"Porcelain coated" or "porcelain treated" cast iron grates?


 
C

ChadVKealey

TVWBB Pro
One of my wife's co-workers is asking for grill-buying advice. I have no idea what he's looking for (other than a gas grill) or what his budget is, so I sent some general recommendations, one of which was to avoid glossy porcelain coated cast iron grates. My gasser (an 11-year-old Fiesta Blue Flame) came with those, and about 4 years ago, the coating cracked, water got in and started rusting the cast iron. The coating started falling off and getting into/onto food cooked on the grill, and porcelain flakes aren't exactly "good eats". I replaced them with matte-finish "porcelain treated" cast iron grates, which have worked wonderfully. They look more like standard cast iron with almost a satin-type finish.

So, my question is: are Weber's cast iron grates glossy or matte finish? Are they "porcelain coated" or "porcelain treated"? I think to play it safe, I'm going to advise stainless steel, but that only seems to be available on the top end Webers (which may be out of his price range).
 
Check out RCPlanebuyer on EBay. He does great stainless steel grates. Pricey but everyone who uses them loves them.
 
I have Weber grills with both types of grates. They both have held up really well. I would not be afraid to recommend the Weber cast iron grates. My 12 year old Genesis still has the original CI and they look like new. They are porcelain enamel coated and hold up really well, just like the porcelain enamel coated flavorizor bars. Sometimes you can find the lower Weber models (Spirit) with some upgraded features, depending upon where you buy. These are usually labeled as Special or Premium models and may have stainless grates and/or flavorizer bars included.
 
On the newer models the grates are porceloin inpregnated.
I prefer the cast iron over SS rods or grill grates ( have all 3)
 
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