Propane grill recommendations

[jackattack]

I have a 13 yr old Genesis silver. I lost it in the divorce, but when I saw it on her curb I stole it back. Replaced the bottom heat disperser thingy’s and It gets up to 550. Need some new grates though. Attachment 238547


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That looks a lot like mine. I bought it for $50 on CL in 2010 and I'll never let it go.

Glad to hear you got her back!

[Garth Bimble]

Anybody tried the Blackstone Griddles yet? Since most of my grilling involves burgers, fish and chicken I'm wondering if one of these might be good.

[Peruvian]

I have a 13 yr old Genesis silver. I lost it in the divorce, but when I saw it on her curb I stole it back. Replaced the bottom heat disperser thingy’s and It gets up to 550. Need some new grates though. Attachment 238547


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Mine is almost 20 years old. Cast iron grated. The auto ignition still works and I use it year round in a mountain town.

I will never, ever, consider another brand.

[MiddleOfNight]

I will never, ever, consider another brand.

+1 for weber.
+1 spirit 310

Mine is well outside warranty. Even so, Weber customer service was awesome on a recent troubleshooting mission. Sent me part after part (for free) until it was brand-new aside from the shell. Works awesome now (manifold was the issue).

I will never need to consider another brand. Weber will take care of me.

[lanwill]

I use Weber 46110001 Spirit E-210 gas grill. Perfect grill for backyard family gatherings and camping. Chose the gas one, because I hate cleaning up the mess after grilling on a charcoal grill. If I want to smoke my meat I just use a smoker box. Less headache and quite effective. The meat comes out very tender, smokey with a nice crust outside. For me Weber brand is number one among grills. Easy to maintain and worth the money. Here is a proper review on my grill https://pickadvisor.org/best-grills-...tment-balcony/, if someone is looking for one.

[Smokee1515]

I've had a Genesis Silver for at least 10 years. Last spring I thought it was done, but I got a set of Grill Grates and it's a brand new rig. The Grill grates are able to get the surface temp. much higher than the OEM Weber grates. Hi sear/char. Good at low temps(just grilling, not smoking). The Grill Grates also do away for any type of basket for grilling vegetables etc.

[DJSapp]

I will never need to consider another brand. Weber will take care of me.

Echoing the chorus here, +3 for weber

+1: 9.8 years ago I bought a Genesis S-330 floor model. The backside of the lower shell broke almost immediately meaning the lid would now flip 180*. Probably happened since it was a floor model and was beat on. Weber sent me a new lower shell for free after a couple emails and a note that essentially read 'This was clearly abuse outside of warranty coverage. We got you, but don't ask for anything remotely questionable again.'. That was enough to make me a customer for life. Any other brand would have just said 'Abused floor model? Warranty for physical damage? Get fucked.'

+2 and +3: Fast forward to April 2020. I'm doing my normal annual deep cleaning of the grill for spring. I see the crossover burner has rusted out, the igniter can't be saved because of the dog, flavorizer bars have a couple rust holes and there's a crack in the inner hood liner. I go onto weber.com, lookup my grill info, and order up a new igniter and gas tube set figuring about 10 years is a good run. After checkout, the webpage drops me on my account with the warranty info. Curiosity made me click the link and sure as shit, the stainless burner tubes and lid are both still under the 10 year warranty. I go get some pictures of the rust damage and figure, what the hell, I'll send it in and see what happens. Maybe they'll give me $10.

Rusted through the lid liner right at the bend in the sheet metal. Totally unusable


Ok, this was a real issue though, better order new tubes


Weber's response: please enjoy your new lid that is already on its way and we refunded your burner tube purchase in full


Customer for life.

[John_B]

Holy shit. At this rate you may never have to be a customer again. Weve got a Genesis that was a gift from our neighbor who didnt want to take it when he moved. The thing kicks ass!

[riser4]

One minor gripe about the spirit ( NOT a spirit 2) 3 burner is the lid design. If you load the grill to the front edge, the lid pinches your food. The could have shaped it a little differently. However, I still like it.

[slcdawg]

Time for a new grill. Are Weber's still considered the bomb? Are the sear burners worthwhile or just a gimmick?

For my last grill, I got a weber knockoff from Lowes. It lasted 15 years but I was never pleased with it and regretted not getting a weber back then. Trying to resist my frugal nature to go cheap as we use it year round.

[slcdawg]

Time for a new grill. Are Weber's still considered the bomb? Are the sear burners worthwhile or just a gimmick?

For my last grill, I got a weber knockoff from Lowes. It lasted 15 years but I was never pleased with it and regretted not getting a weber back then. Trying to resist my frugal nature to go cheap as we use it year round.

[::: :::]

Time for a new grill. Are Weber's still considered the bomb? Are the sear burners worthwhile or just a gimmick?

For my last grill, I got a weber knockoff from Lowes. It lasted 15 years but I was never pleased with it and regretted not getting a weber back then. Trying to resist my frugal nature to go cheap as we use it year round.

you are at least looking at the right time of year, esp if you can wait til after xmas
I got a 6 burner genesis as an end of year closeout at HD a few yrs ago...was worth $3-400 of savings if i remember correctly

[The Tortoise]

Do a quick scan of your local classifieds. You can often find Weber's that are a few years old but perfectly functional.

Just make sure they are the Genesis line and not the Spirit line.

[east or bust]

x2 on Weber Genesis, have a 3 burner I picked up with money saved during a work relocation. Couldn’t be happier


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[riser4]

If new or gently used, the Spirit line but NOT the Spirit II line is ok. Genesis is of course better. I have a 3 burner Spirit that I have beat the crap out of for 4 years year round. I should be the torture test case. It's doing well. The flavor bars need replacing though. I had to scour the land though to avoid the Spirit II. I wish I had the reversible grates from the Genesis.

[MontuckyFried]

Are the sear burners worthwhile or just a gimmick?

Absolutely not a gimmick and now downright mandatory for us. We sear our steaks, chicken, etc. on it for a bit on each side, move to another burner and turn the sear burner off. MEAT PERFECTION!!!

For my last grill, I got a weber knockoff from Lowes. It lasted 15 years but I was never pleased with it and regretted not getting a weber back then. Trying to resist my frugal nature to go cheap as we use it year round.

Yeah. Even though many brands have lots of fancy looks and features for like half the price, where you can tell the biggest difference is in the thickness of the lid and shell compared to the cheaper brands. Essentially, it can hold heat so well, which makes for more even temps too, that we basically use it like an oven. We have a burner on one side, put chicken or veggies in a big roasting bowl on the other with that burner off and it's phenomenal how well it works.

Our Genesis is getting close to a decade old and I can't believe how great it still looks and performs. Worth every penny of the premium. Anybody know if they brought production back to the states? I had heard that they outsourced it to China there for a while (maybe even my model?), but then brought it back to the US for their better models, or at least North America, so maybe Mexico? I dunno. Maybe someone here knows.

[Falcon3]

A couple years ago I spent way too much time on the Weber grill forum. Imagine how stoked we are on TGR about skiing and skis and then imagine a bunch of middle aged guys talking about grills with that level of stoke. I learned a lot.

Webers are still the bomb, and likely the best propane grill you’ll get under $1000. There are some super high end grills that are probably better but wow.

That said, many of the newer Weber grills aren’t made quite as well as they used to be.

My suggestion: You can usually pick up a Weber Genesis from the 90s or 2000s on Craigslist for free or maybe $40. These have heavy cast aluminum bodies to hold heat, great heat dispersion, and enameled cast iron hoods that clean up and look great even after decades of abuse. Even if the plates are rusted out, don’t worry about it. You will upgrade them anyway. The only thing to be worried about is if there’s significant rust on the square steel frame. If there is, it’s easier to move Onto the next one, I see dozens if these grills on Craigslist every year.

There’s a guy on eBay that goes by RCplanebuyer. His stuff is the shit. You can also contact him through the Weber forum tvwbb.com. It’s all full stainless 304 and super thick- your kids will use these bars 50 years from now and they’ll still cook amazingly. Here’s his seller profile: https://www.ebay.com/str/rcplanebuyer

Buy the solid stainless cooking grates for it, these will cook better than anything out there. You can also buy stainless head dispersion plates (called flavorizer bars) and possibly new burners, although those are stainless and will clean up with some barkeepers Friend and steel wool.

You will simply not find a better cooking grill for under $1000 than one with these upgrades and you’ll have the satisfaction of having refurbed it yourself, all for around or under $300.

[nickwm21]

+7 for Weber genesis
- Get the rotisserie setup. Roto chickens, small Turks, lamb legs, pork roasts, prime rib etc.
- it’s a $200 add for the side burner. A cheap butane burner from walmart is $20
- If you have dogs or raccoons, get one with the cabinet doors (not open bottom). To avoid the grease trap buffet…



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[nickwm21]

Our Genesis is getting close to a decade old and I can't believe how great it still looks and performs. Worth every penny of the premium. Anybody know if they brought production back to the states? I had heard that they outsourced it to China there for a while (maybe even my model?), but then brought it back to the US for their better models, or at least North America, so maybe Mexico? I dunno. Maybe someone here knows.

Genesis II (and everything cheaper/smaller) is still Chinese made. The models above the genesis are domestic.


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[slcdawg]

+7 for Weber genesis
- it’s a $200 add for the side burner. A cheap butane burner from walmart is $20

Dumb question: What do you use your side burner for? In 15 years I've never used mine.

[El Chupacabra]

Agreed on the sear burner being worthwhile. I never use the side burner, but I had to step up to a level of Genesis grill that came with it in order to get the sear burner.

[slcdawg]

Agreed on the sear burner being worthwhile. I never use the side burner, but I had to step up to a level of Genesis grill that came with it in order to get the sear burner.

I was seeing the same thing and got an ad for Ace Hardware. Weber makes a model for Ace that comes with the sear station but not the side burner. I think its pretty comparable to the S-335 but $200 cheaper.

[The Tortoise]

My suggestion: You can usually pick up a Weber Genesis from the 90s or 2000s on Craigslist for free or maybe $40. These have heavy cast aluminum bodies to hold heat, great heat dispersion, and enameled cast iron hoods that clean up and look great even after decades of abuse. Even if the plates are rusted out, don’t worry about it. You will upgrade them anyway. The only thing to be worried about is if there’s significant rust on the square steel frame. If there is, it’s easier to move Onto the next one, I see dozens if these grills on Craigslist every year.

Buy the solid stainless cooking grates for it, these will cook better than anything out there.

Both of these suggestions are on point. My Weber Gensis is coming up on 40 years old and was a hand me down from my father in-law since he was upgrading to a newer Weber.

I replaced the flavourizer bars and starter 12 years ago, and upgraded to stainless grates because I wanted to (they are definitely better). The fact that I can still buy parts for a 40 year old grill speaks volumes.

[Cruiser]

I picked up my last Weber from a guy in Craigslist who flips them as a side hustle. He picked it up cheap, cleaned it, replaced the burners and grates, and sold it to me for a third of the new cost.

Sear station is fantastic and totally worth having as is the rotisserie burner which I use in lieu of the broiler in the oven when I don't wanna smoke the house up

[skaredshtles]

Dumb question: What do you use your side burner for? In 15 years I've never used mine.

I use it in the summer for boiling pasta, cooking veg - anything to avoid using the stove inside since we pretty much don't use the A/C in the summer.

Outside of the summer - it never gets used.