New Weber grills


 
M

M Andreyka

TVWBB Fan
Ok after some brief reading and posting here I come to the consensus that the only decent Weber grills are the vintage genesis that are pretty much project grills.

So looking on the Weber site they offer 3 levels of gas grills , the spirit which seems to be the lowest quality line ( $400-$500ish)
Genesis which go $1000-1400 and summit which are about 3k.

So for 3k you get a grill that is a piece of junk? I assume the new genesis grills are pretty nice as well at that price point.

What is so bad about these grills compared to other comparable grills on the market?

What is the best genesis model that does not have the east west burners ( which I don’t care for )?
 
First off, let me say that you will likely get a lot of good years of grilling out of a new Genesis or Spirit. However, they have been cheapened from their heyday back in the E/W burner days of the Silver B's and Genesis 1000's.
They are made with a bunch of stamped steel that even after two or three years is showing rust on some grills. Not all but some. I think a lot has to do how they are stored and maintained. But, I would not expect them to last like the older more simple models do. Even the older models with the stamped steel cabinets rust out pretty fast. If you do get a new one, I suggest the open cart design over the enclosed cabinet.
Many on here prefer to find an older model for $50, spend $100 in parts and a some time and elbow grease and buy a 1/4 cow with the savings.
But those are all E/W burner grills. It was about the time that Weber started making the front burner N/S grills that they moved their operations overseas and things took a significant step back on overall quality, IMO.
 
I owned a Genesis Silver B for 20 years and just recently replaced it with a Spirit E-330. As far as construction quality, the old grill definitely was heavier gauge all around and had no rust on the cart. It was always covered. Most of the original components lasted me 12 years before I needed to rebuild. As far as functionality, I believe the new grill is superior. I prefer the new burner orientation and the sear station is a great feature. As far a size, the primary cooking area is exactly the same on the Spirit 300 series and the Genesis B. The new Genesis is larger and will set you back at least $400 more for a comparable model. I am optimistic that my new grill will service me as well as the old one. Rust seems to be the only complain on new grills and I will just keep an eye on the cabinet.
 
Where I live (AZ) rust is not allowed, so that's not an issue for me. I prefer the E/W burners so my gasser arsenal consists my 1998 Genesis 1000 I bought new in 1998. It's been converted to a 2500 two side shelfs and two flip ups converted from a gen 3000. The other is a 2009 E320 NG also E/W and waiting for it's restore a 1985 Genesis 2.
A 23 year old, a 12 year old and a 36 year old none of which have any rust and have had minimum replacement parts over the years. The 1985 gen 2 still has the original flavorizer bars and grates.
I don't see that kind of durability in the current generation of Weber's just due to the materials used. But time will tell.
Compared to the Chinese tin can grills Weber is defiantly way ahead and would for sure be a better long term investment. If nothing else at least parts should be readily available compared to the tin can grills.
 
Yep, the way I look at it, the tin cans have their place. It is like dinnerware.
If you want something to use now and don't want to spend a lot of money and don't want to worry about cleaning and maintaining, you buy styrofoam plates and plastic dinnerware. If you want something nicer that works better and will last a LOT longer and you don't mind some cleaning, you buy ceramic plates and SS silverware.

Same with grills. Buy a Charbroil, use it for two or three years and toss it out. BUy a weber, clean it up a few times a season and use it for 15 years.
 
Bruce said:
First off, let me say that you will likely get a lot of good years of grilling out of a new Genesis or Spirit. However, they have been cheapened from their heyday back in the E/W burner days of the Silver B's and Genesis 1000's.
They are made with a bunch of stamped steel that even after two or three years is showing rust on some grills. Not all but some. I think a lot has to do how they are stored and maintained. But, I would not expect them to last like the older more simple models do. Even the older models with the stamped steel cabinets rust out pretty fast. If you do get a new one, I suggest the open cart design over the enclosed cabinet.
Many on here prefer to find an older model for $50, spend $100 in parts and a some time and elbow grease and buy a 1/4 cow with the savings.
But those are all E/W burner grills. It was about the time that Weber started making the front burner N/S grills that they moved their operations overseas and things took a significant step back on overall quality, IMO.
Click to expand...
Are parts easy to find for the old models? I don’t mind a little project I have built all WSM and have a few kettles.

Ive seen a few old ones in my area on CL, I want natural gas. I assume it’s an easy conversion?
 
JSaus said:
I owned a Genesis Silver B for 20 years and just recently replaced it with a Spirit E-330. As far as construction quality, the old grill definitely was heavier gauge all around and had no rust on the cart. It was always covered. Most of the original components lasted me 12 years before I needed to rebuild. As far as functionality, I believe the new grill is superior. I prefer the new burner orientation and the sear station is a great feature. As far a size, the primary cooking area is exactly the same on the Spirit 300 series and the Genesis B. The new Genesis is larger and will set you back at least $400 more for a comparable model. I am optimistic that my new grill will service me as well as the old one. Rust seems to be the only complain on new grills and I will just keep an eye on the cabinet.
Click to expand...
I’m looking at the 2 burner spirit in NG with open cart. I don’t need a big grill this will be only for doing quick and easy weeknight things.
 
M Andreyka said:
Ive seen a few old ones in my area on CL, I want natural gas. I assume it’s an easy conversion?
Click to expand...
It's an easy conversion if you swap out the manifold. That's what I did to convert mine from propane to NG. But NG grills are harder to find. Maybe in your area you might find a guy who has a lot of old Weber grills and parts them out. I was able to get a couple of manifolds from him and I also found a donor grill myself.

Parts for the older Genesis 1xxx grills are easy to find online except for the gas manifold.
 
M Andreyka said:
I’m looking at the 2 burner spirit in NG with open cart. I don’t need a big grill this will be only for doing quick and easy weeknight things.
Click to expand...
I just bought a Spirit II E-210 for my grandson. Nice grill and with the open cart, rust probably will not be an issue. Some assembly required but he did it himself in about an hour. It hits 600 degrees with propane.
 
M Andreyka said:
Are parts easy to find for the old models? I don’t mind a little project I have built all WSM and have a few kettles.

Ive seen a few old ones in my area on CL, I want natural gas. I assume it’s an easy conversion?
Click to expand...
Yes, Weber still makes some but there are a lot of aftermarket outfits that make parts for these old grills as well. Some of the tougher items to find such as lids, cook boxes, frame parts, manifolds and the such are available by finding other used grills to grab them from. There are an awful lot of these old webers still sitting in peoples back yards and garages.
 
It is true that the old weber grills were built better. Thicker firebox, stouter thicker steel frame, etc. But in my opinion the newer weber grills are still very well built. With care they will last. They will last MUCH longer than the big box brands like char broil, nex grill, etc. As someone said in another thread even the cheap grills perform pretty well when new. But they just don't last. Before I switched to weber i had a fairly high end partially stainless char broil give out in less than a year. It burned right through the sheet metal firebox. I don't see a newer weber doing that. And I know many people with newer weber grills (genesis and spirit) that are holding up great after numerous years.
 
BillSmith said:
It's an easy conversion if you swap out the manifold. That's what I did to convert mine from propane to NG. But NG grills are harder to find. Maybe in your area you might find a guy who has a lot of old Weber grills and parts them out. I was able to get a couple of manifolds from him and I also found a donor grill myself.

Parts for the older Genesis 1xxx grills are easy to find online except for the gas manifold.
Click to expand...
NG are harder to find but also ALOT harder for people to sell, when you find them it’s usually at a good price
 
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