Talk myself out of a Members Mark "upgrade"?


 
C

Chris-IL

TVWBB Fan
Hi all, new member here. I stumbled onto the board after googling info on the Members Mark $699 Stainless Steel grill I came across at Sams Club yesterday.

My background: Have happily used the same Genesis Silver B since 2001! Still in great shape as I keep it maintained. New burner tubes, aftermarket Stainless thicker flavorizers, OEM Weber Cast Iron grates for awhile, etc. New igniter a few years back too after the old one rusted out.

I don't go to Sam's much but my wife got a trial membership so has been going a few times.

Saw this grill in there and I must say I was intrigued! I think it was the obvious copycatting of the Weber including the side by side comparison and the relatively cheap price! It got all my "great value" juices flowing. This happens when I think I am getting some special deal of a great quality product for a lower price. with same or better build than the brand name but much better value.

www.samsclub.com

Member's Mark Pro Series 5-Burner Gas Grill - Sam's Club

Buy Member's Mark Pro Series 5-Burner Gas Grill : Gas Grills & Griddles at SamsClub.com
www.samsclub.com www.samsclub.com

So that brought me to the internet searching.

So, is it a good grill?

Furthermore though, I think I am talking myself out of it but not quite done with the process. My thoughts as I let Rational Brain take over again from Wow You Are Getting a Secret Awesome Find Deal Brain:

-WHY do I need to upgrade to this giant grill? I happily use the Silver B now and it works fine. Yes, there are a few times per year where I could use a little more cooking space if we are having a party, but not often. Irrational Brain really likes the "big, stainless" look for my deck. Menfolk coming over will grunt in approval! BUT, won't I use a LOT more gas to fire up that giant bad boy? So I will be running to the UHaul to refill my propane much more often.

-Even if I want to splurge on a "big, stainless" guy to improve the menfolk grunt rating at parties, is a "Members Mark Pro Series" gonna do that? It's a bit like selling a black BMW and getting a silver Hyundai that is much larger and then trying to flex on people haha.

So, thoughts from the crowd? Just shake it off and let it pass and keep on truckin with my Silver B? Buy this grill because indeed it is a pretty nice build for a cheap price (or maybe wait and see if it goes on sale this fall?) Look at Facebook Marketplace and see if I can find a real Weber "big, stainless" for less money and maybe spend a little $ on parts and that is my upgrade?

Last question - those thick steel rod grates on the Members Mark seem nice and solid, but are they as good for grilling as my current cast iron grates?
 
Hi Chris! Welcome to TVWBB,

I am sure you will get a variety of opinions and hopefully some good advice here.

For my 2 cents contribution, here are a couple observations:

The Members Mark grill you are looking at does have many positive features. The very nice stainless grates are one along with the use of stainless in several other places. There’s a generous cooking area and five burners to get it hot and cook evenly.

That’s not to say it has no weaknesses - at least in my view. There is still plenty of painted steel in that cabinetry that you will have to work at keeping rust from not taking hold. I also think the cast aluminum firebox is rather thin. Last, is definitely just a personal opinion, that while not a bad looking grill it is kind of bland to my eye.

In comparison, you will have to spend twice as much to get a new Weber with comparable cooking space. I am thinking the 4-burner Genesis with the 5th sear burner. That grill, too, will have a thin firebox and painted cabinetry. I think the Weber would win the looks competition, but the newest model’s styling doesn’t agree with everyone’s taste.

The sad thing is that Weber has had a hard time making a winning version of a larger grill. The two older choices that stand out to me - the 1st generation Summit 6-burner and the 2004-5 Summit Platinum 6-burner - both have issues with their fireboxes. I recently restored a smaller 4-burner 1st gen Summit and believe the firebox fix I came up with will also work on the larger 6-burner. The Summit Platinum could also likely be fixed. However, these are not simple restorations like your Genesis. They take time, a lot of effort and some real money for parts. They do still come up for sale now and then, but you can’t just grab one at Sam’s!

So unless you are up for a major project, that Sam’s grill might be the easiest, most cost effective ticket to a larger grill. I suppose I would also shop for a used but nice larger size Genesis Ii to at least compare it with.

Finally, I think most here would counsel that quality stainless steel grates of similar mass to cast iron will yield similar results with a lot less care and much longer useful life. I believe that, too, but I still have a soft spot for grilling on old fashioned cast iron :coolkettle: .
 
Seriously, as long as you don't expect that grill to last 20 years I won't try and talk you out of it. I have gotten the idea a couple of times over the years to buy a new grill (I still have my 1998 Genesis 1000) but I easily talk myself out of it when I actually look at them and see the difference in quality between new ones and mine. That's just me of course.
 
Jon Tofte said:
Hi Chris! Welcome to TVWBB,

I am sure you will get a variety of opinions and hopefully some good advice here.

For my 2 cents contribution, here are a couple observations:

The Members Mark grill you are looking at does have many positive features. The very nice stainless grates are one along with the use of stainless in several other places. There’s a generous cooking area and five burners to get it hot and cook evenly.

That’s not to say it has no weaknesses - at least in my view. There is still plenty of painted steel in that cabinetry that you will have to work at keeping rust from not taking hold. I also think the cast aluminum firebox is rather thin. Last, is definitely just a personal opinion, that while not a bad looking grill it is kind of bland to my eye.

In comparison, you will have to spend twice as much to get a new Weber with comparable cooking space. I am thinking the 4-burner Genesis with the 5th sear burner. That grill, too, will have a thin firebox and painted cabinetry. I think the Weber would win the looks competition, but the newest model’s styling doesn’t agree with everyone’s taste.

The sad thing is that Weber has had a hard time making a winning version of a larger grill. The two older choices that stand out to me - the 1st generation Summit 6-burner and the 2004-5 Summit Platinum 6-burner - both have issues with their fireboxes. I recently restored a smaller 4-burner 1st gen Summit and believe the firebox fix I came up with will also work on the larger 6-burner. The Summit Platinum could also likely be fixed. However, these are not simple restorations like your Genesis. They take time, a lot of effort and some real money for parts. They do still come up for sale now and then, but you can’t just grab one at Sam’s!

So unless you are up for a major project, that Sam’s grill might be the easiest, most cost effective ticket to a larger grill. I suppose I would also shop for a used but nice larger size Genesis Ii to at least compare it with.

Finally, I think most here would counsel that quality stainless steel grates of similar mass to cast iron will yield similar results with a lot less care and much longer useful life. I believe that, too, but I still have a soft spot for grilling on old fashioned cast iron :coolkettle: .
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Thanks! What about the Weber 435 at Costco? But now we are talking $1300 when before I walked into Sams Club it really was never in my mind that I needed any other grill than the one I've already got, the Silver B!

Also I assume I am correct that with a much larger grill like that, I will rip through propane much more quickly yes? Or do you typically just turn on a couple of the burners if you are just doing some burgers etc and not turn on all of them?

On my Silver B, I am noticing that the upper right quadrant seems hotter now....brats and burgers there get done more quickly.....but the burner tubes are only 3-4 years old since I replaced them.....
 
Steve Hoch said:
Seriously, as long as you don't expect that grill to last 20 years I won't try and talk you out of it. I have gotten the idea a couple of times over the years to buy a new grill (I still have my 1998 Genesis 1000) but I easily talk myself out of it when I actually look at them and see the difference in quality between new ones and mine. That's just me of course.
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I have always been very proud to have bought ONE Weber (well not counting charcoal kettle prior) and it has held up BEAUTIFULLY while other neighbors and family members were replacing their "Char Broils" or whatever junk every 5 years. I think it was just that this seemed like SUCH A CLONE of the Weber that I thought perhaps the same or a similar Chinese factory was making it vs the Webers. I know Weber sources their parts from the same Chinese places these days. I dunno it's like this fantasy that one could buy a no-brand German car with all the same parts as a BMW 5 Series except it would cost $25K total.
 
Yeah, it could be like microwave ovens, most of them are made by the same Chinese factory and they just put different brand names on them. I'm just not so sure you're going to be able to get any sort of replacement parts for that grill down the line for one thing. I guess if you could match the grill or at least its internals up with another brand that offers some customer support, you might have something.
 
Steve Hoch said:
Dan, do you ever notice uneven cooking on any of your gassers? IE: hotter on one side than the other
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My silver B had a couple of hot spots. Right rear ran hot and the left side front ran a little hot.

I haven't grilled much on the 1000. I've used it more for roti than grilling, but the left side is slightly hotter from the crossover.
 
DanHoo said:
Do you have space to keep the silver B?

I would. Makes a great rotisserie grill.
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Yes. I will probably just keep it and not buy another grill. This is one of those sort of impulsive things where if I am honest with myself my Silver B works perfectly fine (except I guess for the slight hotter spot in the right upper quadrant)

The other thing I just realized is that while I am enamored with the look of a larger Stainless option, it will be covered all the time with a black cover so it's not like I can enjoy the look all the time
 
WEll, I see your question has been well covered. I might just add that keeping Silver B and maybe adding a Weber Q or even a Silver A or another Silver B would be an option. It allows you all the space you would need for larger crowds while not being overkill for the other 90% of your cooks. It would also allow you to cook two different items at a time. Like maybe a few steaks on one and rotisserie chicken on the other. Something to think about. But for a non Weber grill, that Sam's grill looks like a great value and budget friendly alternative.
 
Chris Ober said:
Yes. I will probably just keep it and not buy another grill. This is one of those sort of impulsive things where if I am honest with myself my Silver B works perfectly fine (except I guess for the slight hotter spot in the right upper quadrant)

The other thing I just realized is that while I am enamored with the look of a larger Stainless option, it will be covered all the time with a black cover so it's not like I can enjoy the look all the time
Click to expand...
What about a kettle?
 
Bruce said:
WEll, I see your question has been well covered. I might just add that keeping Silver B and maybe adding a Weber Q or even a Silver A or another Silver B would be an option. It allows you all the space you would need for larger crowds while not being overkill for the other 90% of your cooks. It would also allow you to cook two different items at a time. Like maybe a few steaks on one and rotisserie chicken on the other. Something to think about. But for a non Weber grill, that Sam's grill looks like a great value and budget friendly alternative.
Click to expand...

Thanks for all the responses guys

So nobody answered the propane use question. I guess maybe it's not as bad as I thought if the S435 sizes are BTU 48K vs 36K on my Silver B. So would use 33% more Propane if I were using all 4 burners. But can one routinely get by with 3 burners where you aren't using the whole cooking area I assume?
 
I kind of did address that with the two grill option. But, yes you can just use one two or three burners if you don't need all the space. However, it will take longer for the grill to heat up and may not get quite as hot overall by shutting down some burners.
 
Chris Ober said:
Thanks for all the responses guys

So nobody answered the propane use question. I guess maybe it's not as bad as I thought if the S435 sizes are BTU 48K vs 36K on my Silver B. So would use 33% more Propane if I were using all 4 burners. But can one routinely get by with 3 burners where you aren't using the whole cooking area I assume?
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I almost always use the indirect method that was covered in my Weber owner's manual when I got the grill originally. I bring the grill up to temperature with all three burners and then place the food in the middle of the grill left to right. You then shut off the middle burner and cook your food. It works great and minimizes grill fires. I also use the grill's rack when I have a little more to cook. I'm guessing that not everyone uses their grill that way, but that's the way Weber intended it to be. So yes, it's perfectly acceptable not to use all the burners during a cook.
 
DanHoo said:
My silver B had a couple of hot spots. Right rear ran hot and the left side front ran a little hot.

I haven't grilled much on the 1000. I've used it more for roti than grilling, but the left side is slightly hotter from the crossover.
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It's been my experience that the 1000's also have hot spots. I always thought it was normal.
 
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