Weber Genesis Old vs New


 
For me would depend on how much space I have available and now often I'm going to use it. I like the stainless steel one but the other one would work very good for me on occasional use
 
Steve Hoch said:
Every time I stop and look at the new ones on my frequent trips to Home Depot, I'm grateful for my old ones. I would take a new one for free, but would still hold on to the Genesis 1000.
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Tearing into a variety of Weber's sometimes down to the last nut and bolt and then bringing them back to life has given me the ultimate appreciation for Genesis x000. The choice is easy for me too. They just don't make them like they used to and I don't think they ever will again.

I wish we could fast forward 30 years and take a look at where these two grills will be. I got a pretty darn good idea and you can guess which one my money's on as the survivor.

Good news is not everyone sees the value in the older Weber's. I'm going to capitalize on that!
 
I've had my 2000 Genesis Silver B (as posted in a few threads already) for 24 years now. The new ones are certainly more stylish or, perhaps, modernistic as style is so subjective. I've looked at them in person and realized for $150-200 and can replace the guts of mine as needed and because I'm just in it for, mostly, burgers, steaks, and chicken quickly cooked, the new Webers don't really offer me much. I have that old New England mentality about fixing and using things up before even considering replacing them. For instance, I bought a 2002 Lexus Land Cruiser when it was eight years old in 2010. I drive it still today, a 22 year old vehicle that runs great and is amongst the finest 4x4's in the world, then and still.
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ChrisG said:
I've had my 2000 Genesis Silver B (as posted in a few threads already) for 24 years now. The new ones are certainly more stylish or, perhaps, modernistic as style is so subjective. I've looked at them in person and realized for $150-200 and can replace the guts of mine as needed and because I'm just in it for, mostly, burgers, steaks, and quicken cooked quickly, the new Webers don't really offer me much. I have that old New England mentality about fixing and using things up before even considering replacing them. For instance, I bought a 2002 Lexus Land Cruiser when it was eight years old in 2010. I drive it still today, a 22 year old vehicle that runs great and is amongst the finest 4x4's in the world, then and still.
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I can very much relate!
Beautiful Grill by the way!
 
I like the larger side tables of the newer grills. It’s nice to have the added table space. However the added space of the fold up tables on the first generation does help offset that. I’ve also come to love the north and south burners for cooking indirect. That being said the majority of cooks I’ve done on the east and west setups, have been burgers, brats and dogs.
 
I love this conversation, similar to when I was asking between 1000 vs Genesis Gold c that I have. My biggest issue (and I have plenty 😂) is that I really like them all. From a pure durability standpoint the originals seem to take it. And when they do fail, the simplistic design of the frame makes repair somewhat easy. Can replace sections from a parts grill, or worst case you can weld in some square stock. The new ones look (subjectively) nicer with the formed panels etc, but drives the complexity way up. And the originals definitely look fantastic as is. So for me the answer is both, assuming you have the space. I currently have 2 of the newer summit grills on the deck with fresh cookboxes from Weber. They cook well and look impressive on the deck. I also use my q220 quite often, along with my performer. I have not yet used the gold c this year, but I just love it so much that I can't write bring myself to ship it. Was the first one I REALLY put some effort into and made 2 grills into one nearly "new" one when I was finished. Once I have the 1000 ready to cook I'll have to decide if it or the gold c goes down the road
 
Eric-NH said:
I love this conversation, similar to when I was asking between 1000 vs Genesis Gold c that I have. My biggest issue (and I have plenty 😂) is that I really like them all. From a pure durability standpoint the originals seem to take it. And when they do fail, the simplistic design of the frame makes repair somewhat easy. Can replace sections from a parts grill, or worst case you can weld in some square stock. The new ones look (subjectively) nicer with the formed panels etc, but drives the complexity way up. And the originals definitely look fantastic as is. So for me the answer is both, assuming you have the space. I currently have 2 of the newer summit grills on the deck with fresh cookboxes from Weber. They cook well and look impressive on the deck. I also use my q220 quite often, along with my performer. I have not yet used the gold c this year, but I just love it so much that I can't write bring myself to ship it. Was the first one I REALLY put some effort into and made 2 grills into one nearly "new" one when I was finished. Once I have the 1000 ready to cook I'll have to decide if it or the gold c goes down the road
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I like to keep things simple. I only have one grill on my patio that I cook everything on, it's a Genesis 1000. I've had one since 1998 and it's never left me wanting more from a grill. Weber has made other great grills but to me mine is pretty much perfect. Weber must have agreed with me since they made pretty much the same exact grill from 1985 until 1999. I think it's great that you have a variety of Weber's at your disposal, keep on.
 
If I never wanted to do rotisserie cooking or never wanted to run whole slabs of ribs and have them done evenly the new one would fit the bill just fine. I went through the very same thing 20+ years ago when I acquired the Summit 450 (1st gen). Rep promised it would do everything as well or better than my Genesis 2. But then I noticed little subtleties. Tried to do ribs. On the Genesis I could lay a slab or 2 down, run front & back burners and cook away. On the Summit they would not fit front to back (being the same dimensions as a Genesis). So then I was forced to cut slabs in half to cook effectively. I tried a couple rotisserie things (ribeye, and a chicken) TOTALLY disappointed. Cooked on the ends more than the middle, flare ups if I tried running the center burners and if I used a catch pan everything would burn and make an acrid smell. So, I found myself keeping on gravitating back to the Genesis.
Oh sure Summit cooked steaks, burgers, dogs, basic straight "grilling" as good or even better than the Genesis. So glad no one bought my Genesis. That is for sure.
Weber named the line "Genesis" for a reason. It was a whole "new way" of looking at gas grills and how they worked and how they're used. And they actually took the EW design idea from a very early DCS design. Which when doing a rotisserie a lever was moved on the front of the grill, It would shift the entire lava rock and burner bed up on an angle so heat would emanate from the back of the grill while food spun. It was a VERY complicated design. With convoluted levers, a "captive" rock bed, and flexible gas lines from the controls to the burners. I saw one "in the wild" many years ago. It was interesting but frustrating enough the owner had "given up" ripped out the burners and put charcoal in it. But it did work.
Weber KNEW back then it was the best way to do indirect and or rotisserie cooking..
And it worked for Weber until 2011 when they "ruined" the Genesis. And went with what likely 90% of casual grillers do. IOW "nothing". As in nothing special. They slap on dogs, burgers, or a steak and they're happy.
It's WAY cheaper to produce what they make now than keeping it a TRUE Genesis. So the bean counters win
 
LMichaels said:
If I never wanted to do rotisserie cooking or never wanted to run whole slabs of ribs and have them done evenly the new one would fit the bill just fine. I went through the very same thing 20+ years ago when I acquired the Summit 450 (1st gen). Rep promised it would do everything as well or better than my Genesis 2. But then I noticed little subtleties. Tried to do ribs. On the Genesis I could lay a slab or 2 down, run front & back burners and cook away. On the Summit they would not fit front to back (being the same dimensions as a Genesis). So then I was forced to cut slabs in half to cook effectively. I tried a couple rotisserie things (ribeye, and a chicken) TOTALLY disappointed. Cooked on the ends more than the middle, flare ups if I tried running the center burners and if I used a catch pan everything would burn and make an acrid smell. So, I found myself keeping on gravitating back to the Genesis.
Oh sure Summit cooked steaks, burgers, dogs, basic straight "grilling" as good or even better than the Genesis. So glad no one bought my Genesis. That is for sure.
Weber named the line "Genesis" for a reason. It was a whole "new way" of looking at gas grills and how they worked and how they're used. And they actually took the EW design idea from a very early DCS design. Which when doing a rotisserie a lever was moved on the front of the grill, It would shift the entire lava rock and burner bed up on an angle so heat would emanate from the back of the grill while food spun. It was a VERY complicated design. With convoluted levers, a "captive" rock bed, and flexible gas lines from the controls to the burners. I saw one "in the wild" many years ago. It was interesting but frustrating enough the owner had "given up" ripped out the burners and put charcoal in it. But it did work.
Weber KNEW back then it was the best way to do indirect and or rotisserie cooking..
And it worked for Weber until 2011 when they "ruined" the Genesis. And went with what likely 90% of casual grillers do. IOW "nothing". As in nothing special. They slap on dogs, burgers, or a steak and they're happy.
It's WAY cheaper to produce what they make now than keeping it a TRUE Genesis. So the bean counters win
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Thank you for sharing all that Larry. I enjoyed reading it!
 
ChrisG said:
I've had my 2000 Genesis Silver B (as posted in a few threads already) for 24 years now. The new ones are certainly more stylish or, perhaps, modernistic as style is so subjective. I've looked at them in person and realized for $150-200 and can replace the guts of mine as needed and because I'm just in it for, mostly, burgers, steaks, and chicken quickly cooked, the new Webers don't really offer me much. I have that old New England mentality about fixing and using things up before even considering replacing them. For instance, I bought a 2002 Lexus Land Cruiser when it was eight years old in 2010. I drive it still today, a 22 year old vehicle that runs great and is amongst the finest 4x4's in the world, then and still.
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It's rather interesting you mention the Land Cruiser in relation to the Weber Genesis. As someone with a 2005 LC, I see an interesting parallel in evolution and decline. If you trace the Genesis series from 1990 to 2024, and compare it to the various Land Cruiser series (J80 thru J300) over the same period, you notice a similar correlation in durability & quality, and then subsequent trade-offs in practicality vs refinement vs bling.

IMO, the sweet spot for the 'mainstream' U.S. market Land Cruiser was the J100 to early J200 series, built from 1998 to 2011... sound familiar? Similarly, as with the older Genesis 1-5 and X000, the J80 (1990-97) LC is the considered to be the standard-bearer by hardcore purists. ;-)
 
When Weber began emulating other manufacturers by using 4 small casters and LP tank inside the cabinet, things started going south.

We have a limestone driveway, yard is on other side of the house... good luck moving any grill with those casters across gravel or grass.
 
Loving the input from everyone! I know there is no one size fits all or best option that will suit every one person or family but I really like to hear what people like and why they like it! So thanks for sharing.
 
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