Stainless Steel Grate Throwdown Challenge Results


 
Hard to argue with the price. With only 13 bars per half grate, the spacing looks pretty wide. How important that is to you depends a lot on what you intend to grill. Small vegetables and shrimp might not work out so well.

These are the kind of grates @LMichaels would say that your T-bone steak might fall through. That is somewhat in jest. I personally think, though, that the Qlimetal 7mm or Hongso 7mm brand grates are worth the extra $, but i will be very interested in what you think when yours arrive. If you don’t like them you can always send them back!
 
Jon Tofte said:
Yeah that set wasn’t all that good, but I am glad to be getting them back for my Genesis XX project. I did also bring you some much nicer sets, and I will have a couple more when you are here.
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As long as you would be cutting grates down for the XX, have you considered the following Qulimetal offering for a Spirit 200, which has the same (?) front to back dimension, 17.5" as the more expensive ones for the Gen1000 et al?
 
Since I already have (or will be getting back next week, that is) the set Bruce references, and since I have no plans to use in a regular Genesis, I am good with cutting them down. That wide spacing is probably closer to what Weber offered in the nickel-chrome plated grate used in the price-leader XX. But, if I was starting from scratch or wanting something better to actually cook on, that Qlimetal set looks great.

Did you see they even have a 9mm version? That would be great for a Jr. you wanted to cook on regularly and weren't trying for any historic authenticity. Of course, you could keep a set of the stamped steel for show but cook on the stainless!
 
HankBates said:
As long as you would be cutting grates down for the XX, have you considered the following Qulimetal offering for a Spirit 200, which has the same (?) front to back dimension, 17.5" as the more expensive ones for the Gen1000 et al?
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I ordered the 7mm Qulimetal set for a Spirit 200, and they fit the same as a Gen 1000 set would, just less overlap and a bit cheaper.
Also, If you elect to cut down only one grate it puts the gap closer to the middle than when you rework a set of 1000 grates.
 

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Looks very good! Glad it will work out for you. I am hoping i can still do some spray painting this fall and finish my Genesis XX.
 
Agreed Chris. They are sooo much easier to maintain. But some people swear by CI and the heat retention is probably significantly better on a good set of CI vs the 7mm SS grates. Not enough to convert me though.
 
I just put my 20 year old charcoal grill out to pasture, after 69 years swearing off gas, But at 69 years young, I'm tired and willing to go with LP to make life a little easier. Found a closeout on a New Genesis S 325s at Lowes, with 7mm stnl grates. under $850, I wanted to be able to do breakfast as well. So I bought the Qulimetal griddle. 18.9" x 12.8", this leaves me with a choice of cutting my right side rack down 3 bars to fill the space over the sear zone.

I looked and found they sell the 18.9" x 13" 9mm grates. This will fill the right side over the sear zone to let me keep the grill setup for both, griddle and grill, with sear station open for steaks and searing, or grilling. plus the better 9mm grates they sell offer less gap between rods than the 7mm Weber grates have! I then can change the griddle for the other great filling my grill with 50/50 size 9mm grates, and still cheaper than the S 325s sells for.
 
R Saum said:
I just put my 20 year old charcoal grill out to pasture, after 69 years swearing off gas, But at 69 years young, I'm tired and willing to go with LP to make life a little easier. Found a closeout on a New Genesis S 325s at Lowes, with 7mm stnl grates. under $850, I wanted to be able to do breakfast as well. So I bought the Qulimetal griddle. 18.9" x 12.8", this leaves me with a choice of cutting my right side rack down 3 bars to fill the space over the sear zone.

I looked and found they sell the 18.9" x 13" 9mm grates. This will fill the right side over the sear zone to let me keep the grill setup for both, griddle and grill, with sear station open for steaks and searing, or grilling. plus the better 9mm grates they sell offer less gap between rods than the 7mm Weber grates have! I then can change the griddle for the other great filling my grill with 50/50 size 9mm grates, and still cheaper than the S 325s sells for.
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Just go all the way and upgrade to those heavier grates all the way across. The OEM Weber ones are not 304SS they're 430 and so then suseptible to corrosion, where those heavy 9mm ones will perform better, be nicer to use overall and being 304SS not corrode making them easier to keep clean.
 
LMichaels said:
Just go all the way and upgrade to those heavier grates all the way across. The OEM Weber ones are not 304SS they're 430 and so then suseptible to corrosion, where those heavy 9mm ones will perform better, be nicer to use overall and being 304SS not corrode making them easier to keep clean.
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Well the Qulimetal 9mm grates came today, I'm very happy and can say better than I was expecting! Heavy and perfectly square, with the correct dimension, and great close spacing. Glad I paid a little more over the other AM brands, these are very nice, and quite heavy.
 
Meathead says larger grates are a poor choice, preferring smaller thin-wire grates. I forgot his reasoning, but it made sense to me. I like large grates because they're sturdy and have plenty of material to rust away w/o needing new ones.

What's the thermal conductivity and absorpitivity of 304 vs 430 stainless steel?
 
I wouldn't think that the thermal properties are much different between 304 and 430 Stainless. And I think there probably is something to be said for smaller rod grates for certain types of cooks maybe. I am thinking very high heat searing. But, I am certainly no expert or even novice regarding thermodynamics.
 
Give me a good solid large grate every time. I saw that Meathead thing where he said that. Honestly? No dice for me. Anyone who's seen the grates Dave made for my Wolf will attest to that
 
I am a fan of both. I always like the nice thick SS one on my gasser but I also really like the hanger thin one on my charcoal WGA. I get a lot of flavor and access to the flames with the wire one. You always see thin ones on smokers. I once saw someone selling a WGA with a cast iron grate and kind of laughed as it probably weighed in at 2x the weight of the grill. Is there a link to this Meathead thing?
 
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