet BBQ grates in the larger Genesis II models. They only work flat side up...
V6lpMZ.jpg

...otherwise the central circular segment falls out.
 
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RobertKM,

Unquestionably the grates you posted about are one way, flat side up only. One thing I notice is that the spacing and width of the bars on the grates you posted would produce what I think would be a balanced, nice look. On the other hand, the very old Weber cast iron grates I have obtained a few times (and really like), while usable either way have bars so wide and spacing so narrow that, when used flat side up, I personally don’t like the look:

b7f052.jpg


vs.

2s8nupk.jpg
 
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DaveF in IL said:
Of course everyone is entitled to their opinions. However, according to Bruce, the distance between rods on RCP grates is .415". The distance between my BBQParts grates is .428". I think it's going a bit far to say that a difference of .013" makes the difference between universal praise (RCP grates) and "unusable".

Now, the Uniflasy grates I used for a while had a spacing of .667, and that was enough to be pretty irritating.
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I agree with you on this. I have both sets of grates (Bbqparts and rcplanebuyer) and that slight increased gap makes no difference. At least for the grilling I do. I love both sets but I really see no advantage in one over the other.
 
Greg M said:
I agree with you on this. I have both sets of grates (Bbqparts and rcplanebuyer) and that slight increased gap makes no difference. At least for the grilling I do. I love both sets but I really see no advantage in one over the other.
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Greg,

It does seem like the "path upwards" in stainless rod grates produces diminishing returns. The jump from Uniflasys to Qlimetal/Hongso is pretty significant and worth the extra money ($20 to $25???), it would seem to me. I am really interested in the BBGParts.com grates which it looks like are another much smaller jump up for an extra $25 or so. It looks like rcplanebuyer would be one more notch up, but at a price - maybe another $35. I fully support those here who feel that this last "bump" is well worth the money, but I also fully support those who don't see enough benefit (maybe almost none to some) to warrant going that last mile. I would love to see these all objectively compared with close up pictures, weighing, magnet testing and, of course comparative grilling on something like seasoned pork chops that make obvious grill marks. If I had all these version, I would do it myself.

p.s. I noticed that the Uniflasys Genesis grates are currently not available on Amazon but found them, I thought, for only $33 on eBay. Unfortunately, the limited stock of three were already sold out. Does show you that you have to scour all over for deals. These leave a little to be desired, for sure, but for a basic flip they look nice enough and add value - especially if you can duplicate this price!
 
I have moved off from the Uniflasy grates for my rehabs. I just don't feel right sending people off with those. I have one guy who had me redo his father's grill after he bought one from me last summer. His were obviously the uniflasy and I remember a couple of grills with them where the grates move around more than they should and "barely" keep from falling in on a cook box with any of that common front edge bow in it. He complained his were that way. He was amazed at how much better the grates (Honsgo) fit in his father's grill. I have to agree and he didn't even mention the thicker and closer spaced rods. I almost offered to swap his for a set of Honsgo. I probably would have if I could still get them for $49 a set. I used up my last set of Honsgo's today on my latest rehab....Now what do I do???

I would maybe use a set of Uniflasy for a give away grill or something like that.

That being said, I bought a combined set of burner tubes and 16 gauge flavo bars for a Silver B and got them today. The tubes looked great and worked great and the Flavo bars were thick but were magnetic, so probably a cheaper stainless, but should still outlast the ceramic coated steel or the 20 gauge stainless. Not bad for $40 IMO.

https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B07NYWLCJV/tvwb-20
 
Bruce,
Those are good points, especially based on your real life experience. I hope to finally get back on it and try some of my own experimenting. For sure it sounds like they are a bad choice for a firebox that has any bow-out. When I finally move some grills to the finish line (if my tax season will ever end:p) I am going to try the Hongso ones you have mentioned liking and maybe for my best grill a bbqparts.com set. If I can do that, I will try to do a photo comparison. Sitting in my armchair, Qlimetal still looks like a really good combination of price and quality, but at $65 would probably have to be an “upgrade option” rather than a regular base price offering.
 
Yah, I asked that guy who had me do his fathers grill to measure the Uniflasy and Honsgo grates and he said the uniflasy were nearly 1/4" shorter than the Honsgo. That is a big difference IMO when you are dealing with grates moving around and then you have to deal with the bow out problem in so many of these older grills.
 
In my graveyard shed I have several sets of peeling porcelain covered cast iron grates. I think I am going to see if I can quick enough with a grinder to strip off the porcelain and make these usable again. At the introductory prices we were seeing on these stainless rods it didn’t seem worth the work, but I am starting to reconsider at $65 a pop. Cast iron can often be restored, whereas once the old porcelain stamped steel ones start rusting or welds fail, they are pretty much toast.
 
Just to add something here... I'm pretty sure Weber's new stance on this is, at least for the new 2019 Genesis II models, is that the cast iron grates are reversible. Pointy side for dedicates like fish and such and flat side for steaks, burgers, etc. Their website mentions this and also the literature that came with my Genesis II mentions this somewhere.
 
D Romano said:
Just to add something here... I'm pretty sure Weber's new stance on this is, at least for the new 2019 Genesis II models, is that the cast iron grates are reversible. Pointy side for dedicates like fish and such and flat side for steaks, burgers, etc. Their website mentions this and also the literature that came with my Genesis II mentions this somewhere.
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Then, that is a modification they made for both Genesis II and Spirit II grills. I tend to agree that the immediately previous ones wouldn't work well that way. However, the 90's ones that I posted the pictures above COULD be used either way. To me, though, they work best - and I think were more likely intended back then to be used - pointy side up.
 
D Romano said:
Just to add something here... I'm pretty sure Weber's new stance on this is, at least for the new 2019 Genesis II models, is that the cast iron grates are reversible. Pointy side for dedicates like fish and such and flat side for steaks, burgers, etc. Their website mentions this and also the literature that came with my Genesis II mentions this somewhere.
Click to expand...

Yes, you're right.

https://tvwbb.com/showthread.php?77361-Grates-upside-down&p=852703&viewfull=1#post852703
 
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