What to Buy? Torn between Spirit and Genesis


 
R

RobPerkins

New member
Hey everyone, I'm brand new here. Looking to upgrade from a rusty Kenmore to a reliable Weber. I have a Q that I use for camping so I at least belong here...

My budget is a grand or less. I'm giving a serious look at the Genesis 325, however my wife wants to be a little bit more budget conscious. She's really likes the Spirit 315. It's just the two of us now as our kiddo is off at college, so I really don't need the size of the Genesis, but I kind of like the looks and capabilities of the line.

For two people, mostly chicken breasts, burgers, and steaks, plus the occasional pizza smoking, what might you all recommend? I only ask that you be straight with me and back up your opinions so that I can make an informed purchase.

THANK YOU!
 
In terms of the two new ones, I’ve been real happy with my Spirit. It works and always has and zero issues. I believe the 315 is the stainless version, mine is the 330 which is black but with side burner. For primarily two, yeah I’d look at the Spirit.
 
Here's an analogy:

The hardware store sells three sizes of adjustable wrenches. You don't need all three, because their ranges of sizes overlap. Therefore, you narrow your choice to getting only the middle one vs. getting the large and small only and skipping the middle one.

In terms of grills, you already have the small one.
 
Rob, your Q can serve the needs for 2 people. You can convert it to use 20lb propane tanks.

The Q grills fine and is fuel efficient. I don’t know how it does smoking. I don’t think a rotisserie would work on a Q.
 
BPratt said:
Rob, your Q can serve the needs for 2 people. You can convert it to use 20lb propane tanks.

The Q grills fine and is fuel efficient. I don’t know how it does smoking. I don’t think a rotisserie would work on a Q.
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A rotisserie will likely work way better on a Q (especially the larger ones like 2xxx and 3xxx series) with that ring burner surrounding the food with heat. Likely WAY better than on a new style Genesis or Spirit. But if spinning is not important than the others will "grill" just fine, unless you're wanting to do say whole slabs of ribs since they're too long to fit front to back between the burners, so they would need to be cut in half. Unlike the older style where with a rack you could fit multiple racks between the front and rear burners lengthwise.
Just have to make "adjustments" to cooking style
 
There’s virtually no way possible a Q would rotisserie better than a Genesis or Spirit. Use my rotisserie on both and it’s always excellent. The Q lacks space

And I’m not even sure there’s a roti for the Q is there?
 
TimA said:
There’s virtually no way possible a Q would rotisserie better than a Genesis or Spirit. Use my rotisserie on both and it’s always excellent. The Q lacks space

And I’m not even sure there’s a roti for the Q is there?
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There’s no notch in the lid or firebox. That said, there’s probably some hack for a Q rotisserie out there…
 
Thanks for the advice everyone. I'm really interested in the Genesis 325, but I'm really going to need to look at the entire Spirit line.

Anyone have a Spirit II that they're really happy with?
 
BPratt said:
There’s no notch in the lid or firebox. That said, there’s probably some hack for a Q rotisserie out there…
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Weber sells them in Austalia:

www.weber.com

Q™ Rotisserie (suits Classic 1st and 2nd Gen)

Take your repertoire to a whole new level with a Weber Q rotisserie. It comes complete with a rotisserie spit and two forks that can handle a whole chicken or large roast. This BBQ rotisserie is powered by a heavy duty electric motor to ensure smooth turning for even cooking all the way around.
www.weber.com www.weber.com
 
Consider an older Genesis Silver B or 1000 style grill for rotisserie. Maybe even make it a dedicated rotisserie machine.
 
First of all, I give credit to OP Rob for joining grilling forums in the middle of winter in Wisconsin. Second, I give credit to him for recognizing that a rusty old Kenmore grill is good for scrap metal only.

All the suggestions given are excellent because Rob's needs are so modest - grilling for two people. Anything mentioned, or any Weber grill ever made, would work. The obvious solution is to start with BPratt's idea of simply using the Q for awhile and seeing what more capability (if any) he actually lacks. This has the advantage of being free.

Some of the posts provided about rotisseries and rehabbing older grills I honestly can't directly connect back to the OP's original question.
 
I am not sure how a Q grill would do for pizza but otherwise are very good grills for a couple people. I just can't personally justify the money for a new Genesis grill. But if you have the money, you certainly won't be disappointed with a New Genesis if you want to spend the money and move up from a Kenmore. But, I stand by my original statement of getting a nice Genesis Silver B or Genesis 1000. It will do whatever you want it to and do it well and won't cost $1000.. Use the $600 savings and buy a couple freezers full of beef.
 
Jon Tofte said:
Weber sells them in Austalia:

www.weber.com

Q™ Rotisserie (suits Classic 1st and 2nd Gen)

Take your repertoire to a whole new level with a Weber Q rotisserie. It comes complete with a rotisserie spit and two forks that can handle a whole chicken or large roast. This BBQ rotisserie is powered by a heavy duty electric motor to ensure smooth turning for even cooking all the way around.
www.weber.com www.weber.com
Click to expand...
I just ordered something very similar by Onlyfire for a Weber Traveler. I thought I read a comment somewhere during research that Onlyfire made one for the Q. May look into that.
 
RobPerkins said:
Thanks for the advice everyone. I'm really interested in the Genesis 325, but I'm really going to need to look at the entire Spirit line.

Anyone have a Spirit II that they're really happy with?
Click to expand...
I am biased to the older grills… I’ve had good luck getting old Weber’s working again without much of an investment in time or money.

I haven’t had any of the new Genesis grills so I won’t speculate.

I’ve had 4 or 5 Spirit II grills. The quality and workmanship are good. 10 year bumper to bumper warranty. Parts are available, reasonably priced with 3rd party options and easy to install. There are some nice lid color options. The 3 burner version gets sufficiently hot in about 5 minutes.

On the negative - The castings are thin. Plastic is used where metal would be better. The control knobs are flimsy. The burners use a long crossover igniter tube which is problematic. The ignition is overly complicated. The side tables don’t seem to be robust. The 2 burner versions firebox is close in size to the 3 burner with less burner tube by volume.

If I were buying a new Weber grill I would choose a 3 or more burner grill. I believe the 3 or more burners is a better value…
 
If I was going to buy a new Weber gas grill I would definitely buy the the Genesis over the Spirit. I have examined both and it's easy to see the Genesis is of higher quality by today's standards. I also agree that an older Genesis 1000 or Silver B is superior to new offerings as far as ease of maintenance and longevity at a fraction of the price. If you are capable of putting together IKEA furniture then you are more than qualified to fix up one of these older grills and enjoy it for years to come. My every day grill is a 1998 Genesis 1000 and it still works as well as the day it was built.
 
OP is already on the right track. Unless he can find a screaming deal on a Spirit, he's better off with the Genesis 325...or maybe a Costco or Ace has a leftover on one of those. I've been underwhelmed by the value for money for the new Spirits I've seen at Home Depot. If it got down to new Spirit or nothing, I'd be searching FBMP for an older, good condition Genesis.
Also, again, most folks buying a new grill by more grill than they will ever use or need. A Genesis II E-325 is a lot of grill.
 
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