Just Picked up Genesis SPX 435 Smart Grill


 
Man --- I didn't catch the 'SPX' part of when you said you were going to pick up 'the four burner' --- I had thought you were going for that LX that was posted....

But --- DAMN!!!! - Nice score!!! That is an impressive unit ---- waaaaay overkill for what you actually need, but should make others really excited. Lighted knobs --- cool but why? Weber connect --- OK, if you're not set up with probes I can see it - gotta wonder what weber charges for replacement probes and what aftermarket ones would work.... And a gas grill you need to plug in just to make it smart? That just seems silly. At least it looks like weber FINALLY put some decent casters on the grill.
I would think the coolness factor would wear off pretty quickly once you realize it doesn't really do anything better/differently than your LXs or X000s and you really don't need all that space --- I'd feel so bad just cooking one or two burgers or brats on that. I'd still be going to a two burner for the daily cooks and that beast would get used less than my WSM (which I go out of my way to justify using!!!). To me --- thats a 'look at me, I have more money than brains and I still can't cook worth a damn' grill that doesn't stir the soul nearly as much as the classics and comes at a far too hi of an opportunity cost. Unless you steal it like you did :)
 
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Scott-MI said:
You also need a wall outlet or the battery pack to run those lights, electronics, and WiFi... and there's no analog thermometer in the lid if power is not available. IMO, the 'smart' label is marketing hype aimed at younger consumers looking for "set it and forget it" convenience. Automated burner control would be a serious liability issue on a consumer grill, yet that's exactly what some buyers were (apparently) expecting to get.

I've looked at these 'tech' grills quite thoroughly and wouldn't pay 1/4 of what they are asking. AFAIK, the 2024+ models are all "Hecho in China". Somewhat revealing is the number of 2023-24 Genesis grills I've seen listed for sale on CL and FBM in recent weeks. For me, it's another red flag.
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I'll take my Genesis 1000LX over any newer Grill all day everyday. That's just my opinion though and it depends what you're looking for in a grill
 
Jim Weber said:
Man --- I didn't catch the 'SPX' part of when you said you were going to pick up 'the four burner' --- I had thought you were going for that LX that was posted....

But --- DAMN!!!! - Nice score!!! That is an impressive unit ---- waaaaay overkill for what you actually need, but should make others really excited. Lighted knobs --- cool but why? Weber connect --- OK, if you're not set up with probes I can see it - gotta wonder what weber charges for replacement probes and what aftermarket ones would work.... And a gas grill you need to plug in just to make it smart? That just seems silly. At least it looks like weber FINALLY put some decent casters on the grill.
I would think the coolness factor would wear off pretty quickly once you realize it doesn't really do anything better/differently than your LXs or X000s and you really don't need all that space --- I'd feel so bad just cooking one or two burgers or brats on that. I'd still be going to a two burner for the daily cooks and that beast would get used less than my WSM (which I go out of my way to justify using!!!). To me --- thats a 'look at me, I have more money than brains and I still can't cook worth a damn' grill that doesn't stir the soul nearly as much as the classics and comes at a far too hi of an opportunity cost. Unless you steal it like you did :)
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I agree with you and I do use my 240 LX most of the time. We make pizzas from scratch a lot lately and I like to bbq them so It's nice to bbq 3 large pizzas at the same time for the family. Then it's nice to have a 2nd large grill. Also when I barbecue 5 lb of carne asada at once it's nice to have the extra Grill space so that I I can cook it all at once.
 
Josh Dekubber said:
I'll take my Genesis 1000LX over any newer Grill all day everyday. That's just my opinion though and it depends what you're looking for in a grill
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Sadly, quality is declining. During the brief period I owned a Genesis II, I measured the wall thickness of the cook-box in a few places and compared it to these newer grills. The 2023-24 cook-boxes seem to be ~15% thinner. That was one of the (many) reasons I avoided these new 'tech' models.

The Genesis II series is fine. The revised hinge location for the lid along with collar at the rear of the cook-box were good improvements, especially for shielding the wind. The reason I returned mine was because the design and materials for the frame/cart were not durable enough for my particular environment (Lake Huron), which can be quite harsh on sheet metal, etc. That's when Bruce steered me towards a Platinum C.
 
Seems with every new generation, the cook boxes get thinner and thinner. I think it was Jon T that did a comparison on the older Genesis 1000 and Silver B cook boxes compared to the next generation E3xx grills and think even the Genesis II grills and there was a clear thinning of the cook boxes.

I have had a couple hundred Silver B and Genesis 1000 cook boxes in my possession over the last 6-7 years. A few had some bulging and warping, but only one or two had cookboxes that showed any signs of outright melting. But I have had a couple E3xx and Genesis II grills that had actual melt downs with dripping aluminum.

At some point Weber will have to stop thinning down the cook boxes when the meltdown problems become too prevalent.
 
Bruce said:
Seems with every new generation, the cook boxes get thinner and thinner. I think it was Jon T that did a comparison on the older Genesis 1000 and Silver B cook boxes compared to the next generation E3xx grills and think even the Genesis II grills and there was a clear thinning of the cook boxes.

I have had a couple hundred Silver B and Genesis 1000 cook boxes in my possession over the last 6-7 years. A few had some bulging and warping, but only one or two had cookboxes that showed any signs of outright melting. But I have had a couple E3xx and Genesis II grills that had actual melt downs with dripping aluminum.

At some point Weber will have to stop thinning down the cook boxes when the meltdown problems become too prevalent.
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I've got the 'component thickness comparison' sheet by Jon T in front of me: the sweet spot seems to be the Genesis X000 up to (including) the sidewinders for cook-box wall thickness. Hmm, maybe I should send him my results, the Genesis II specs are "not available" in the spreadsheet.

Regarding the infamous meltdowns of recent Genesis and Spirit II models, it makes me wonder if Weber changed the alloy to lower costs?
 
I’ve often wondered about the meltdowns on the newer grills vs the older. No doubt the cook box is thinner, but I also wonder about air flow. The first generation of Genesis grills had way more restriction via the lid to box “seal” as well as the grease tray openings. The newer grills have wider openings, and larger gaps for air to feed the grease, gunk and build up causing meltdown level fires.

I think it also shows that there was more pride in a large investment in 1997 vs 2017-current day.
 
Cody Bratton said:
I’ve often wondered about the meltdowns on the newer grills vs the older. No doubt the cook box is thinner, but I also wonder about air flow. The first generation of Genesis grills had way more restriction via the lid to box “seal” as well as the grease tray openings. The newer grills have wider openings, and larger gaps for air to feed the grease, gunk and build up causing meltdown level fires.

I think it also shows that there was more pride in a large investment in 1997 vs 2017-current day.
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If I remember right I saw a Genesis 330 for free that had a big hole in the front of the cook box. It also had those Grill Grates brand aftermarket grates on it. It made me wonder if those kept all the Heat and flames concentrated under the grates because they are quite restricting being nearly solid across the grill. Maybe just coincidence though.
 
Josh Dekubber said:
If I remember right I saw a Genesis 330 for free that had a big hole in the front of the cook box. It also had those Grill Grates brand aftermarket grates on it. It made me wonder if those kept all the Heat and flames concentrated under the grates because they are quite restricting being nearly solid across the grill. Maybe just coincidence though.
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I'll bet that had something to do with it.
 
Bruce said:
Seems with every new generation, the cook boxes get thinner and thinner. I think it was Jon T that did a comparison on the older Genesis 1000 and Silver B cook boxes compared to the next generation E3xx grills and think even the Genesis II grills and there was a clear thinning of the cook boxes.

I have had a couple hundred Silver B and Genesis 1000 cook boxes in my possession over the last 6-7 years. A few had some bulging and warping, but only one or two had cookboxes that showed any signs of outright melting. But I have had a couple E3xx and Genesis II grills that had actual melt downs with dripping aluminum.

At some point Weber will have to stop thinning down the cook boxes when the meltdown problems become too prevalent.
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Same thing with the cast iron porcelain grates getting thinner each iteration.

Silver B grates are thicc. Spirit are a little thinner. Spirit II/Genesis II are a little thinner.
Now these Genesis 2022+ are like paper thin. You probably won’t notice unless comparing them side by side, but once you do it’s jarring.

Not trying to respark the SS Grates/Cast Iron grates debate, just mentioning something I noticed.

I know it’s all about cost cutting and who knows, maybe when they’re porcelain enameled they’re all going to fail and crack after the same amount of time anyways so they figure “might as well save the cost”. Because I’ve never picked up a Spirit that didn’t have rusted PE CI grates anyways.
 
Josh Dekubber said:
If I remember right I saw a Genesis 330 for free that had a big hole in the front of the cook box. It also had those Grill Grates brand aftermarket grates on it. It made me wonder if those kept all the Heat and flames concentrated under the grates because they are quite restricting being nearly solid across the grill. Maybe just coincidence though.
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Another reason not to use those "things". Or to not use a griddle cut to cover the entire top surface. Even if you look at an actual "griddle" they always have a generous gap between the body and the cooking surface.
Recently saw a Tom Horsman video was re a new grill IIRC the Lumin. Wanting to compare if GrillGrates were better so he took one GG and cut it to fit half the grill and left the other side plain. Believe it or not the plain side did a far better job.
Now other than for "artistry's" sake I don't care much about "lines" on my steak. He seems to and quite honestly the Lumin anyway did a FAR better job making them on the stock grates.
Add to that causing higher than normal temps inside the cookbox hmmm
 
LMichaels said:
Another reason not to use those "things". Or to not use a griddle cut to cover the entire top surface. Even if you look at an actual "griddle" they always have a generous gap between the body and the cooking surface.
Recently saw a Tom Horsman video was re a new grill IIRC the Lumin. Wanting to compare if GrillGrates were better so he took one GG and cut it to fit half the grill and left the other side plain. Believe it or not the plain side did a far better job.
Now other than for "artistry's" sake I don't care much about "lines" on my steak. He seems to and quite honestly the Lumin anyway did a FAR better job making them on the stock grates.
Add to that causing higher than normal temps inside the cookbox hmmm
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I dropped Horsman after his video review of sneakers appeared in my YouTube feed.
 
Josh, what type of grates came with that 435? Are they 7mm stainless? Does it have any components from the Weber Crafted system?
 
Well I think I'm going to be too late for selling season. Even if I spend all weekend getting the SPX 435 all cleaned up and ready for sale. I'm leaving on vacation soon and won't be back until Labor Day. I figure after Labor Day I could probably get about half as much as I could next spring. So the question is do I want to hang on to it until next spring for a higher profit or just throw it up for sale and try and make a quick 200-300. Maybe I'll put it up for sale for a few days next week before I leave and possibly snag someone looking for a new grill for a Labor Day party.
 
It can’t hurt to try. If no takers - or just low-ballers - I agree that in general its value will go up next spring. That is a highly desirable grill, so you should hold the line if you get it all cleaned up.
 
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