Why are Weber grills so much better than other ones?

[purbeast0]

I've only ever owned one grille. It was a $500ish Lowes brand one that I got for $88 due to a slick deal years back. I've used it extensively over the past 5+ years and it's completely bit the dust. I went to clean it and the burners are like split open, the bottom of the inside part has corroded away, so I can't just replace parts. So I'm in the market for a new grill.

The one I had was a 5 burner one and I measured the area and it's 576 sq inches. I assumed that I would need an equivalent burner number to get the same area and saw the Weber grills were over the $1k price range for that size.

But then I started reading specs and see that the 4 burner Weber Genesis is way larger than what I own now, and the 3 burner Spirit one is like 425 sq inches. The 3 burner Genesis is 513 sq inches.

The 4 burner Genesis is $899.
The 3 burner Genesis is $699.
The 3 burner Spirit is $499.

Then I see these other grills that are 5 burner and start at $199 up to like $299 and they have great reviews generally speaking.

So my question is - what is it that is so much better about Weber than the other ones? Everyone says to pony up and just get a Weber but I really don't understand why it's better. I know they have a 10 year warranty on all parts, but is that what makes them so much better? If you do need replacement parts, is it a piece of cake to actually get them? Or is it a process?

I also realize that most of the time I cook for my wife and I so I don't really NEED a huge ass grill. Usually when I would cook I didn't even turn on all the burners so I wasn't using all of them. But when I do have a party or something, it's nice to have that space for sure. So I'm also debating what size I wanted to get at this point too.

I also am only really cooking chicken or pork on the grille, with the occasional burgers, hot dogs, and sausages. I rarely cook steak or fish on there or anything fancy at all.

 

[GoodRevrnd]

Because they don't fall apart like that. I think my Weber Genesis is 10-11 years old. I don't take care of it at all and it's never been covered. It has one small rust spot on the side shelf. It heats very unevenly, but I'm on the original burners and probably only ever cleaned them once or twice. My particular Weber is also a really stupid design for the burners that goes right to left instead of front to back. Makes even heating and zone control a lot more difficult than every grill they've made since then. I've replaced the grates once or twice, and I may have replaced the heat deflector bars once (or I just cleaned them, can't remember). Parts are easy to get.

All that said, it's hard to argue with how cheap some of lesser grills can be had for on sale. But yeah, if you had paid $500 for something that fell apart in 5 years when you could have had something that lasted 15 for $700-800 you would have been pretty pissed.

 

[Moonbeam]

I barbecued some tri-tip yesterday with my weed burning torch on top of my range in a bakers pan after slicing it jerky thin.

 

[snoopy7548]

They really do last forever, and you can always find parts for them. You can either buy the cheap $300 Lowe's or Home Depot (or Wal-Mart) special and have to replace it every five years, and deal with crappy burners, or drop $600-900 on a nice Weber and never have to buy another grill for 20+ years.

I bought the Genesis S-330 about five years ago and I don't regret it one bit. I only cook for myself so I never use the whole thing at once, but I do tend to fill it up occasionally like when I'm grilling chicken fajitas. It has been rock solid and can get to 725F with no problems. Right before winter I give it a good cleaning and it always fires right up in the spring. There isn't a spot of rust on it. The best part is it was $950 MSRP, but the Lowe's clerk scanned my 10% coupon twice so I got it for $760. 😀

 

[dank69]

If you have an agway near you or other similar farm/hardware store you can probably find the Genesis variant that the big box stores don't carry. It has the stainless steel innards without the expensive and hard to clean stainless steel exterior.

 

[purbeast0]

I was looking for the Lowes coupon and it actually looks like they don't do that anymore. Additionally, I saw google image search results for it and saw that it says Weber is excluded, so you musta gotten lucky!

 

[blackangst1]

Real men use charcoal.

But if you must use gas, what others have said. They last forever and are versatile in cooking.

Here's a good article on why theyre better: http://outdoorgardenliving.net/are-weber-grills-worth-money-their-secret-answer/

 

[purbeast0]

I actually saw a post on Reddit that people say Walmart has the Genesis II 310 for $597 and I found a Walmart like 30 minutes from me that does indeed have that model for that price.

So now it's between that and the Spirit II 310 in red, which is $500. I have to decide if the extra $100 + time is worth it for a slightly bigger cooking area and possibly a little better quality in parts. The red color has really grown on me too which the Genesis doesn't come in.

 

[KK]

I actually saw a post on Reddit that people say Walmart has the Genesis II 310 for $597 and I found a Walmart like 30 minutes from me that does indeed have that model for that price.

So now it's between that and the Spirit II 310 in red, which is $500. I have to decide if the extra $100 + time is worth it for a slightly bigger cooking area and possibly a little better quality in parts. The red color has really grown on me too which the Genesis doesn't come in.

I got lucky last fall and was able to pick up the genesis 310 for half of, 350 at Wal-Mart. I ordered it online as they had it in stock, so i went out there the next day to pick it up. When i got there they only had two display ones already put together. I was fine with taking one of them but i was in my prius so i couldnt take one home then. They went ahead and pulled a box one in from another store so a few days later i picked it up. My previous weber lasted 16 years. Hopefully this one can last almost as long.

 

[purbeast0]

Ended up getting a Weber Genesis II 310 at Home Depot after a PM to Walmart. They had it in stock at a Walmart like 40 miles away for $597. After I told them I wanted to PM they tried to locate the grill and then found them eventually after like 30+ minutes. When she went to ring me up she just asked me what the price was and I told her. She didn't bother calling or even looking at the price again. She then said she'll give it to me for $550 since I waited so long and was patient.

So I can't really complain. I was very close to getting the Spirit II for $500 last night but I'm glad I waited and saw this deal, because I got a slightly upgraded model for $50 more. The Genesis feels significantly "beefier" than the Spirit does. I was comparing them side by side at HD. Lifting the top off on the Spirit it feels a lot lighter.

 

[snoopy7548]

You're gonna love the Genesis. I've seen the Spirit models in-store and they just seem way too small to me. Always better to have a bigger grill than a smaller one, even if just for those rare occasions you fill it up. Those stock photos showing them full of food are so misleading of the real size.

 

[purbeast0]

You're gonna love the Genesis. I've seen the Spirit models in-store and they just seem way too small to me. Always better to have a bigger grill than a smaller one, even if just for those rare occasions you fill it up. Those stock photos showing them full of food are so misleading of the real size.

Well I was looking at the 3 burner Spirit and Genesis. While the Spirit was noticeably smaller it wasn't like the 2 burner one. But I agree, I'll like the size more for sure. I mainly just grill for myself and my wife but I do host a lot of get togethers too for sporting events since I have the 10 foot screen and when I do that we usually are on the grill.

 

[bfun_x1]

I used to buy a new grill every few years but then I got a Weber and it's been doing fine for the last 8 years. Unfortunately Weber grills are no longer made in America. The Spirit series has been made in China for about 10 years now. I assumed that was why it was cheaper. The Genesis line got moved to China in 2016. I'm not sure if they are still worth the money now.

 

[Homerboy]

Ditched my nice Weber gas grill years ago. I stick to charcoal only now... also a Weber. As good as the day I got it. They are absolutely built to last.

 

[PricklyPete]

Ditched my nice Weber gas grill years ago. I stick to charcoal only now... also a Weber. As good as the day I got it. They are absolutely built to last.

Same here. These things last forever and my enjoyment of grilling is closely tied to the process/experience that charcoal involves.

 

[Homerboy]

Same here. These things last forever and my enjoyment of grilling is closely tied to the process/experience that charcoal involves.

The flavor man... the FLAVOR. NOTHING beats it. Get a chimney for the briquettes, some old newspaper, 15 mins and you're good to go. (and those of you using lighter fluid are just killing your food)
I used to use gas for convenience as I grill probably 2-3 days per week year round (yes, including in WI winters) but realized that it just wasn't the same.

 

[blackangst1]

The flavor man... the FLAVOR. NOTHING beats it. Get a chimney for the briquettes, some old newspaper, 15 mins and you're good to go. (and those of you using lighter fluid are just killing your food)
I used to use gas for convenience as I grill probably 2-3 days per week year round (yes, including in WI winters) but realized that it just wasn't the same.

Or get the same I got with gas starter 😉 https://www.lowes.com/pd/Weber-Perf...MI47Ti6ePl2wIVhmx-Ch2dfgbHEAQYAyABEgJ9O_D_BwE

 

[purbeast0]

I used my grill for the first time on Sunday since my cover finally arrived and used it last night. Food turned out great.

The one thing I noticed big time on this grill over my previous is that there are like NO flareups. Also temperature control is way easier with this and it gets significantly hotter than my old one did, so the sear marks are great.

Sunday I cooked chicken thighs and legs and cooked it with primarily indirect heat with the top down. It was simple to keep the temperature right around where I wanted it at 425 and there were no flareups (I kept checking cause I used to have to do this on my old one).

Then last night I cooked like 3/4" pork chops with bone. I let it get up to like 600 degrees then popped the top open, kept it on high and cooked one side for 4 minutes, flipped it, and cooked on the other side for 4 minutes and let it rest. It turned out super tender and tasty with huge sear marks on it, and again, no flareups.

So far so good!

 

[snoopy7548]

Nice! Get that sucker up to the max it will go and sear some steaks!

I get small flare-ups on mine, but only when I'm cooking burgers (80/20) and I coat them in olive oil. They're pretty controllable, though. Gives the burgers a pretty nice sear when they're flipped!