Wired.com Review Weber II LX S-340 4/10 Weak Inconsistent Uncontrollable Poor Searing


 
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NoelDavid

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https://www.wired.com/2017/04/review-weber-genesis-ii-lx/

I am a Weber fan. I was so excited when I first saw the 2017 Weber Genesis II from a distance but what I will remember is how my soul got crushed when I closed the hood of the grill and felt the body tremble like the Spirit series... China. Now to hear that the new Weber GS4 burner is so weak that it compromises the ability to consistently cook indirectly on a $1,500 3-burner grill really breaks my heart. What will Weber come up with the 2017 Weber China Summit line?

Will I get more consistent temperatures from the 2016 Weber Genesis E-310 (E-330) or from the 2016 Weber Summit S-420 (on Clearance on Home Depot at $900, currently 2 in my store).

Hope that someone makes sense out of this review so that I can continue to be a fan of Weber in the future. Here is the important part of the review...




Using only the left burner, I tried coaxing the unlit right two-thirds up to a consistent 225 degrees, after letting the grill preheat for 15 minutes. I had centered a temperature probe on the indirect side, allowing me to keep the lid down for consistency in testing.

Try as I might, I couldnÂ’t get the temperature to stabilize. Full-blast was too much; if I backed off, the temperature quickly dipped. I spent 25 minutes fussing with the burner knob every few minutes, at which point I gave up, feeling like I was driving a boat that just didnÂ’t have the power to sail upwind.

Next, I lit the center burner for backup. I found a sweet spot after a few minutes with half power on the left burner and a trickle in the center, which seemed acceptable considering the wind. I nudged up the heat, trying to get up to a steady 325 degrees on the indirect side, but it needed constant adjustment to get anywhere close to consistent temperature. With two of three burners going on a windy (but not that windy) day, this is a big flop.

A few days later, when it was warmer and less breezy, I tried again. It took took 20 minutes post preheat, but I finally hit my 225 degree benchmark using just the left burner. More than that, though, was too much to ask of just one burner. Two burners could reach higher temps quickly, leaving just a third of the grill available for indirect grilling. On the grill grate of the three-burner model I tested, which is just over 500 square inches, thatÂ’s probably enough space to cook for a family of four, but not much more than that.

A Searing Disappointment
The other gas-grilling weak spot I hoped this Weber could overcome is obtaining a good, hard sear. I picked up a ribeye and let the grill preheat for 15 minutes, which left the heat deflectors glowing orange. I patted the steak dry, salted and peppered it, then set it on the grill and let it rip for five minutes on a dial setting Weber calls High+, the LX lineÂ’s version of going to 11. It came out pleasingly caramelized yet not overdone in the center. Decent for a gas grill, but still nothing exceptional.

Grill companies are starting to get the hang of better searing capabilities, even adding little “sear burners” for the task. Weber’s leaning in that general direction with High+, but the burners are almost six inches from the top of the grill grate, which is simply too far away to get a hard sear. I could get a better, more even sear in my cast-iron pan sitting on the grill’s side burner.

I’d discover in later tests that while the conduction heat–—where the food is in direct contact with the grill grate—–tended to be quite good, it wasn’t enough to make it into the spaces between the grates for effective browning. Only by hopscotching the food around the grill grate could I come up with something close to an even sear. This grill’s burners go to 11, but that’s still not high enough.
 
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I think it boils down to the fact that he thinks the price tag is too high, and I agree. Other than that nothing in the article convinces me he knows what he's doing.
 
I haven't used the Weber Genesis II, so I can't comment on whether it gives a great sear or if it has easily regulated temperatures. I am certainly hoping it does those 2 things.

I've looked at the Summit and the old Genesis line. The older Genesis line doesn't seem to have availability in my area. However I might consider it if I were looking for a 3 burner, but mainly b/c I would hope it would be cheaper. I have looked at build quality and feel that the current Genesis seems to be as well put together as the past generations. I think its better designed than past generations from a burner system and heat deflector perspective. It seems to be designed for an even heat throughout. Additonally the hood/box design is better, not allowing air to flow through the back with the hood open.

The Summit, honestly after looking at it I felt that unless you go with the big daddy S6X0, I'd be making compromises. The S420 is the size of a 3 burner Genesis, the S470, smaller grilling area still. The construction is a step up in some areas. Cabinet feels more substantial, cooking grates heavier. The grill just seems fussier with bits of chrome etc, side burner set up isn't as nice. It also has a design that if you're not keeping it covered, it funnels water to the drip pan. I can't fault anyone for their choice in the Summit, It is a nice grill, but I concluded its not worth it for me as I'm not budgeting the $2500 for the 670 which really is the Summit I'd want as it would give me the toys without compromising the space.

Back to the article, the guy writing it may be great at reviewing grills, or maybe not. I do think maintaining a consistent very low grill temperature on a windy day is difficult. Additionally getting the perfect sear on a gas grill is difficult as well without a dedicated IR sear station. I'd probably give the tests more credence if he showed us the same test on 5 different similarly priced grills. Additionally, he cites $1400, its really $1300 for whatever thats worth, Compared to $950 MAP on the S330 from last year.

I'd argue that there are a few improvements over last year, lighted knobs, automatic ignition worth a little money. Otherwise yes, its really a price increase. From my understanding Weber killed the S420 and S620 in favor of the LX Genesis line and currently the 470 and 670 are staying on to fit the niche of having the higher end construction with built in features. The LX seems a bit nicer regardless compared to the current Genesis II.

To the OP, if I were you, I'd scoop up the S420, it seems to fit your bill and at that price, its too cheap to pass up.
 
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I bought my first Weber last fall, the e-330 while it was discounted in preparation for the new models. I thought about sticking probes on it and doing the bread test but then again I didn't want to fret or feel disappointed if its results were different than what I would have expected. So I just put food on it and use probes only to check temps of the meat. When I grill on it I stay with my food and move pieces around as needed. In all honesty I am of the mindset that it can be beneficial to have varying temps throughout the cooking area but then again I am not a master. I use it to make dinner and our family has yet to dislike any meal that it cooked.
 
I think it's kind of silly to compare the sear you'd get with cast iron to what you'd get on a gas grill. It's also easier to get a better sear with charcoal. These grill designs have tradeoffs. If you put the burners closer to the grates you have uncontrollably flare ups. With my Genesis 1000 with heavy wind I had a hard time maintaining steady lower temps. The weber kettle itself doesn't have the charcoal grate all that close to the cooking grate. That's a design consideration. I think the High+ setting is the Genesis 2 version of the E-330's sear burner setup.
 
Gas grills require huge amounts of air for proper combustion. During windy conditions the air flow will be sporadic due to the huge openings needed for the combustion and the varying airflow into the grill with the wind. Both my E320 and genesis 1000 don't hold very steady during windy conditions. I just try to get an average temperature as to where I want to be at, seems to work fairly well.
 
I have the Genesis II E-310. While it doesn't go to 11 like the LX models do, I find it holds temp well. I've only had it for almost a month, but I've already done two pork shoulders on it. Both were just shy of 7lbs. On both days, the weather was 40-60 degrees and much more breezy than I would like. About like the day that the reviewer described. Starting the cooks at 6am, it was around 40 degrees outside and warmed up to about 55-60 by mid day. I did have to use 2 burners and I targeted about 250-275 degrees. I originally targeted 225 but it just wasn't going to hold there without being too fiddly. One burner is not enough with the smoker box, water tray and 7lbs of cold meat acting as a heat sink. 2 burners was too much unless I ran the burner under the smoke box at low, which won't be hot enough produce smoke. The most finicky time is the first 3.5-4 hours when you want smoke and have to run the burner under the box at full or near full. After that the far burner can be just below medium and the middle burner can be low, and it'll hold 255-268 without really doing anything unless the wind gusts up for a while. It responds really well to slight adjustments of the burner knobs. If it's dropping a little, just bump a knob a little and give it a few minutes. There was plenty of room for a 7lb pork shoulder to stay indirect even with two burners on. A shoulder that size certainly feeds more than 4 people if you also serve side dishes. And during a wrapped 2 hour rest, you can fire up the whole grill and do a bunch of sides. That's plenty of food for 6-8 people with leftovers. I'm not sure where the author is getting his "can only feed 4 people" stuff from. I've also done plenty of chicken drums indirect. Using two burners you don't have a ton of space for drums but you can hold 300-350 easily while making smoke in a smoke box. I don't run a water tray for chicken drums. Far burner on high and middle burner on low does it fine. I also cooked a full grate of drums, about 40 of them, with all three burners on low. Held 300-350 on a cool 55 degree day. I just occasionally flipped them. The heat was really even so I hardly had to move them around. All of this food came out fantastic.

It finally warmed up to 75 degrees yesterday with hardly any wind. I was able to hold 250 on one burner for a reverse sear steak without having to fiddle with it. No water tray. That one burner was only at medium. I could have gotten close to 225 if I had wanted to.

There's probably some foods that need 225 or 325 exactly more than what I've been cooking. For what I've been doing, there's no magic in those two temps that I can't just find a temp kinda near it that the grill wants to be stable at. The pulled pork was fantastic both times even though it cooked at about 260. The chicken was great even though it was more often at 340 than 325. I'm kinda calling bs on the reviewer at wired. Meat in the grill will act as a heat sink and stabilize. Same with water trays. Smoke boxes or foil packs will also change what your settings are depending on where you place them. Also, what's that bs about the heat deflectors "glowing orange" after 15 minutes on high. Yeah, okay. He saw reflections of some orange flame and didn't know enough to know that was a reflection on the shiny deflectors. They were not glowing orange hot. Perhaps the high+ setting gets the burner flames big enough that the tips of the flames just cool enough to be orange and that's the reflection he saw. I gotta question the reviewers ability to process visual information and come to rational conclusions. Other than that, yeah. The grill isn't a searing king. I didn't expect a gasser without an IR station to be one. Is the price maybe a bit high on the LX? Probably. I saw a 2 burner LX for $1200 at my local ACE. It was beautiful, but $1200? I don't know. It doesn't sound like a $1400 3 burner LX is really $600 better than my e-310. Could get a WSM and an ATC for that price difference. That said, the LX must be a better grill than what he makes it out to be if you actually use it right.
 
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