New grill decision

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kevm14
Posts: 15200
Joined: Wed Oct 23, 2013 10:28 pm

New grill decision

Post by kevm14 »

When we bought our NK house in 07 it came with an old early 90s Char-Broil. I remember fiddling with the igniter (it just needed to be grounded) and it worked for years until more rust prevented it from even hanging underneath. I also managed to find a replacement grate and I added lava rocks over the burners which was an attempt to make it cook more evenly. It's kind of a disaster now with the warming tray falling apart. I mean it is from the early 90s.
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I delayed buying a new one because I couldn't stand the idea of paying $350 for some cheap but nice looking grill that would need replacement in 3 short years.

I was at Ace this weekend and looked at the Webers. They all seem to carry a 10 year warranty, on every single component. Obviously they are nice but they seemed to start at like $800 for the models Ace carried (Genesis II). But then I found out there was a cheaper line called Spirit II but with the same warranty. Those are like $499 or I guess $450 right now for the E-310 which is a basic 3 burner.

Then someone said America's Test Kitchen did a pretty good grill comparison which is here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mUPX-9zkMeA

Look at that. The Weber Spirit E-310 won. The evenness of heat and overall build quality was a winner, and for only like $450. The bread test was amazing.

There is an updated Spirit II E-310 for $450 also, without the cabinet. I don't care about the cabinet. I don't need to hide the propane tank or store anything.

So the plan was to go to Home Depot and get the $450 Spirit II E-310. But then I saw that Home Depot was carrying last year's Genesis II E-310 marked down. It was normally $699 but was marked down to $560. Holy crap. So for another $110 I can upgrade to the Genesis II. The cover is thicker and feels nicer. Probably cooks the same. Same warranty. But I went for it.

Weber Genesis II E-310 3-Burner Propane Gas Grill in Black with Built-In Thermometer
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Weber-Genes ... /300159098

I think that is probably a good value. Plus their newer stuff is compatible with this iGRILL system which handles up to 4 probes and talks to a phone app. Eh, not sure I need that if it cooks as evenly as it says. But I guess it is like another $100 if I should decide to get serious or something. Or just use a standard thermometer...

They had some on display but I asked for a new one to be assembled from the box. Pick it up Wednesday. I am excited.
kevm14
Posts: 15200
Joined: Wed Oct 23, 2013 10:28 pm

Re: New grill decision

Post by kevm14 »

One other thing. The 2019 Genesis II E-310 (and probably the rest of the line) is made in the USA. Evidently last year's Genesis II was made in China. Same with the Spirit II. But the current E-310 is $799. So...no. And here's the thing. Unless it is actually made from USA steel or something I don't know if there is really an advantage. The sticker wasn't super clear but there was some caveat that made it sound like materials were still sourced globally, so I don't see some huge advantage there as that would theoretically apply to the made in China one, as well.
kevm14
Posts: 15200
Joined: Wed Oct 23, 2013 10:28 pm

Re: New grill decision

Post by kevm14 »

Oh yes.
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kevm14
Posts: 15200
Joined: Wed Oct 23, 2013 10:28 pm

Re: New grill decision

Post by kevm14 »

I give Home Depot a B-. Maybe that is too generous.

Picking up was a disaster. Ridiculous wait time in the customer service line. They seemed...disorganized. Of course I had this sinking feeling that they were going to tell me, oh, our grill assembly guy WAS supposed to come Tuesday, but a thing happened, so we don't have one assembled for you. Fortunately that was not the case. But it took forever. Side note: one of the customer service ladies who I dealt with had nothing but good things to say about Weber, both the products themselves and their customer service reputation. That is good to hear but I already expected that.

I asked a neighbor to help so we each brought our two boys which was...well you can imagine.

Eventually they got it from out back, released it to me and we were able to start loading it (again after a circus of customer service stuff, probably a total of four people involved across the transaction, some of whom seeming a little confused at times). It ended up not being a big deal. A couple key things for this particular grill:
- One of the side trays folds down which made things a little easier
- Obviously we removed all of the inside stuff (grates, etc.) before putting it on its back
- We put it down on a moving blanket just far enough to sit at the edge of the tailgate and into the bed. Then we just pushed it in so the moving blanket could slide on the bed. That worked fine...

That was pretty much it for picking up. The frame seemed sturdy. There was a sticker right on one of the trays warning not to lift by them (well at least not by the one that folds down). A co-worker kindly pointed this out yesterday so I already knew not to lift there.
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Once home it wasn't a big deal to carefully carry it through the house onto the deck. Here were the issues I had which were mostly assembly related, but one was transport related:
- There was some plastic/bubble wrap still left on some of the wires/gas lines under the control panel. Took a minute or two to pull it all off.
- Missing a screw to hold down the gas line bracket. There is a rubber line that runs from this bracket to the end of the hose where the regulator is. It is a lot like a car brake line bracket where it transitions from metal to rubber. It is sort of floating in the mounting hole with no screw. This will make changing tanks a little awkward since things will be flopping around, or putting stress on the hard line. So I need to fix this. I may just get a stainless sheetmetal screw. Not a big deal but I began to get annoyed.
- The ignitor did not work. Turns out they did not connect the electrical plugs to the rear of the ignitor button (two of them). Took me a little bit to finagle everything, pull some slack in the wires and push them on the terminals. I had to pull out the button to get one of the wires on. After that I installed a AA battery (once I figured out where to do that), then I installed it the correct way, then the ignitor clicked nicely.
- Tried the gas. Middle burner did not ignite and unlike what I am used to, one burner cannot light another one - they all need their independent spark. Gas was coming out and it ignited instantly with a lighter. Also it was sparking. Uhh...then while I was fooling around underneath I pulled one of the burners and it dropped into place. Another one needed the same thing. This was from transportation. After that everything ignited perfectly and immediately.
- There is a small outward dimple on the rear of the right side tray. Honestly I may just try to soften it a little myself with a block of wood and hammer or something. Or leave it alone.
- They gave me the wrong documentation. Of course I didn't notice until the end of the night. They gave me a full packet from the Spirit II line (including like warranty card and stuff). So I will go back tonight and see if they can get me the correct one.

I bet I could get Weber to send me anything that I am unsatisfied with, including that screw. I don't know that I will bother, but maybe.

I let it run for too long, probably 30 minutes. It peaked at just over 600F which seems good. After all of that, the metal handle on the cover was COOL to the touch. Seriously. I don't even know how that's possible. And I love the way the cover feels. Very solid and heavy. Apparently my neighbor had also bought a Weber some time ago and has been very happy with it. I asked if he had a cabinet model. He said yes. I said....do you store anything in there? He laughed and said no, it's just for spiders and making the propane tank harder to change. Another classic case of people liking form over function. If there were any concerns about corrosion under the grill, I'd think an open design would be better for that, too.

Overall I am very happy with the grill - I like the model I chose and I like the price. Obviously I will cook on it at some point and I expect to be delighted. The Home Depot part was subpar though.
kevm14
Posts: 15200
Joined: Wed Oct 23, 2013 10:28 pm

Re: New grill decision

Post by kevm14 »

Got the correct paperwork this evening.

Also looked at an assembled model to see what screw is missing. I confirmed it with the instructions (now that I have the correct ones).

At home I measured the nut which is welded to the bracket. I tried metric. Nope. 1/4-20. Lol. Found a suitable short bolt and washer. Installed.
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bill25
Posts: 2583
Joined: Thu Oct 31, 2013 2:20 pm

Re: New grill decision

Post by bill25 »

Hopefully this one cooks hot dogs better than the last one...
kevm14
Posts: 15200
Joined: Wed Oct 23, 2013 10:28 pm

Re: New grill decision

Post by kevm14 »

It did that on low, too.

Oh, I will be scrapping it this weekend FYI.
kevm14
Posts: 15200
Joined: Wed Oct 23, 2013 10:28 pm

Re: New grill decision

Post by kevm14 »

Sad.
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kevm14
Posts: 15200
Joined: Wed Oct 23, 2013 10:28 pm

Re: New grill decision

Post by kevm14 »

Fortunately the new one is awesome. I mean I probably would have been happy with anything but other sources say Webers are particularly good so that is something.

The burgers seemed extra juicy. And the dogs grilled evenly.
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And look. The grease tray.
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bill25
Posts: 2583
Joined: Thu Oct 31, 2013 2:20 pm

Re: New grill decision

Post by bill25 »

The hot dogs look much better!
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