Replacement Grates


 
M

MCarbo

TVWBB Member
It was time to clean my Genesis 310. Upon closer inspection it was obvious that the original cast iron grates and the flavorizer bars were ready for the scrap heap. Burned through in several places, along with some rust holes. The unit is about 6.5 years old. I'm in south FL and so it's always warm/hot and humid. BBQ season is 12 months a year. That said, I was somewhat surprised these parts needed replacing.
Sprung for new flavorizer bars and porcelain enameled cast iron grates. Any advice on this particular grate type? Does it need to be conditioned prior to first use, much like is recommended for a cast iron pan? Afterwards, what sort of maintenance would you recommend for stick free grilling. . .which has sometimes been an issue with the original cast iron grates. Also, what's your preference: flat or beveled side up? Thank you.
 
Best advice.................get grates and flavoirizers from RCPlanebuyer AKA Dave Santana. Best stuff you will ever buy. A little spendy but worth every penny
 
As a fellow Floridian (for a couple more months, anyway...) I would say that cast iron is wonderful but A LOT OF WORK! (For the record, if you go with cast iron, I think with at least the older Weber OEM ones you get better results with the "pointy" side up.)

I have to agree with Larry's recommendation of using stainless rod grates. I also agree with him that Dave Santana/rcplanebuyer makes the best available. However, there are other very good options out there as well. A lot depends on what you are willing to spend. Here's link to a thread I did reviewing many of the stainless grate options out there. I hope it helps:

tvwbb.com

Stainless Steel Grate Throwdown Challenge Results

I am still hoping someday to make my first "This Old Grill" episode, but hurricane and family stuff make that unlikely for a while. So, I decided I should at least publish my findings here so that you all can review them and maybe ask some questions. I did a separate page on each set of grates...
tvwbb.com tvwbb.com
 
I believe I have a spare set of E310 Stainless solid rod grates. I could probably send them for about $40 or so. Let me know if you are interested.
 
the stainless bars and grates will last much longer, but are more expensive when you first buy them. I'd take Bruce up on his offer and just hand on to those until your new cast iron grates wear out. Biggest thing you could do to help with cast iron is to keep it clean from food being stuck on there for a long time and whenever you scrub the grates oil them up soon after.
 
I never had good luck with the porcelain enameled cast iron grates. Oh they worked fine. But they never lasted more than a few seasons. Went to solid stainless grates about 5 years ago. No problems since.
 
Greg M said:
I never had good luck with the porcelain enameled cast iron grates. Oh they worked fine. But they never lasted more than a few seasons. Went to solid stainless grates about 5 years ago. No problems since.
Click to expand...

I have had the identical experience! Deep inside one of my sheds with a bunch of other junk are my leftover chipped, rusted porcelain-covered cast iron grates. Nothing like getting porcelain in your burger :rolleyes: !

I do really like cast iron a lot, though, and I have had better luck with the really old Weber cast iron. Larry says they are "impregnated" with porcelain, but I can't see any evidence of it. You have to season thoroughly and stay on top of keeping them well oiled. Otherwise, it is rust and start the process all over. But, at least they have no porcelain to chip off on to your food!!!

I still enjoy cooking on this metal the best, but I totally agree that stainless is way less work and GOOD stainless rods produce excellent results as well.

IMG_0380.jpg

IMG_0581.jpg
 
If you never want to have to replace them and you want something that is easy to clean up and something that doesn't require much attention, then hands down SS solid rod grates are the way to go. They are everything I want in grates. I suppose CI is a superior cooking surface, but that difference is too minimal in my mind to justify dealing with their inherent negatives.
 
Actually with re to comparing CI to heavy well made SS grates it really is not the material it's the mass. If you're comparing cheaper/thinner/wider spaced stainless to say OEM style Weber CI the CI will win hands down. But now make quality SS rod grates like Dave Santana makes and there will be no difference. I have gone so far as to try it by putting Weber CI grate on one side of a Genesis and a Summit (1st gen style) SS grate on the other. Absolutely no difference in the quality of the cook, performance and the "release" qualities.
But of course the SS ones perform overall better when you compare ease of maintenance, and longevity
 
I've been looking at Dave Santana's store on Ebay and I like what I see. I'm ready to return the Weber CI grates and the flavorizer bars I purchased yesterday from Home Depot. My only issue is making certain I order the correct parts for my Genesis E310. It's a bit confusing based on Weber's website.
 
Don't order from EBay he gives a discount if you order direct. I don't recall his Craigslist ad but some one here may be able to help and point you to the correct sizes. Post a photo of the grill in question as well
 
LOL. I just emailed Dave for a quote on a package for the SS grates, flavorizer bars, and heat deflectors. Appreciate all the advice and help from everyone.
 
BTW, I've never used SS grates. Do they require conditioning prior to first use? Maintenance and use suggestions?
 
MCarbo, it is just a ploy. Most of us here are confirmed Weber junkies. It makes us happy to get other people hooked.
 
Probably a good idea to clean them off good. I am not sure what Dave does to them after welding them up. Then a coating of oil, but SS rod grates really are low maintenace and don't require to kind of seasoning that CI grates do. The trick for non-stick cooking is to let your grill heat all the way up before throwing your steaks or chicken or whatever on. If you don't, it will stick for sure.
 
Mcarbo if you go with the stainless rod grates do yourself a favor and get a chargon grate cleaner. Once you get used to it you'll never go back to a brush. Takes a bit longer but it lasts for years and there's no danger of loose bristles in your food. Several of us have this tool and really like it. I haven't used a brush in years. It only works on round grates though.

https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00UI1X0L2/tvwb-20
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

 

Back
Top