Talk myself out of a Members Mark "upgrade"?


 
My .02 is before cleaning, pull the grates and flav bars, light it on high and eyeball the flames. Take a picture of it running on high and post it.

If nothing else you'll have a before reference.
 
JSaus said:
Just from my perspective.. I bought and loved my 2000 Silver B. When I put in a pool, I added a big 5-burner Jenn-Aire grill with rear rotisserie burner . I just had to have it for pool party cooks. I found myself using and preferring the Silver B most of the time. While the big grill was great when needed, it took too long to heat up and was just too big for a daily gasser. When I moved, I kept the Silver B and sold the big grill. I do not miss it. I have since replaced the B with a new Weber and do prefer the new burner orientation as I do not rotisserie. If you need more space, add in a new Spirit II E-210 for about $500-watch for sales. I bought one for my grandson and it is a really nice little grill and not that much smaller than the B. You will also have the versatility of both burner orientations.
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Yes I hear you. In most ways the Silver B is a great size for us and I am trying to really remember times where I have felt it is too small and honestly it is hard to remember. We just don't do a lot of big parties where I need to cook 30 burgers or something. So if I am being honest with myself the "need" for a much larger cooking surface is not really there and I am probably inventing it to rationalize the "need" to buy something new when that need isn't real
 
LMichaels said:
Coming in late to the party. Gonna chime in. I see comments like "well that cast aluminum is a little thin" Well so is the new Weber, "oh there is painted steel in the cabinet" Hello, has anyone looked at the acres of painted steel on a Weber?
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Larry, I totally agree, and if you look at ALL my comments, that is exactly what I said:

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 have looked at that Members Mark grill in person and agree that it packs a lot of good features for a great price. I would rate it comparable to the 4-burner Genesis with the 5th sear burner (except maybe style) but the Weber costs almost twice as much! The Sam's full replacement guarantee is also a huge plus.

That doesn't mean that the MM grill is perfect. It has flaws - just like the Weber. Today, any grill at that price point isn't going to check every single box. Someone buying either one should have their eyes open. And, I do think restoring an older, classic, Made in USA Weber is an even better choice!

Last comment: If you want to stay as Made in USA as possible in today's grill market, I would point out that Broilmaster continues to put out a solid grill made here in the US. I know the burners are from Taiwan (not China as I understand it), and it is possible some other parts are from overseas. Still, primarily this is an AMERICAN grill.
 
Being in my mid 70s I like simplicity and easy to deal with grilling. When it comes to charcoal, I really like the flavor profiles that are available.
I have a performer which I really like but it's just too big for the wife and I and it's becoming kind of a pain to clean for me.
So, I picked up another Jumbo Joe (should have kept the first one) and I'm building another cart for it. It's the perfect size for two people easy on the charcoal and a breeze to clean. Once I get the cart built and it warms up the performer will be sold. Even if my son and wife bring their Brady bunch of kids over 5 boys 1 girl all in their teens, with the JJ and the Ng E320 and the Gen 2000 along with the Camp Chef I'll be set.
All the Weber's are oldies so they will outlast me no thin fireboxes to worry about or rusty cabinets or Chinese junk.
 
Chris Ober said:
Yes I hear you. In most ways the Silver B is a great size for us and I am trying to really remember times where I have felt it is too small and honestly it is hard to remember. We just don't do a lot of big parties where I need to cook 30 burgers or something. So if I am being honest with myself the "need" for a much larger cooking surface is not really there and I am probably inventing it to rationalize the "need" to buy something new when that need isn't real
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It's not hard to cook over 100 burgers on a single Silver B because they cook so fast. You just take them off and put the next batch on.
 
Scott Smith said:
It's not hard to cook over 100 burgers on a single Silver B because they cook so fast. You just take them off and put the next batch on.
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I agree. You can cook 30 burgers at a time on a 2 burner Spirit and churn out quite a few more in short order. I think people, as a rule, over estimate the size grilling space they really need or buy a grill for that graduation party or whatever rare occasion they actually need such grilling real estate.
 
Jay D in Jersey said:
I think people, as a rule, over estimate the size grilling space they really need or buy a grill for that graduation party or whatever rare occasion they actually need such grilling real estate.
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I agree with this comment 1000%. Nobody needs a giant grill. You can cater. You can do charcoal. You can borrow a grill. You can change the menu. You can boil hot dogs on a stove. You can bake chicken. You can ask people to bring stuff. You can pre-cook stuff. You can do batches on the grill. And even if you really need a giant grill, chances are that two small grills might work out better for you anyway.
 
Jay D in Jersey said:
I agree. You can cook 30 burgers at a time on a 2 burner Spirit and churn out quite a few more in short order. I think people, as a rule, over estimate the size grilling space they really need or buy a grill for that graduation party or whatever rare occasion they actually need such grilling real estate.
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I think some of it is just the American man "bigger is better" mentality. When you see pictures of an expensive built in outdoor kitchen the grill is usually a giant stainless behemoth because of course it is. It would look odd to spend all that money on the pool and outdoor furniture and then put a little Spirit in there. But yeah I think as tempting as the MM is, I am gonna stay true to my current mate the Silver B.

Maybe when the current cast iron grates have gotten too bad then I will consider finding some thick stainless rod grates as an upgrade. Wise move? I already had good luck with the thicker stainless flavorizer bars I found on Amazon a few years back
 
It's not always that with the size thing. One thing I love cooking on the Wolf is with that real estate I have room to do different kinds of cooking. Or different kinds of cooking all on the same grill. Another thing I love is I have incredible adaptability when doing pizzas and with the power it has I can do more than one pizza at a time. I don't look at big as a "bragging right".
 
Scott Smith said:
I agree with this comment 1000%. Nobody needs a giant grill. You can cater. You can do charcoal. You can borrow a grill. You can change the menu. You can boil hot dogs on a stove. You can bake chicken. You can ask people to bring stuff. You can pre-cook stuff. You can do batches on the grill. And even if you really need a giant grill, chances are that two small grills might work out better for you anyway.
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This
 
That's interesting, but I think your Silver B is far superior in construction to that current Spirit. That's why many of us would say it is worth the effort and cost to rehab it and give it another long run.
 
Jon Tofte said:
That's interesting, but I think your Silver B is far superior in construction to that current Spirit. That's why many of us would say it is worth the effort and cost to rehab it and give it another long run.
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Yep, my point was more that it wasn't the largest or shiniest grill that they deemed the "best model"
 
There are some really big, really junky grills out there. Some of the off-brand manufacturers must figure that they can get sales by just making their grill big!

Of course, every "comparison" has its own perspective. I have never used the Genesis II 3 burner with the 4th sear burner (or the larger 4 burner they rated), but I am not sure I would rate the Spirit over one of those. Weber has since redesigned the Genesis grill line since these models were tested. Hard to say what impact that would have. If you are talking about square inch per dollar, I guess I could see the Spirit winning. If you are talking about fun to use and capability, it seems to me the Genesis would win. That's not at all to say the Spirit is a bad grill.

And, as said already, give me a classic, Made in USA Weber properly restored over any of these new grills!
 
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