weber gas grill?

[jlmacc]

Hello guys,

 I was wondering your take on weber gas grills.I am looking to buy a gasser and have been looking at webers.I have two charcoal webers now and I love them.But for the price of a weber spirit I can get a pretty nice brinkmann with larger cooking area and all stainless,rotisserie.,(even a little less than the weber).Do you think a brinkmann would last as long as a weber?And is the quality about the same?Thanks for the help guys!!Have a great weekend!

 

[ellymae]

It's a Weber so....

We have a Silver B and love it. Put it together in no time at all - the parts all come apart easily to clean. It sits on my deck year round and we've had it about 6 or 7 years. It has become a storage unit for my Eggcessories but I need to get it cleaned out and gas up the tank. I would have no qualms about buying another should I ever need it. They are a little pricy, but well worth it IMHO.

 

[jlmacc]

Thanks ellymae,

Yeah I just did some searching on the site here and see the same response from almost everyone.It's hard to beat a Weber I guess.

 

[SmokinAl]

I have 2 Weber kettles, 1 WSM 22.5, 1 Weber genesis gas grill. Wouldn't trade for any of them.

 

[pit 4 brains]

I have had a  Weber Genesis Silver C for about seven years now. It gets used 3-5 times a week, cleaned about 3 times a year and it looks darn near brand new with absolutely no defects. I wouldn't go no other way...

 

[tjohnson]

I'm in the same boat and looking for a new gas grill.  Weber makes great products, and most of them are Made In USA!

I purchased a Members Mark from SAMS about 5 years ago, and have never been happy with it.  Hot spots and constant flare ups make this grill less than fun to grill on. 

IMHO - Brinkmans are a POS! 

The burners and parts do not hold up for more than a few years.  I could care less if they claim to make some of the parts from "Stainless Steel", because there are many different grades of stainless.  The "Stainless Steel" burners in my Members Mark Grill are shot, and replacements are not available.

Check out Craigslist for a deal on a "Slightly Used" grill.

Todd

 

[porked]

I bought a Weber Summit 470 3 years ago and love it. Built in rotisserie, 4 burner, chip burner, sear burner, lights, the whole 9 yards. It was not cheap, and there are dozens of grills bigger with more accessories but this grill is a gem. 100% stainless, easy to clean, the thermometer is dead balls accurate, and it's just a pleasure to use. My last Weber gas lasted 12 years and still works, took it into work for grilling there occasionally.

 

[justpassingthru]

My vote is for Weber too, I had a Members Mark, total rust out of the burners and flavor bars in less than three years, it's been three years since I bought a Weber Genesis, looks and performs like brand new (I live in the middle of the ocean, salt air every day) and we use it minimum of 4 times a week.

Gene

 

[Bearcarver]

Webers are great.

I got the Weber "Q" this last time, but so far I'm not thrilled.

It's nice & compact, works fine, but I don't care for the grills. It's like mostly cast iron, and very little space between here & there. Hard to explain, but it's too much like a frying pan to me.

The other thing I don't like is the configuration of the burners. The big knob controls a rectangular fire, all the way around the perimeter of the grilling surface, and the little knob controls a fire that goes straight across the middle, from left to right.

It would be much better with a right burner & left burner, like most gas grills, so if you only want to make 4 burgers or one or two steaks, you only have to light one side.

You can't do much with just the perimeter burning, or just a thin straight line down the middle, so you have to light the whole thing, no matter what you're grilling. Dumb idea!

Bear

 

[whtplainssmoker]

I've got the Weber Silver C (although I rarely use the "C" part which is the side burner).  Had it for several years and had no problems.  A nice feature of the Weber is the fact that the bottom of the grill chamber is on slide rails that allow for easy cleaning.  At the begining of each season, I just give the bottom of the grill box a light scrape down into that removable area (just above the disposable drip pan).  Helps prevent flare ups.  Another nice feature is that Home Depot et al. carry a lot of the replacement parts.  I swapped out the standard grills for some porclean enamled cast iron grills which gives some nice sear marks.  As said by others, the Weber is a little expensive, but lasts. 

Also, some people think that the paint on the under side of the lid peels.  However, upon speaking with a weber rep, there is no paint on inside of the lid. Its usually just carbon build up on the underside of lid (that can look shiny like a paint chip) that can easily be removed with a wire brush every once in a while.  The thermometer also needs an occasional (as in maybe once a year) cleaning to scrub off the carbon build up.  I found that after cleaning it I got a better temperature reading.

If you are going to smoke in the Weber grill using a smoke box, I've found it hard to keep the temperature really low.  Even with one burner on low, the weber doesn't want to get below 250ish.  But I've produced some nice results with a smoke/grill hybrid method.

 

[jlmacc]

Wow,

You guys all have good things to say about Weber.I am definatly going with a Weber....just have to wait for mama to ok it..

.Hey whtplains,what is this smoke/grill hybrid method you speak of?Would like to hear more about it.Thanks again guys for taking the time to reply to this thread,have a great evening!

   Josh

 

[sqwib]

I have been a Weber customer for at least 10 years, and I'm on my 2nd grill, purchased last year.

Customer service is top notch...trust me on this.

Old Grill

The thing was so big I had to take off my sliding doors to the deck to get it on the deck.

The thing gets so hot I have to get new grill tools with longer handles or you'll burn the crap out of your hands especially using the sear station.

 

[whtplainssmoker]

Wow,

You guys all have good things to say about Weber.I am definatly going with a Weber....just have to wait for mama to ok it..

.Hey whtplains,what is this smoke/grill hybrid method you speak of?Would like to hear more about it.Thanks again guys for taking the time to reply to this thread,have a great evening!

   Josh

The hybrid smoke/grill technicque is not so much a technique, but rather just a way to add some smoke flavor using a propane grill.  Basically you take some wood chips (or small wood chunks) place them in an aluminum foil packet and poke a few holes in the top (you can also use the disposable drip trays for the webber and placing a layer of tin foil over it and poking a few holes in that).  Fire up the grill to get it hot and place the foil pack of chips right on top of the flavor bars (the v-shaped metal bars that prevent the flare ups) above one of the burners but under the actuall grill plate.  After about 5-10 minutes, you should start to smell and or see the nice white smoke.  Once you get some smoke, you turn the heat down to low and cook whatever you are cooking using indirect heat.  Webber C has three burners,  I leave the front burner on low with the wood chips on the flavor bar and turn off the back two burners. Smoke goes from front out the back and you get smoke flavor without having to spend hours with charcoal and a long smoke.  You may need to add another smoke packet as you go (I usually remove one of the grills so I have easy access underneath the grill to place a new smoke bomb).

I did a Pork shoulder that way last year.  Seasoned the shoulder with a rubm placed it in a disposable pan and put it on the grill.  Had some wood chunks (hickory) in the webber disposable tray and placed it on the front burner. Placed the shoulder off the heat but ran it at around 275 for a few hours, then finished it in the oven covered.  Turned out great and probably took a little less time than a traditional smoke.

Purists may say its not a true smoke because the temp is two high, but the results are still very good and it is a little easier to regulate temp when you have burner controls, but as I noted above, its a little hard to get the webber really low (like 210 degrees) because the burners just run too hot.

Also if you note on SQWIB's post above, on the right side of the high end Webber grills there is a smoke box.  You put wood chips in there and there is a dedicated burner to heat the chips.  My method is for those who have the lower end Webber grills and it does require you to get under the grill plate and above the flavor bars to place the smoke packet.
 

 

[Fife]

Good Luck with the Weber