Selling my Spirit II E-310 for a move, buy new Spirit or Genesis?


 
G

GarciaWork

TVWBB Member
Hey all, glad I finally found a forum that is serious about gas grills! I hated them until I tried my Spirit II. But, to save space in the moving truck, I am going to sell it to a friend here shortly, and will need a new Weber when I get to Tennessee. So, that begs the question, buy another Spirit II E-310, or go up to the Genesis II E-310? I WANT that blue E-335, but have read on here that the closed cabinet models will have more issues with rust, and here in Idaho.... that is no issue, its super dry, but Tennessee will be a different story, so I think the Genesis E-310 with less closed up space is the way to go.

What I do not know, however, is if the grilling experience is any better on the Genesis II vs the Spirit II. I know the cooking area is a bit larger, but is there anything else to make the experience better? I can swing the Genesis, and know buying a nice grill is more than worth it, I just do not know if the two are different enough to matter.

Thanks for any and all opinions in advance!
 
There are many here that have more experience and knowledge than I, but I believe many would agree that you seek out an older model Genesis or Spirit. My issue with the II series is the GS4 burner system which may cook just fine, however, there are simply no aftermarket replacement parts available as of yet. While the older Webers have quality aftermarket parts readily available for reasonable prices.
 
Jay D in Jersey said:
There are many here that have more experience and knowledge than I, but I believe many would agree that you seek out an older model Genesis or Spirit. My issue with the II series is the GS4 burner system which may cook just fine, however, there are simply no aftermarket replacement parts available as of yet. While the older Webers have quality aftermarket parts readily available for reasonable prices.
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Well, once I went outside of craigslist and checked the FB marketplace... there are a ton for sale. I also just read about a new Genesis to be released sometime in the near future, so maybe used is the way to go for now.

I am seeing rust in the cabinet's, as expected. So that tells me it is something to take note of. But, is a little rust the worst thing on a used grill?
 
The Spirit II line is discontinued and it appears the open cart line in Genesis is going away. If you want that style, you need to get it soon. I replaced my 20 year old Genesis Silver B with a Spirit E-330. Exactly same size grilling area and has the sear station that I love. I could not justify the difference in price for a similar Genesis and did not need the extra grilling space. My next door neighbor has a 4 year old Spirit cabinet model with no rust, so I am hopeful mine will hold up too.
 
GarciaWork said:
Well, once I went outside of craigslist and checked the FB marketplace... there are a ton for sale. I also just read about a new Genesis to be released sometime in the near future, so maybe used is the way to go for now.

I am seeing rust in the cabinet's, as expected. So that tells me it is something to take note of. But, is a little rust the worst thing on a used grill?
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For appearance, What will your family and friends tolerate?

The grills can look ugly and cook fine. That said safety first - watch out for structural issues and rotten lid liners that can drop metal on your food
 
Garcia. Welcome to the forum.
First, I mirror the suggestion to rehab or buy a good used or rehabbed Genesis 1000 or Silver B/C grill. But, if you wan new, I would stay away from any with existing rust. Once it starts it is like cancer and it won't be long before you have an orange accented frame.
If you are not in a big hurry, then you might be wise to wait as the Genesis line is due to be redesigned this winter and should have the new models on the floors by early next spring. Will they be better than the current Genesis II grills? Not sure. Will they be higher priced? likely, but probably not a whole lot. But you should be able to find some left over Genesis II grills around for clearance prices if you wait until spring. Then again, some stores may be marking them down this fall to get rid of them in anticipation of the new models coming out in the spring.
 
Buy what ever grill you want. As long as you keep it dry and clean it should last a long time. I keep mine on a porch with a cover and they never see rain and don't rust.
 
Welcome,

Lots of choices new and used.

An option is to pickup a used Silver B/C when you get there and as long as it cooks it buys you time to shop around for a better deal new or used. I know each market is different but right now there are a bunch on CL and FB-mkt.

It may need grates, flavorizer bars and burners yet on a Silver B/C they are not that expensive.

Do you anticipate needing / wanting more than one grill? If you eventually get that 335 in Blue, a plus for the Silver B/C is the east-west burners make for great rotisserie grills.

Good luck with your move.
 
Thanks for the info! I reallly like the idea of new, can't decide if the ones with the searing burner are worth it. Haven't found any videos showing what they do so not totally sure. Also keeping an eye on the local used markets, never know what will pop up!
 
GarciaWork said:
Thanks for the info! I reallly like the idea of new, can't decide if the ones with the searing burner are worth it. Haven't found any videos showing what they do so not totally sure. Also keeping an eye on the local used markets, never know what will pop up!
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IMO, the grilling station is a great feature. I had a Silver B for 20 years and you could sear a steak just great on it. It got plenty hot, possibly hotter than just using 3 burners on the E-330. The sear burners more than makes up any difference when searing. The advantage of the sear station is when people want steaks done to different levels. With a sear station, you can have the station on and the burner to the right at low or off. If someone wants a med-well or well, you sear it and move to the cooler section to continue overcooking it. You can then fully sear your med-rare or rare steaks in a few minutes and get everything done at the same time. You just can not easily do that on a 3 burner alone without pulling them off or not getting as good a sear on the more rare steaks. You especially appreciate it on thick cuts. I looked at the equivalent Genesis model but could not justify the extra $300 for a few more inches of cooking area although it seemed a little more heavily constructed.
 
I like my E330 with the sear station burner.

For example I started the salmon burgers direct with just the left and sear. Flipped and added pepper jack slices, turned off left and sear, turned center and right on high to finish indirect.

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I have a new Genesis S-345 (the Costco specific variation of the S-335). In the past I've had a Genesis Silver A as well as a 2018ish Spirit 2 burner and a Spirit E-330. I do feel like the S-345 is the best of what I've had. The Silver A might have been thicker metal on the frame and slightly better constructed, but the new S-345 seems to get much hotter and much faster. It is pretty solidly built if you look past the use of plastic washers on the cart and some plastic fasteners to lock shelves from moving. If I have all the burners on high plus the sear burner, it's an arm hair removal machine trying to reverse sear steaks at max temp. I don't recall anywhere near that heat intensity from any of the others, even the Spirit E-330 with 3 + sear. Compared to the new Spirits, the new Genesis models are much more solidly constructed.

I did not care for the Spirit 2 burner at all, it was way underpowered. I used it just a few times and sold it the next spring for close to what I bought for it on a whim end of season clearance purchase the previous fall. The E-330 was a solid performer and I only sold it because I wasn't using it at all when the SmokeFire was around that could sear just as well. After I started having problems with SmokeFire and returned it, picked up the Genesis and have zero complaints.
 
That's a quite a saga, Shane. It is most helpful to hear from people who are actually USING these grills rather than just some of us only looking at them and speculating. My only comment is that some here have posted some really disappointing rust-out failures in the firebox and bubbling rust on the slats down below. So, I think it would be a good plan to stay on top of cleaning your firebox and keeping the painted metal well waxed and clean. Any grill that is abused (except maybe an all 304 or 316 stainless one) is going to go downhill fast. I think you can enjoy the positives of your S-345 for a long time if you are willing to go an extra mile on preventative care.
 
Jon, I'm not overly worried. My Genesis is on a covered patio and under cover when not in use. I'm not sure I understand the rust out failures in the firebox though as it's cast aluminum, or are you talking about issues with hoods? The stainless parts are better quality than I expected as it's non magnetic, it's just not a heavy gauge. As for the painted steel, that's really a risk on any grill. It has a 10 year bumper to bumper and if that's all it lasts, so be it. Odds are something better will be around at that time anyway (and I'll probably still not yet be retired and will hopefully have some disposable income). I got 20 years out of my Silver A and still sold it to someone excited to buy it. I'm not sure the new one will last that long mostly because of the frame/cart being less robust, but we'll see how she does. Being under a roof will probably extend the life over those exposed directly to rain and snow.

A lot of it comes down to perspectives. I'm always a bit of an outlier here as I'm not nostalgic about grills or a rehabber. I have tons of respect for so many of the members here and regularly check out the beautiful restores ya'll do on grills and how you keep giving other people's trash new leases on life. However, I don't have interest in going back to a Silver series grill. I much prefer the north south burner arrangement. I can see how comparing the new to the old from a materials perspective makes the older seem better for sure and they've already proven to have a really long life expectancy where that's harder to see in the new.
 
GarciaWork said:
What I do not know, however, is if the grilling experience is any better on the Genesis II vs the Spirit II. I know the cooking area is a bit larger, but is there anything else to make the experience better? I can swing the Genesis, and know buying a nice grill is more than worth it, I just do not know if the two are different enough to matter.
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I kinda babbled around a bit above in my responses. More directly, a Genesis will get hotter and faster, the fold down warming rack is nice, and it moves around a lot easier with bigger casters and not having that goofy base plate on the cart the cabinet Spirits have. Those are the main things I’ve noticed having both over past few years in addition to the grate dimensions. If you do have a Costco where you’re moving and decide to go Genesis, you might check out their model. Saves you a little money and gets you a cover and iGrill thrown in.
 
Shane - glitchy said:
I kinda babbled around a bit above in my responses. More directly, a Genesis will get hotter and faster, the fold down warming rack is nice, and it moves around a lot easier with bigger casters and not having that goofy base plate on the cart the cabinet Spirits have. Those are the main things I’ve noticed having both over past few years in addition to the grate dimensions. If you do have a Costco where you’re moving and decide to go Genesis, you might check out their model. Saves you a little money and gets you a cover and iGrill thrown in.
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I'll definitely do that. I will be buying a cover regardless, and if it isn't much more than the 310 but with the sear burner and side, may as well go that way. But man, I want that blue ;)
 
Yeah, those blue Genesis are pretty. As well, the black frames on the new smart grill look better than gray too. I was debating buying the EX-335 or SX-335 just for the black frame and eyed the blue ones pretty hard too.
 
GarciaWork said:
I'll definitely do that. I will be buying a cover regardless, and if it isn't much more than the 310 but with the sear burner and side, may as well go that way. But man, I want that blue ;)
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About the cover...i have an OTP kettle that I bought new in 1999, and it has been uncovered under a lattice patio cover ever since. It was in extremely good condition, but then I bought covers for my gas grills last year and I bought one for the OTP. it got windy here and dust got under the cover and the next time i went to use the grill it was scratched badly.

Some people use a beer can chicken rack to hold the cover off the lid on a gasser to avoid any scratches, but if it gets windy in your area...we also had a skunk hide under the OTP cover and he sprayed both dogs at 3:00 in the morning. He got one dog so bad the poor dog was foaming at the mouth.
 
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Well, I went down the rabbit hole of looking into Napoleon grills, and I gotta say, the Prestige 500 RSIB, while 500 or so more than I wanted to spend, offers a compelling argument. Anyone care to tell me why that is a terrible buy to save me some money?
 
GarciaWork said:
Well, I went down the rabbit hole of looking into Napoleon grills, and I gotta say, the Prestige 500 RSIB, while 500 or so more than I wanted to spend, offers a compelling argument. Anyone care to tell me why that is a terrible buy to save me some money?
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I have a 5 year old one I purchased used. I did a rehab on it and am quite impressed. So far it is my favorite grill. I love the IR sear burner and use it all the time as a mini grill. I will be using the rotisserie burner tonight or tomorrow (based on weather) for the first time as I have a Peruvian chicken marinating now. The only weak part is the large drip tray that is not 304 SS. I needed a new one and now keep it covered in foil. I also purchased the cast iron charcoal grate but have yet to try that as the 2 of us can only cook and eat so much. If you want some more on my experience with it I did a write up. https://tvwbb.com/threads/long-dist...n-prestige-500-and-initial-impressions.88249/
 
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