New Style Weber 300s vs prior 300s - differences?


 
P

PaulK

TVWBB Member
Hey there,

For those who own the "new style" 300 grills with the north-south burner orientation, how do they compare to the older/regular style east-west burner configuration? Pros/Cons?

Just wondering as I may buy a new one. Please do not post about older grills -- just interested in the difference among these new ones.

Thanks!
 
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IMO you should have kept the 1000 it's the better grill (no disrespect to owners of the new type). First I will say I do not own a new style Genesis. My sister and BIL do and I not only was the one who put it together and did the NG install but have also cooked on it. I will preface also by saying I have the old style (13 row) Genesis III. The E3XX my sister has is "OK" but I was not impressed with it's "quality". One glaring thing to me? The spacing of the cooking grate bars. I truly am disappointed with a grate where the spacing is so wide you could literally drop a steak between them. It also IMO does not perform as well or controllably (if that's a word) as the older style versions, which IMO are far more versatile (especially if you like food on a rotisserie). In the end I'd rather find an old style deep firebox version of the Genesis and refurbish it with parts from RCPlanebuyer than purchase a new one. Again this is my opinion having used or owned both. For the record in addition to the Genesis III I have an older Summit 450 (again a very nice grill but disappointing support from Weber leaving it orphaned), and a Wolf 36" 6 burner commercial level grill with rear infrared rotisserie burner, and a Weber Q220. So I do have some experience with different types and I just sold 2 Broilmaster grills from my stable.
 
Just to be clear - I'm only looking for feedback on north/south burner 300 series vs east/west versions. I don't care about the older ones in this thread.

I hear ya LM and I had done that very same thing with my 1000, but I was a bit bored with it and do enjoy the newer one. About 1 " deeper, wider and taller plus I like to be able to store stuff inside -- tidier look. I put the cast iron grates on and they have been awesome. Like the chrome handle (wood one warped and always looked dirty), heftier feel of the lid, smoother knobs, etc.. I told my wife our 1000 from 1989 would outlast this new one, but I am still committed to learning about the new ones.
 
Either way I still enjoy the E/W burner type more simply because IMO it is more versatile. It's a shame Weber succumbed to the people whining about not having a shelf on the right side and powers of going cheap. I was really dismayed at how many of the parts of my sister's were made in China. Really only some of the stampings and the packaging are done in the US
 
For one HUGE advantage (to me anyway) is they handle rotisserie functions FAR FAR better than the new style Genesis. On the new style if you try to "spin" your food the heat is concentrated at the ends of the food rather than across the food. This is VERY important especially if you would like to drop to one burner. I.E. when I use my Genesis rotisserie I usually use just the back burner on medium or high setting and allows for a function more like that of the Summit with the back infrared rotisserie burner. I have an older Summit (similar to new style Genesis). I tried my rotisserie on it and the results were not good. For this alone the old style Genesis grills are worth their weight. Another is if you like to do a slab of ribs, you can lay the slab on it across the grill with one burner on and you get even heat across the slab. IMO Weber should have never succumbed to the people who complained about the lack of the right side table. The old design was superior
 
The last year you could buy a new east west Genesis 300 was 2010, 2011 is when they went to north south. So the newest possible east west grill you could find is already 6 years old.

I have owned both types of Genesis 300s, the east west burners and the north south. The main difference to me is the shape and size of the indirect cooking area when you light just the outer burners and leave the center one off.

Both types of grills have the same size main cooking area and it’s approximately 19x27. On the east west burner grills the 19 inch dimension is what shrinks so you end up with about an 11x27 cooking space for indirect cooks. On the north south burner grills the 27 inch dimension shrinks so you end up with about a 19x19 inch space. It’s up to you what do you prefer, square or rectangle. To me a lot depends one what you cook most often.

Also the control knobs on the east west style grills use up a lot of the space on the right hand side table. On the north south grills the knobs are on the front, so you have two full size side tables to use.

I also remember the igniter on my old east west grill to be very hit or miss when it was damp. I always needed the long bic lighter as a standby. The north south grills have 4 igniters and always at least one works even when it’s very damp. Once one burner is lit it dries out the igniters and they all start working again.
 
Frankie C said:
Both types of grills have the same size main cooking area and it’s approximately 19x27. On the east west burner grills the 19 inch dimension is what shrinks so you end up with about an 11x27 cooking space for indirect cooks. On the north south burner grills the 27 inch dimension shrinks so you end up with about a 19x19 inch space. It’s up to you what do you prefer, square or rectangle. To me a lot depends one what you cook most often.

I also remember the igniter on my old east west grill to be very hit or miss when it was damp. I always needed the long bic lighter as a standby. The north south grills have 4 igniters and always at least one works even when it’s very damp. Once one burner is lit it dries out the igniters and they all start working again.
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Thanks Frankie - was hoping someone who has owned both would post. Can you comment on quality of the two? Any differences?

LMichaels said:
For one HUGE advantage (to me anyway) is they handle rotisserie functions FAR FAR better than the new style Genesis. On the new style if you try to "spin" your food the heat is concentrated at the ends of the food rather than across the food. Another is if you like to do a slab of ribs, you can lay the slab on it across the grill with one burner on and you get even heat across the slab.
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That makes sense - thanks. probably not a huge impact to me as I don't do rotisserie and seldom do ribs, but I can see the issue.
 
Once you have a grill that does quality rotisserie work you'll go nuts not having it. Larger roasts and chicken, etc. are "da bomb" spun up and when you can do it on a grill that cooks the whole cut evenly rather than just the ends you'll understand
 
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