What to Buy? Torn between Spirit and Genesis


 
Steve Hoch said:
I don't even care about the sear burner but it appears to be standard now.
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Steve,

on the front control Genesis with the larger grates the sear burner is IMO a must-have or it just does not get hot enough.

I did a little math in the thread linked below and am copying it here since it seems relevant:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ excerpt from the post linked below ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

below are the grills that I own ( Genesis 1000, Silver B, E330 ) or often cook on ( E320, E310 )

BTU rating is from the tag on each grill.
Grate square inches is from literature on sales sites and is only the main cooking grate.

1998 1000 (side)2000 Silver B (side)2009 E320 (side)2016 E310 (front)2016 E330 (front)
square inch424424507507507
BTU3500036000420003800048000
BTU/sqInch82.584.982.875.094.7


For the E330, the 94.7 number is misleading because it spreads 10K BTU from the sear burner across all square inches.
In terms of direct heat under the grate, the right side grate is 75.0 BTU/SqIn and the left side is 114 BTU/SqIn

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

note: the newer 300 series have the sear burner on the righthand side, and I've read the sear burners are 12K BTU vs 10K


tvwbb.com

Weber Connect vs ThermoWorks

BTU is BTU. What is the difference if it came in the form of another burner wedged in between or 2 burners that could output more heat? All the el cheapo brands were flouting a "sear" burner. To the uneducated they see it as a huge "extra" at no cost. Weber HAD to tout a "sear" burner just like...
tvwbb.com tvwbb.com
 
DanHoo said:
My 2016 collects water when it rains. Yeah it's two model revs back but I roll it under cover when the rain starts. Luckily for me it only rains 4 or 5 months in winter or spring.

I've seen no design changes that leads me to think the new ones will be different.
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Thats kind of hard to compare a 2016 grill to the the Genesis posted above thats really all I am saying. Buy that one from Costco with a 10 year warranty who would care my math bad but that means if it turns into a piece of junk after 10 years it cost you basically 80 bucks a year to own the grill. If my Silver C blew up on my deck hopefully not burning it down I would buy that in a second.

But and always trying to be honest here I have no desire to rotis none where others want to do that and as I said multiple times I prefer n/s burners. Others will not.
 
DanHoo said:
Steve,

on the front control Genesis with the larger grates the sear burner is IMO a must-have or it just does not get hot enough.

I did a little math in the thread linked below and am copying it here since it seems relevant:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ excerpt from the post linked below ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

below are the grills that I own ( Genesis 1000, Silver B, E330 ) or often cook on ( E320, E310 )

BTU rating is from the tag on each grill.
Grate square inches is from literature on sales sites and is only the main cooking grate.

1998 1000 (side)2000 Silver B (side)2009 E320 (side)2016 E310 (front)2016 E330 (front)
square inch424424507507507
BTU3500036000420003800048000
BTU/sqInch82.584.982.875.094.7


For the E330, the 94.7 number is misleading because it spreads 10K BTU from the sear burner across all square inches.
In terms of direct heat under the grate, the right side grate is 75.0 BTU/SqIn and the left side is 114 BTU/SqIn

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

note: the newer 300 series have the sear burner on the righthand side, and I've read the sear burners are 12K BTU vs 10K


tvwbb.com

Weber Connect vs ThermoWorks

BTU is BTU. What is the difference if it came in the form of another burner wedged in between or 2 burners that could output more heat? All the el cheapo brands were flouting a "sear" burner. To the uneducated they see it as a huge "extra" at no cost. Weber HAD to tout a "sear" burner just like...
tvwbb.com tvwbb.com
Click to expand...
Dan,

I think the silver B has more btu’s per cubic inch. The firebox is the smallest of the 5 genesis’.
 
RobPerkins said:
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!
Click to expand...

@RobPerkins

Here is the advice I'd give to a friend:

New: Find the lowest cost Genesis three burner plus sear you can find. It will be a great grill. I find the size perfect and would not want any smaller. Often I only cook on half of it but its nice to have a larger cooking area for hot direct and a cool side for resting. The Genesis warranty is better than the Spirit and the quality of parts is higher too. A Genesis 335 with a side burner is nice but the side burner is not a must-have for me.

On a budget? I suggest a used Genesis Silver B and refurbish it, or find someone local that refurbs them and buy one from them.
Silver B Parts are readily available. I'm guessing for 1/3 the cost of a new Genesis you could find or put together a Silver B in like-new condition.

I have had a Genesis silver B for 20+ years and its a great grill. Here is a pic of my Silver B after a light rehab. I mixed some parts from my model year 2000 with a donor from 2002. This one is currently stored in the garage for one of my kids

1704419159777.png
 
i would not buy any grill without the sear station. In the Spirit, you will need the E-330 for $729. With a Genesis you need at least the E-325 at $899 and you lose the side burner. It is a trade off. Personally, I almost never use the side burner, but use the sear station all the time. A Spirit is big enough for two and exactly the same size as the old Silver B line.
 
Can't go wrong with either, I picked up a S 325s under your budget on a discount a month ago, the S gets you Stainless grates and most components.

This was my first Weber going from charcoal, and I am not looking back, At 70 life is so much easier. First try with a 15# Turkeye was a home run! Then over Cristmas a 8# Prime Rib stole the show! Perfect, and the Genesis is built like a Tank! 20231112_110924.jpg
20231112_155534.jpg

Then with the savings made it a griddle grill combo with the killer griddle insert from Qulimetal and there 9mm grates. You won't believe the difference over the Kenmore, and I'm sure the same can be said for the Spirit, but I would go with Genesis, or you will always be wondering what if. And trust me, it's gonna take a lot of years to wear out or think about another grill, grab the Genesis if you can!

Sure glad I did!1000001126.jpg
 
R Saum said:
Can't go wrong with either, I picked up a S 325s under your budget on a discount a month ago, the S gets you Stainless grates and most components.

This was my first Weber going from charcoal, and I am not looking back, At 70 life is so much easier.
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I'm 49, and you're kind of my hero. I give you credit for the willingness to embrace easier solutions as you get older, even when that means switching to a different fuel.

I had the opportunity to do something similar once. After a flood about 15 years ago, I rebuilt my house. One decision I made was that I was getting too old to continue with wood heat and all the physical labor that that entailed, so I switched to gas.
 
Part of getting older, and continuing to do the things you enjoy, is learning how to adapt and find ways of doing those things easier.

Those that don't give up the things they spent a lifetime learning and enjoying. I love to hunt, I'm still very successful and because of years learning have found ways to get the end results, but no way can I do that the same way I did for years. Same with wading the Northern Michiganstreams for Salmon in the fall, and camping stream side. I need warmer sleeping bags. Lighter but dryer waders, and access closer to the water I fish.

I could go on and on. But one thing I've found important to adapting to all these new ways is not going to Dollar General, Wall Mart etc, and buying the cheapest equipment to do any of it. The better the tools and equipment you choose to adapt to new ways of doing things, not just the easier it is, but the better the results.

Plus the older you get, the less time you have to enjoy the things you have spent years enjoying, and it's more enjoyable spending that time doing it with the best you can afford to do it with.
 
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Bruce said:
Brian, that Silver C on your deck will probably still outlast a brand new Genesis. LOL
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Maybe, however I am 70 so not really sure it would totally outlast a new Genesis either. The side burner is useless used it maybe 3 times in 3 years and that was to fry oysters as my wife won't allow me to do that inside and I don't blame her by the way. I would get more use out of the sear burner and as I said I prefer N/S others do not and I get that.

Not going to get rid of the Silver C but if it blows up not gonna say its the end of the world, honey we need a new grill and we must have a sear burner so a new genesis is what we need doubt she would argue. :)
 
DanHoo said:
BTU rating is from the tag on each grill.
Grate square inches is from literature on sales sites and is only the main cooking grate.

1998 1000 (side)2000 Silver B (side)2009 E320 (side)2016 E310 (front)2016 E330 (front)
square inch424424507507507
BTU3500036000420003800048000
BTU/sqInch82.584.982.875.094.7


For the E330, the 94.7 number is misleading because it spreads 10K BTU from the sear burner across all square inches.
In terms of direct heat under the grate, the right side grate is 75.0 BTU/SqIn and the left side is 114 BTU/SqIn

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Click to expand...
You did not include the Spirit, but if you compare the one with sear burner to the Genesis with sear, you get virtually the same BTU per square inch numbers. I would expect them to perform virtually identically too. I am sure that Weber designed them that way. Also shows why my Silver B seared so well and how anemic a new 3-burner must be in comparison.
 
Some three burner Spirit's have 30K BTU main burners, some have 32K BTU main burners. The current Spirit E330 with a sear is 32K + 7.5K sear.

The current generation Genesis E335 has 39K main burners and a 13K sear burner.

Table is updated with these along with the 98 Summit 450 that @Jon Tofte posted in another thread for comparison. The grills without a date are current models, and the first five listed are all Genesis grills.

98 10002000 Silver B2009 E3202016 E3102016 E33098 summit 450Spirit E-310Spirit E-330Spirit II 310Genesis E335
square inch424424507507507424424424424513
BTU35000360004200038000480005000032000395003000052000
BTU/sqInch82.584.982.875.094.7117.975.593.270.8101.4
 
RobPerkins said:
I am unsure how to use this information to select the best grill for my and my family's needs.
Click to expand...
We do our best to confuse the issue. Chart shows the value of the sear station. You need to decide if you need the extra grill space of the Genesis. I had a Silver B and a large 5-burner grill. The Silver B was used at least 95% of the time as it is plenty big for a family and a moderate number of guests. It heated up faster and used less gas. When I replaced it, I chose the Spirit E-330 because it was exactly the same size and had the sear station. It was less expensive and performs to my satisfaction. It is only a couple seasons old but has no rust or performance issues.
 
RobPerkins said:
I am unsure how to use this information to select the best grill for my and my family's needs.
Click to expand...
The front control Genesis E310s do not get hot enough when compared to earlier Weber Genesis grills with side controls. In the table above the 1998 Genesis 1000, the 2000 Genesis Silver B and 2009 Genesis E320 are all side control.

In the table above, The 2016 E310 and all the grills to the right have front controls, and with the exception of the Summit 450, they are all weak and under powered ( in my opinion) without a sear burner to add more heating power.

The 300 series Genesis are larger, and taller and need more BTUs and that is where the sear burner factors in.

The 1998 Summit 450 is an example where Weber put A LOT of heat into a small grill which gives it the ability to really get hot for large areas of searing.

When I first posted the table above it had five grills that I have personally cooked on a bunch, and at the end of the day, my 2016 E330 with a sear burner is the best gas grill I have cooked on and my overall favorite of those 5. I've never had the pleasure of cooking on a summit, or a wolf or any of the truly high-end gassers.

Comparing that to the current "new" offerings I would not recommend a Spirit E310 or a Spirit II 310 based on the heat output (BTU) for the size.

@JSaus is correct, the Spirit E330 does have similar BTU per square inch as the Genesis E335.

Summing all of this up I still recommend a Genesis 3 burner plus sear, either a E335 or a E325 and I would look for one on sale.

Good luck and share pics when you decide on what you will buy.
 
DanHoo said:
The 1998 Summit 450 is an example where Weber put A LOT of heat into a small grill which gives it the ability to really get hot for large areas of searing.
Click to expand...
You can definitely feel the heat when that Summit is first fired up and all the burners are open wide! I suppose these old 1st gen Summits are one exception to the "not buy unless the grill has a sear burner" rule which I pretty much agree with in the current models. I keep my eye out for a great deal on a used Genesis II open cart. Unfortunately, all the open cart used ones I have seen only have the basic 3 burners. I will keep looking!
 
I want to know where they made up that fictitious "retail" cost. I have seen those at Farm and Fleet and Fleet Farm in Delavan WI and not anywhere close to that "retail" cost. Though FWIW that price they have is a good one. But I will bet $$$ to donuts it will not have warranty
 
RobPerkins said:
I am unsure how to use this information to select the best grill for my and my family's needs.
Click to expand...
You don’t. We all know and acknowledge the superiority of older Genesis grills, and that’s all that’s being talked about now haha, but that isn’t what you wanted. You asked specifically new Spirit or Genesis. The new Genesis is not built better or heavier duty than the Spirit line. They just aren’t. All new stuff is relatively cheap compared to older stuff.

Corporations exist solely to make money. If they built grills that lasted forever and never needed replaced, like arguably the original Genesis line was, then corporate fails to exist in any fashion. The goal is build for less cost and sell for more profit. This is the new “inferior” product we have to choose from.

I still say if budget is a concern as it apparently is with your wife, Spirit is a great option. Save some coin, get a great cooker. They aren’t trash and the “they don’t get hot enough” narrative is bogus. They get hot enough to burn anything you put on them🤣
 
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