Weber Grills - New 2017 hotness or not?

[nickwm21]

Looks like Weber changed up their lineup for 2017.

USA manufactured Genesis series is no longer, they rebadged the higher end 4 burner Genesis as Summit and replaced the rest with a Chinese made Genesis II, with a lower lid and an open bottom. The previous generation 3 burner Genesis, the classic best bang for your buck, last a lifetime grill, is no longer....



They also are trying to compete with the BGE with a $1500 Summit Charcoal Grill. Double wall bowl and lid is supposed to have enough insulation to compete. They basically built a big thermos to put charcoal and brisket in. Could work really well, or not.



What does the collective think?

[Cocximus]

Overpriced for my raw vegan diet.

[::: :::]

dont know anything about them, but that insulated kettle is catching my eye, altho prolly not at $1500

[Gunder]

We have one of the USA 3 burners. Best grill we have ever owned, and it has so far lasted 6 PNW winters out in the rain. Only issue was the ignighter going out. Called up Weber to order a new part and the refused to take my CC number. Said it was all under warranty. No questions asked.

I'd buy another for sure if it was USA made. Chinese, then probably not.

[hutash]

Love my American made Genesis. Just what and the mango man will bring all manufacturing back and make America great again, or not.

$1,500 seems too steep. If I went back to charcoal I would just get a cheap Weber and replace it as needed.

[DJSapp]

That sucks, the weber genesis 3 burner was a lifetime grill. I should probably go stock up on spare parts and clean the old girl out this weekend.

[TahoeJ]

That sucks... I'm on year 11 of my genesis 3 and need to replace a few things due to heavy use over the years. Still going strong though. ^^ Good call on going out to stock up on parts.

[John_B]

I just got a free Genesis a couple months ago. Any recommendations on what spare parts would be nice to have extras of? The "Flavorizer" bars look to be in good shape still.

[TahoeJ]

Some of bars are what a I need to replace... but like I said, I've used this thing a ton and it's impressive they lasted this long.

[klauss]

i bought some stainless parts of the seller rcplanebuyer on ebay. spendy but bomber

[::: :::]

as of this summer, i could still get replacement parts at home depot for my genesis

[Cruiser]

Been stalking cl for over a year for a used summit series Weber in my hood. Gonna get even harder to find now I guess.

[TahoeJ]

Just ordered replacement flavor bars on amazon for like $42 - not bad.

[hutash]

Pizo switches tend to go out as well. Last I checked they were easy to find.

[Mulletizer]

I'm in the barbecue business, but much more charcoal-centric, so I don't have a view on the gas grills. I had a chance to see a Weber Summit Charcoal a while ago. I see it as a competitor to a Egg, as opposed to a kettle.

In the positives column:

Upside of being made of steel is that is shouldn't suffer from failed ceramics in the way the traditional kamadoes often do. The warranty on ceramics tends to be pretty ace, so this might be moot.

It was a few months ago so I don't remember the details exactly, but there were a couple of differences in the way the new Weber egg can be set up, compared to a regular BGE or Kamado Joe. The bottom grate (where you put the fuel) can be placed at different heights which I seem to remember would offer a bit more flexibility for grilling.

And the shape of the base (wider than a traditional kamado) made it look like it would be possible (or easier than on a BGE) to cook indirect without using a heat deflector (ie mound the coals on the edge of the grill). I guess this would work better for 2-zone cooking than a traditional Kamado with a 1/2 moon heat deflector.

In the negative:

Way over-priced, IMO.

The gas ignition system - totally pointless. Anyone who uses a kamado style barbecue knows how easy it is to light; there's no need for a gas ignition system, it won't especially save time and it adds complexity and cost for an unnecessary feature. I guess they think it will look like good differentiation in the showroom.

They took the ash catcher from the Weber Master Touch range and used the same part on the Summit Charcoal - complete with the cups that accept the legs on their kettles (you can see them in the picture above). Bastardising a part from a different model looks pretty cheap.

Trolley also didn't feel super solid - I'd want better on a $1,500 barbecue.

[mattig]

Is Vermont castings sill making em like they used to? A medallion came with my house in 2005. Ridden hard and put away wet and it still functions.

1500 seems like too much for the egg knock off.

Next time I spend that much on something that burns solid fuel, it will be on a yoder. Just a few bucks more for 765lbs of steel... http://www.yodersmokers.com/durango20.html

[undertow2]

There is a reason why pretty much all smokers/grills are compared to an Egg... Did a 9 lb pork butt in 18° weather and the temp never moved amd never had to adjust for the entire cook...


I love my Weber, but no way would I pay more for a metal smoker... My Egg is 11 yrs young and have only had to replace the gasket once...

[Core Shot]

Screw Weber gas grills. Mine needed parts, due to crappy design, and it would have been $350 to get it going again.

MHP is the best imho.
Walked into the specialty grill shop, was willing to buy something more expensive, but they guy talks me out of it, says every employee uses MHP, and they can buy anything at cost.

Old school. Invented the gas grill. Lifetime warranty, parts available since they do not change designs. Grills flip over for flat cooking veggies, pizza, whatever.
Hot as hell, sears nice.

Briquettes are better than flavorizing bars. Less crud to cleanup too.

http://www.mhpgrills.com/grills/wnk/

Still not cheap, but spread out over 20 years it aint bad.
Never buying a weber again

[::: :::]

Screw Weber gas grills. Mine needed parts, due to crappy design, and it would have been $350 to get it going again.

Did you ever call them?

I got a new regulator overnighted to me free when I called them on a Sunday night at 8p pacific

I was more than impressed with that level of service

[m17bd9]

Too much cost of the product.

[Peruvian]

My 2002 Weber Genesis Silver runs great and anytime I've had an issue, I call Weber and they take care of it for free or a very reasonable price. I've got cast iron grates and they kick ass.

My only request would be to install a thermometer that can be calibrated.

[mcski]

This is gonna hurt Weber sales bad imo. Looks cheap.

Side note, Anyone have any experience w Weber and rust issues?

Time to stockpile 3 burners and kingpins

[Sandbox]

I also love my Weber.... have had it for 3 years and its just as good as the day i bought it. Much better then the cheapo grills i've had in the past.

[54-46]

My 2002 Weber Genesis Silver runs great and anytime I've had an issue, I call Weber and they take care of it for free or a very reasonable price. I've got cast iron grates and they kick ass.

Same here. Looked at the new ones and decided to just refurb my current grill with new flavorizer bars, etc.

[nickwm21]

It looks like Weber redesigned the line again…. New hotness looks like they attempted to fix the issues with the Genesis2. The lid is now tall enough to roto bigger chunks of flesh. The side tables are sturdier and massive… like big enough to take flight…. Basic Genesis is $1000 now…. Wow.

Anyone have one?


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