S-620 vs S-470 vs Viking... Which one should I keep?


 
C

Chris in NY

TVWBB Fan
Greetings,

As a grill technician with hoarding instincts, I'm often faced with problems.. Number one would be annoying my wife (as I did when I came home with 4 300 series Genesis last week and put them in the driveway) and number 2 would be knowing that in 4-5 months I am moving to a smaller house and only one grill will be able to stay as a permanent fixture

I currently am rescuing a few higher end grills, a summit 620 that needed frame replacement and valves, an s470 that seemingly needs nothing major at the moment, and a massive 53" Viking that needs valves and grates.. Whatever I don't keep I flip so keep that in mind here, it may be easier to sell a summit than a 1/2 ton Viking that almost needs a flatbed tow truck to move

On the S-620 I like the extra real estate for the option of cooking for large gatherings but I also know that when I'm cooking it will usually be for me and the wife and two toddlers.. It may not be the most efficient option kind of like driving an RV to go get groceries

The 470 - love the idea of all the bells and whistles but don't know how much I will use them.. May be the most efficient for regular use fuel wise since its smaller but then... It's smaller :/

Pros for both summits:
Parts availability
Parts price (I'm a tech so I get everything around cost for weber)
Familiarity

Cons for both summits
Frame components seem to be a 5-10 year lifespan out here with the salt air

Viking VGBQ53xxxx- this thing is a tank.. Same issue as 620 with it being overkill 95 percent of the time.. Has IR and smoker.. Has two beastly side burners that actually are identical to those on the original Viking ranges and kick some butt or at least do on the ranges as I've never used the grill before.
Cons :parts price and availability, needs the most parts of all the grills since someone took parts from it in yard, I have never used one and may find I hate it after spending 700 to fix it
Pros: looking to build outdoor kitchen around it and across the street from saltwater.. I am fixing rotted summit frames on a regular basis and this is all stainless and looks like it will last forever... If I can get parts
 
I'm just going to sit here quietly and see what you end up getting rid of to see how badly I can annoy MY wife. And I'm only 2 grills in so far with a WSM in the queue.
 
Just for the stainless I think the Viking would be the way to go. I have a comparable product (Wolf) and only rust issue is with the cast iron grates. Everything else on it every part is 304SS and other than getting dirty it is pretty much maintenance (repair) free
 
Haha I will keep you posted Russ, I'm swamped with customers grills so hopefully after MDW I can start bringing some of these back to life in my spare time. The one good thing is that unlike my other hobbies it keeps me home so the Mrs can't complain too too much

I currently have the viking, 4 Genesis, 2 performers, and a kettle here and probably more next week lol

And yes, I'm thinking the Viking as well for that very reason. The only real things that are discouraging are parts prices and questionable availability plus the fact I have never used one so I don't know how well it performs
 
Yeah keep me posted as well. I'm on Long Island and trying to pick out a new or "new" grill, although convincing the wife that i need a new one is another matter
 
Honestly, you can almost make a request for something and I will let you know when I have enough parts to build one.. The one caveat would be that I don't have many colors besides black or stainless.. I should have for sure a stainless E/W burner Genesis (NG but can convert to LP and a black N/S Genesis e310 SE by the weekend. Others all have parts on the way or are waiting for free time to sort out. I wish I did deliveries because a lot of the things that get damaged are from the transportation and handling
 
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