Which Weber grill

[Texas Proud]

OK... my old Char Broil finally bit the dust... it was pretty bad for the last two years, but got really bad... so bought new grates and when I finally took the old ones off the grill just started to fall apart... it was the rust that was holding it together...

I have looked at another Char Broil and a few others, but people here have said how good the Weber is and it does appear at or near the top of most every review.... but, I am at a loss as to which one I should go with...

The two that we are looking at are the Spirit 320 and Genesis 330... both seem to be good... consumer reports has the Spirit at the top of their ratings and the Genesis kinda low... but others say the Genesis is better, made in America etc. etc....


SOOO, my question do you have any good or bad experience with either model... I would like to know about the newer ones since from what I read they changed in 2011 and the quality went down.... still good, but not as good as it was....

 

[MichaelB]

Genesis. More cooking surface and one more burner IIRC. I have one and love it.

 

[braumeister]

IMHO, Weber is a cult, and most Weber owners would never even consider anything else. Nearly everyone in my neighborhood has one.

I have had them in the past, also Char-Broil, but somehow they never lasted too many years and never seemed perfect to me.

So I joined a different cult, Big Green Egg, a few years ago and I'm a happy camper now. I would urge you to at least check them out. I use mine at least a couple of times a week, 12 months a year.

 

[pb4uski]

I used to buy Char-Broil and other "regular" grills and in a few years they would be a rust bucket and I would throw them away.

Then over 10 years ago a friend talked me into buying a Weber and it is one of the best things I did. We use it regularly year-round and after more than 10 years it is still going strong and almost like new.

After 10 years the enameled steel grates were ok but not great and I replaced them with enameled cast iron grates and I like them much better. You get the heat retention of cast iron (nice grill marks) and the ease of use of enameled grates. In fact, if I was buying new I might try to see if the retailer would exchange enameled cast iron grates for the stock enameled steel grates even if I had to pay a little upcharge.

As to which one to buy... I'm not sure but we have a Genesis B. In any event you want 3 burners to make indirect grilling easier. I had a 2 burner Weber that had been a gift at our summer home and it was fine for grilling but not so great for indirect grilling.

 

[Ronstar]

We have a Weber Genesis and I love it. Ours is about 10 years old and we keep it outside year round. I need to put some new parts in it - the automatic start has corroded and doesn't work anymore. The 3 burners get the grill hot fast for searing steaks.

 

[eytonxav]

Why not be unconventional and go for a Big Green Egg.

 

[John Galt III]

Do they still make any grills with cast iron parts? I recently had to sell an old charcoal (not gas) grill that my Dad had. Big rectangular thing. Must have weighed about eighty pounds. It only had rust on a plate under the coals. Most of the rest of it was heavy black metal, iron, I guess, with no rust. It must have been 15 years old. I looked at new grills at Lowe's. They all had thin metal, waiting to be rustbuckets in 5 years.

 

[MRG]

Genesis 330 here. Had it 8 years, thing is a Beast! I cook out almost every day, 365 days a year. In MO that's no small feat. Windy where our house is too. I replaced the grates with "grill grates", they're better than the enamel ones. Only negative is it burns a lot of propane, what do you expect grilling out below freezing?

 

[Big_Hitter]

Why not be unconventional and go for a Big Green Egg.

cause they cost about as much as a lexus?

 

[braumeister]

The Large BGE has a pretty similar price to the Weber 330 (maybe a few bucks more, but negligible difference in list price).

 

[Texas Proud]

IMHO, Weber is a cult, and most Weber owners would never even consider anything else. Nearly everyone in my neighborhood has one.

I have had them in the past, also Char-Broil, but somehow they never lasted too many years and never seemed perfect to me.

So I joined a different cult, Big Green Egg, a few years ago and I'm a happy camper now. I would urge you to at least check them out. I use mine at least a couple of times a week, 12 months a year.

BIL has BGE, but I was looking to gas only....

I have heard it is great, but it also is more than I want to spend...

 

[pb4uski]

Do they still make any grills with cast iron parts? ...

With the Weber, usually just the grates that you cook on are cast iron (as an option the stock grates are enameled steel) because cast iron retains heat better than steel so it is better for grilling, just like a cast iron frying pan is better than steel.

 

[Big_Hitter]

in the true sprit of lbym, I still use my old pk grill


charcoal ftw

 

[EastWest Gal]

After going through a few cheap barbecues, both charcoal and propane, we went with a Broilmaster. They have gas and infrared options and are very sturdy. Built in or free standing. Long warranty too. I expect to get 20+ years out of it. Heavy construction. Cast iron grill. You may want to check it out. No hype, just a decent sturdy product. Many varieties and options too. We found a local dealer and couldn't be happier. It's a small independent hardware store and the owner swears by Broilmaster. Not cheap, but worth every penny.


Sent from my iPhone using Early Retirement Forum

 

[MBAustin]

I have a Genesis, almost 6 years old, sits outside all year and I use it at least once a week all year long. Replaced the flavor bars last year and the electronic start a couple of years ago (I should probably cover that side of the grill). I do like the extra grill space even with just 2 of us as I often grill veggies at the same time as the meat. So I'd probably go with the Genesis again.

 

[VaCollector]

Another Genesis enthusiast here....had mine 6-7 years (my model has the controls on the right side rather than the front)....as others have already said, I use my stainless NG grill year round! I keep it covered and have yet to replace anything other than the battery for the electric start...best grill I have ever owned!

 

[eytonxav]

cause they cost about as much as a lexus?

For a medium sized one, I believe its in same price range as Weber Genesis.

 

[rodi]

I would choose weber kettle charcoal grill. That's what we have.
DH was given it used in the early 90's. It survived 3 moves and is still going strong. We keep it outside without a cover... We used it 2 nights ago as a fire pit so we could make s'mores. (Youngest kid requested this.)

It did have the legs fail a few years back - so we have it setting on some pavers. We'll be building an outdoor kitchen sometime in the next few years and will use this ancient weber kettle charcoal grill.

 

[Big_Hitter]

For a medium sized one, I believe its in same price range as Weber Genesis.

can't you buy a standing convection range for that much?

 

[marko]

As a side note, when time to buy a new grill of any kind, consider getting one that runs off of natural gas if NG is available to you. Best decision I ever made. The larger grills use more gas and with NG you'll never run out.

So many times, neighbors have run over, platter in hand, to use my grill because they're cooking for 12 and just discovered their back-up tank is also out of propane and the store is closed.

Not sure what Weber I have but I got a top of the line at $3200. Stainless everything.

 

[2017ish]

I would choose weber kettle charcoal grill. That's what we have.
DH was given it used in the early 90's. It survived 3 moves and is still going strong. We keep it outside without a cover... We used it 2 nights ago as a fire pit so we could make s'mores. (Youngest kid requested this.)

It did have the legs fail a few years back - so we have it setting on some pavers. We'll be building an outdoor kitchen sometime in the next few years and will use this ancient weber kettle charcoal grill.

The newer model, "Gold" version, is nice in that the ash pan has been converted to an enclosed area to prevent sparks from flying as easily. (I think that wasn't available in the early 90s). I hated spending $150 for a new one, but it was time and the enclosure is nice.

 

[eytonxav]

can't you buy a standing convection range for that much?

This thread is talking about grills, not indoor ranges

 

[Big_Hitter]

This thread is talking about grills, not indoor ranges

yeah but when you can get an indoor convection range for less than a "grill", that's where I draw the line, to each his/her own I guess I'm too cheep to fork over a grand for an outside grill


I guess it would be difficult for some ppl to justify spending $300 on one golf club

 

[Janet H]

Another Genesis owner here. Mine is fairly new (under a year) and replaced one of costcos gleaming stainless models that kept having burners rust out and starters fail. So far so good. We use ours for steaks, burgers, grilled veggies, pizza and tater tots. Grilled tater tots are the bomb. Cook em in a grill basket - perfect every time.

 

[Big_Hitter]

Okay, I voted Genesis; that assumes I have spousal consent to spend that much on a grill - I'd get a NG one too