WEBER GENESIS WHEEL BROKE OFF-QUALITY REALLY HAS GONE DOWNHILL.

[SmokinAl]

Well here is a photo of my 7 year old Weber Genesis. I paid just about $1000 for it cause it has the sideburner & the sear station. I have already had to replace the burners & flavorizer bars. Now when I went to roll it out under the patio, the wheel broke off. So it is now in it's new permanent place sitting on 2x4's. I had to put screws in the door to keep it on, so I only have one working door. The last Genesis I had lasted 20 years, although I did replace the burners & flavorizer bars one time. The next grill I buy won't be a Weber! I sure hope they don't screw up the WSM or their kettles too.

It has always had a cover on it & been out of the weather. I contacted Weber & was told that replacement parts were available, but since the warranty is only for 2 years. I'm just going to stick with the 2x4's. I shimmed it up & it's perfectly level. A little ugly, but it still works.

No more Weber gas grills for me!!
Al

 

[Cabo]

Wow, I'm surprised. We have a Spirit that gets used 4-5 times a week and is basically perfect after 5 years

 

[BrianGSDTexoma]

I bought the E-410 last fall. Got it less than half price on clearance. I ended up bringing my 20 old silver B back out and using it now. The E-410 just does not get hot enough for doing steaks. It does chicken good though.

 

[PAS]

Al, would something like this help?
https://www.harborfreight.com/1000-lb-capacity-movers-dolly-38970.html?_br_psugg_q=dolly

 

[Winterrider]

It is a shame, everything starting to go on the cheap side to pocket an extra buck.

 

[SmokinAl]

Al, would something like this help?
https://www.harborfreight.com/1000-lb-capacity-movers-dolly-38970.html?_br_psugg_q=dolly

Yes this was my next idea, but so far it is very stable with just the 2x4's. Of course if I went with the furniture dolly, I could move it around the patio. It just pisses me off that Weber has gone this route, cheap crap at a high cost. OK I'm done venting now!

Al

 

[PAS]

I totally agree about the lack of quality with the Weber products the past few years!

 

[clifish]

in 2010 they were bought out by BDT Capital Partners and we all know what happens with a company being run by a bunch of venture capitalists.

 

[mike243]

So what part broke or rusted out? plastic will rot fast in the sun and heat, think they have to make it that way these days

 

[SmokinAl]

So what part broke or rusted out? plastic will rot fast in the sun and heat, think they have to make it that way these days

The plastic wheel & the insert are all intact. The part that rusted off was the frame of the unit where the wheel insert slides into. Basically just cheap metal.
Al

 

[noboundaries]

Interesting thread. Weber has always promoted Made in the USA, but they do use "globally sourced components." Looks like the wheels possibly fit that origin.

 

[6GRILLZNTN]

Remember when Weber kettle top vents used to say this:

And now they say this:

 

[SmokinAl]

So far my kettles have held up real well as has my WSM. But the gas grills just plain suck as far a quality goes. If anybody has a gas grill that will reach 600-70 0 degrees & and is built like the quality of the old Weber's. Please let me know what you have, cause I'm ready to trash this one!!
Al

 

[6GRILLZNTN]

I used to have a Spirit I bought back in 2012. It sat under a patio, with a cover. Two sets flavorizer bars, one regulator, and an ignitor. I just got fed up, and gave it away. The problem I see if that gassers from a big box store are probably ALL made with the same build quality. I've been tempted to find an old Weber gasser on craigslist, and restore it.

 

[SecondHandSmoker]

Weber really screwed the pooch when they designed the last Genesis generation
Lots of complaints about the inside of the cart rusting and wheels busting off.
Even when covered, rainwater splashes up under the cover, gets inside the cart, or collects in the frame end caps then eventually rusts everything out.
I guess us owners could run a bead of caulk to seal the gaps where the wheels enter the frame on both ends.
Still though, that wouldn't stop rainwater from entering the inside of the cart through vent louvers on the side and rear panels.
IMHO, the vertical burner layout sucks and will flame out in breezy weather.
I loved the horizontal burners on my old Silver B and the way the air draw worked on it.
I learned to smoke meat on that old Silver B and dearly miss it.

 

[noboundaries]

Researching Weber gas grills is interesting. Their gas grills are made both in USA and China. The fact that a management group is a major owner of the Weber company now, I suspect a lot of their gas stuff is made in China.

In 2004 Weber purchased a competitor named Ducane, a SC company. Ducane was bankrupt. Ducane made gas grills. Weber tried to revive the brand by marketing their product line through big box stores. It appears that Ducane brand name is now defunct, but it doesn't take much of a leap to see how easy it would be to rebrand the product and call it a Weber since Weber owns it.

 

[noboundaries]

I have experience with a management group purchasing my employer. It had nothing to do with grills or cookware. The management group was only interested in maximizing their return on investment by cutting costs and shifting production overseas. They rode the coattails of brand recognition until their reductions resulted in a point of diminishing returns, then they sold to someone else. I'm not saying that is what is going on with Weber. It was my experience and may have some crossover here.

 

[chopsaw]

My Genesis 310 is about 4 years old . When it cools down here , I'm gonna take a look underneath to see what's going on there . Maybe head off a problem .

 

[clifish]

When the VC gets a hold of a company they are usually gone or broken up in 3-5 years. They are very impatient, I have seen them buy a company and immediately give themselves a corporate dividend of more than the purchase price (borrowed from banks of course). Then they move manufacturing/jobs overseas and or break up the company in pieces and sell it off.

 

[Fueling Around]

The "Globalizing" scheme by our idiot politicians has destroyed American manufacturing in the name of cleaning the environment. We divert manufacturing from the US with decent pollution controls to import countries production with no control.
Quality suffered didn't it?

I don't do gas for grills. I save gas for my backyard 2 burner stove.