New for 2017: Weber Genesis II Gas Grills


 
Some of the Amazon reviews of the Broil Kings made by Onward were pretty bad.

Broil kings are ok but I would still go with weber. I'm partial to my two vintage restored genesis BUT I have a couple of friends that have bought new webers (a spirit and a genesis) in the last couple of years and they both rave about them.
 
Went to ACE and the had the special editions out there. The stubby lid doesn't seem to be a big deal. Also since the propane tank is on the side I think the grate height from the ground looked lower. Even if optical illusion it felt more comfortable to cook for my height.

Still when it comes to NEW grills Genesis is still a best buy value because of the following.

- Will always be able to find parts 10-20 years down the line (other brands you may not be able to after 1 or 2 years)
- Aftermarket accessories hundreds of them.
- Still built better than other grills under 1k or even 2k (even if made in China)
- Still designed well and even temperature cooking as ever. (at least i'm guessing will be the case with new genesis II)

Things I liked vs old Genesis
- rubber stoppers on lid (not sure how long they'd last)
- Hinge is closer to the front of grill, resulting in a lower lift to open and reach to close lid.
- flip up warming rack. (I have to flip mine up and flip down to close lid on old Genesis)

Things I didn't
- Wheels are not good looking and don't roll vertical anymore. Only side to side. I like to push my Genesis into it' storage area that's kind of tight from the front.
- grease catcher empties out the back (not a big deal, just preference)
- Handle has exposed bolts showing and looks of looks like it's missing some kind of cover on the inside mount piece.
 
Hard to believe it could of been assembled wrong. . Well it definitely came out the back. And now that I think of it maybe it comes out both sides. I tried from the front first, and it wouldn't budge. Same thing when I tried out back until I figured out to you had to lift a little. perhaps I didn't lift hard enough up front and it actually can be removed from both sides.

Mr. Chicago can verify as it was the same exact as his.

Not sure what you mean by "grease catcher empties out the back". Maybe the one you saw was installed backwards? The one I saw at Ace had the drip pan facing toward the front of the grill.
 
"Will always be able to find parts 10-20 years down the line"
Don't count on that. Parts for the older products are or have dried up. Even to the point of being abandoned by Weber UNDER WARRANTY! True some parts are available in the aftermarket but not through Weber. I tried to find some new crossover tubes for my Summit recently nothing zip nada. Thankfully I had some used parts I had been able to scrounge up thanks to another member on here. Also thanks to that same member I was able to not have to scrap my Summit 450 (which is one model Weber abandoned under warranty).
I do know people who have bought the products made by Onward and are VERY happy with them. And yeah maybe parts may not be found 10 or 20 years out and perhaps some parts may not seem to be as robust as a Weber BUT for a price 1/3rd or more LESS than Weber so what? What they did get? A decent quality well made product, decent features i.e. side burner, rotisserie burner AND kit, solid porcelain cast iron grates spaced properly (not wide enough to lose a T-Bone through, 4 main burners, great heat output and very good and even temp control. All for the range of $600 all in. You'd be at minimum at $1500 to match it with a Weber branded product.
That nemeplate does not have the meaning it used to IMO. Also the products truly should have been lowered in price not raised by going to China.
I will always be a fan of the older Weber product(s) which truly were well made and very good if not great value. Sadly I don't see those qualities any more. I don't wish anyone ill who has the amount of coin around to buy one of them. Quite the contrary, but I will never spend that kind of coin on one again. Learned my lesson. Also retired so different income circumstances LOL :D
 
Hard to believe it could of been assembled wrong. . Well it definitely came out the back. And now that I think of it maybe it comes out both sides. I tried from the front first, and it wouldn't budge. Same thing when I tried out back until I figured out to you had to lift a little. perhaps I didn't lift hard enough up front and it actually can be removed from both sides.

Mr. Chicago can verify as it was the same exact as his.

vpjeaf.jpg


This pic from Martin shows the drip pan oriented toward the front of the grill. The latch faces the front of the grill. There is a triangular catch on the back side of the holder...the back edge of the pan goes under the catch, then gets latched in the front.

Step 9 in the assembly guide warns against backwards installation:

Untitled-1_zpsjqvbe6sw.jpg
 
By the way, @celestialbloo (a Twitter follower of @virtwebergasser) pointed out that the Genesis II LX line is being assembled in the USA, at least for now. It's the base Genesis II line that's being Made in China. So there's that... :)
 
By the way, @celestialbloo (a Twitter follower of @virtwebergasser) pointed out that the Genesis II LX line is being assembled in the USA, at least for now. It's the base Genesis II line that's being Made in China. So there's that... :)

The LX models are shipped on a pallet, just like the Summit, with minimal assembly required. And yes, the country of origin is USA for the LX line. Can't elaborate beyond that.
 
So did Weber drop the Spirit line? It's previous Chinese product. It appears the Genesis II line is nearly identical to the LX line. Can't imagine trying to ship production of such a similar product is worthwhile. Or it could be the LX is in fact (like the current stuff) produced primarily in China and simply "packed" in the US. Perhaps with the pallet shipment meaning someone here in the US is simply doing "assembly" and the consumer paying more for that assembly.
 
Oh man. Those 6 burner models are beefy. Looking like baby summits. The new summits better be coming to the table with something big to go with its bigger price tag that I'm sure will surpass the old ones.
 
So interesting! The LX models have higher lids! The base model height is 45" closed, the LX model is 48" closed.

Untitled-1_zpsoim1zel3.jpg

... and the LX with 72K Main Burner BTU's vs 60K for the E-610 and both with 160 Sq In more total cooking space than the Summit S-620 (the other model I was originally considering before seeing the Genesis II's)
 
So did Weber drop the Spirit line? It's previous Chinese product. It appears the Genesis II line is nearly identical to the LX line. Can't imagine trying to ship production of such a similar product is worthwhile. Or it could be the LX is in fact (like the current stuff) produced primarily in China and simply "packed" in the US. Perhaps with the pallet shipment meaning someone here in the US is simply doing "assembly" and the consumer paying more for that assembly.

Spirit is still on Weber.com. We'll have to wait and see if they're for sale in 2017.

Looks like LX is largely pre-assembled whereas the base model is almost completely user assembled. There are half the assembly step in the LX manual vs. the base model manual.

"Nearly identical" is in the eye of the beholder. LX has enclosed storage, taller lid, side burner, lighted control knobs, High+ heat setting on all burners, electronic LP tank scale, handle lights, front-mounted tool hangers, S/S grates and Flavorizer bars, higher output burners (72000 BTU vs 60000 BTU).
 
Spirit is still on Weber.com. We'll have to wait and see if they're for sale in 2017.

Looks like LX is largely pre-assembled whereas the base model is almost completely user assembled. There are half the assembly step in the LX manual vs. the base model manual.

"Nearly identical" is in the eye of the beholder. LX has enclosed storage, taller lid, side burner, lighted control knobs, High+ heat setting on all burners, electronic LP tank scale, handle lights, front-mounted tool hangers, S/S grates and Flavorizer bars, higher output burners (72000 BTU vs 60000 BTU).

+ the $777 Price difference between the LX and non in the 6 Burner Model (Amazon.Com prices, not sure about full MAP/MSRP)
 

 

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