Rusted Summit Firebox causing MCS replace with Pellet or Gasser?

[Robermax]

Have Summit 420 since 2006 with grillgrates. Have had no complaints and it is working fine. I looked under the grates (for some reason) and saw the following:

So no longer under warranty (10 years for firebox). Anyway looks like it will need to be retired eventually and I seem to mull these decisions over like forever according to my wife. So I need to figure out what to replace it with when I win the monthly lottery here :-)
At this place I have a Weber Kettle 22 with SnS/Vortex as well as PBJr.
Gasser is used for spatchcocked chicken, rotisserie chicken, smashburgers, quick steaks.
I do ribs in PBJr and Kettle.
Kettle is for anything depending on time, inclination etc.


At my other place I have a really nice Napoleon Rogue 425- natural gas on roof deck and Weber Kamado on ground level (really really nice).
I've never had or used a pellet. Want something convenient to fire up quickly. Note, I'm not too fastidious about maintenance, though and wonder if pellet would suit my needs over Napoleon Prestige 500 RSIB.

Thanks for the wisdom of the pit and happy July 4th to all!

[STEbbq]

If you are not on top of the maintenance, pellet smokers and smokers like the Masterbuilt Gravity 560 will require more work than a charcoal or gas rig. More working parts and electric parts to fail or get dirty and not work properly.

[Robermax]

Kind of what I thought, thanks

[ItsAllGoneToTheDogs]

Buy a standalone flat top grill and a rotisserie kit for your kettle?

Very few pellet grills are going to be a full on replacement for your gasser, but since you have other cooking options a MAK (lowest maintenance possible but highest cost of entry would be the all stainless 2 star, however the coating on the 1 and regular 2 star is pretty resilient) might fit the bill... you do need to clean the firepot every few cooks (and IMO before every overnight cook) and since you have 2 places, you definitely will want to empty the hopper and run the auger dry when not in use.

If it wasn't for the last part I would actually suggest one of the newer all stainless RecTeq models, but they don't have a pellet dump (as a feature and according to them a selling point, I highly disagree) and their firepot is bolted in so you'd need an ash vac and a pellet vac. Most of the brands that can kinda grill now have pellet dumps and removable firepots for easier cleaning between cooks.

Also keep an eye on sales of the Weber Smokefire, but it requires a bit more routine cleaning and/or precautions than your average pellet grill which sounds like it might not be a good fit.

Maybe a Grilla Silverbac or OG and a Flat Top Grill? Maybe one of the Cook Shack options? (They are the cheapest stainless US made grill on the market, the PG500 is pretty interesting with multiple zones but their PG1000 line is more "normal" and the newest model has a lot of features at a lower price but is made in India)

[ItsAllGoneToTheDogs]

Robermax btw I was assuming since you're replacing a summit that the budget is high range and like me you may be lazy which is why I was suggesting a few stainless options. The Weber and RT offerings are mid-high range though neither is gonna last as long as MAK or Cookshack or any all stainless US made grill, the Grilla is a great low/mid range cooker for the money of course you could always snag a pitboss or whatever on sale and run it through it's paces a few years while you neglect it

[Robermax]

Do these get started quickly like a gasser and have hi sear heat (with grillgrates if needed)?

[ItsAllGoneToTheDogs]

Robermax I'm not sure about other pellet smokers, but my MAK goes from off to smoking in about 3 minutes, 225-250 within about 5 and 400ish within 10, with sear grates you can start grilling at about 450, it takes about 15 minutes to get 550 and 20ish to get to 600. I believe I've posted some graphs on the MAK subforum in the past. I believe the Smokefire gets up to temp really quick as well but I'm not sure that's the norm, I've seen some brands take 30+ minutes to get over 375

[Robermax]

Are there other advantages to a pellet besides making longer cooks easier?

[ItsAllGoneToTheDogs]

Not really, though in my case efficiency is actually cheaper than gas. Don't get me wrong, I still feel a pellet and gas flat top combo is about as good as it gets, I just don't have the cooking area to make a lid less flattop feasible. If I could only keep one cooker it would be my MAK, but having options I'd prefer 1 cooker of each fuel style

[glitchy]

I spent most of a decade trying to get to one grill/smoker, looking for a pellet grill that could really do it all. I’m now back to 5 outdoor cookers. I love my MAK, but I rarely sear on it. I actually bought the solid drip tray and have used the flamezone drip tray maybe twice in the last year. It’s just messier and more work to sear on most pellet grills with lesser results, IMO.

The exception would be the Weber SmokeFire. However, like IAGTTD mentioned, it has its own concerns. You really need to clean it every cook or two. Not hard, but need to scrape all the grease and ash into the holes and make sure the drain holes stay clear. The build quality is fair, but isn’t likely going to last 10 plus years without replacing some of the interior parts. A lot of parts subject to heat when grilling (versus smoking) just aren’t heavy duty enough or high quality steel. These parts aren’t likely to break the bank though. I ultimately gave up on mine because the software sucked. I hope that is something they’ve gotten better at in the two years since I got rid of mine.

That being said, the only thing I really won’t cook fully on my MAK is steaks and chops. I’ll smoke them there, then sear on my Genesis sometimes though if I’m not in a hurry and don’t want to use the Summit Charcoal.

The advantage over a gasser is flavor. If you have access to test a pellet grill somehow, cook some burgers or a meatloaf on one and compare to the same cooked on your gasser. That’s why my gasser is my go to most often. The right combination of ease and flavor.

[Robermax]

Glitchy, you post reminds me how useful searing on gasser can be after smoking on other cookers. Since I'm not giving up my Weber kettle and can do (fairly) long cooks with fan assist on it I am leaning towards replacement gasser for ease of use and compatibility with my sometimes lackadaisical attitude towards maintenance.
I don't mind setting up the kettle- rather enjoy it but vacuuming things out and covering them routinely seems too much like work.

[jfmorris]

I think you should dig out your Weber Summit manual from 2006. My 2002 Genesis is still under a LIFETIME warranty on all aluminum castings, which is the main firebox/body of the grill. Pretty certain that warranty was still in place in 2006. It is the Summit's made since 2017 that have the 10 year warranty.

Edit - found what I think would be your manual online. 25 year warranty on the body!

Warranty - Weber Summit 420 Owner's Manual [Page 6] | ManualsLib

I would call or email them with the serial number and the issue.

[Robermax]

Good idea to check with them. I have the manual and it has a separate line for cookbox and says 10 year so I figured it was done for. It also says aluminum castings 25 years so I'm confused. Thanks for the suggestion.

[jfmorris]

Robermax on my old Genesis, there is a slide in tray that funnels grease to the grease cup underneath, and it slides into a track mounted to the bottom of the cast firebox. Not sure on how the Summit is built, but does it appear to be the cast aluminum firebox that is burned out, or something else that can slide out like on my old Genesis?

Either way, I don't see a pellet rig replacing a gasserl for the type of cooking you have been using the Summit for. They are more smokers than grills.

[DavidNorcross]

I have the Grilla Silverbac and the Grilla Primate. These two pretty much cover everything for me. I will probably add a charcoal cooker back to this mix at one point, just because, but overall these two fit the bill nicely.

[Potkettleblack]

That primate tempts me something fierce.

[Spinaker]

As most have mentioned, and despite what they advertise most pellet "grills" are not great at grilling. They are fine smokers, but they do not make for great grills like a gasser does and no where near a charcoal fire.

If you are looking for a replacement for your gasser, I would get another gas grill. There really is no replacement for that in terms of ease of use and cooking style. If you want an easy smoker to fire up, then a pellet rig is a good option. They are okay at grilling, but not as good as a gasser. So that is something to consider.

[Michael_in_TX]

As I like to remind myself, as much as I love my Chimp, at the end of the day it is a wood-fired convection oven.

[bbqLuv]

Gasser is more convenient, but I truly like my Traeger.
I replace a gasser with a pellet grill and have not looked back.

[Murdy]

Do you have room for both? I like having a gasser, but I don't need a high end one. I have about $500 into a BK Signet (that works fine for me) which leaves some room in the budget for other things that a higher end gasser wouldn't. Maybe just get less gasser?

[Maxriptin]

Maybe consider going with a griddle. I feel a little guilty about it, but my Weber gasser basically only gets used for chicken thighs (if they aren't being smoked). The griddle has taken all of the gasser grill duties (and then some.)

[jfmorris]

I am in the same position. I got a Weber Genesis 4 burner in 2019, and then a 6 burner griddle in 2020. I only go to the regular gas grill if doing bone-in chicken and things like that, which a griddle won't handle. And even then, just when I want to do a quick cook and not wait on charcoal.

[Potkettleblack]

As I've acquired more cookers, I've used my gasser less. But I don't think I will ever be completely loose of a gasser, just for convenience.

When I was at two cookers, it was the gasser and the Grilla. The Grilla does what it does exceedingly well, but it does not do the things the gasser does well. The Grilla requires a periodic ash vacuuming, which comes with a deflector "cleaning" (it's wrapped in foil, so more a 'changing of the foil'), which I do every time I reload the hopper (20 lbs). I get 20+ hours of low and slow on a full hopper, less when cooking at "chicken temp," and I don't really dial the Grilla above 375*. There's some degreasing that I do maybe once a year. I did a dumb thing, which resulted in replacing 2 parts on the Grilla, and also cleaning the augur, but despite it being electrical parts, it was stupid easy, for me, a very "someone else do it" level of do it yourselfer.

The gasser's cleaning ritual is an annual affair, that, as of today, July 7th 2023, I have not yet done. The gasser cleaning is a once a year deal, with more grates that the Grilla, a scrub down and rotation of the deflectors, a scrubbing of the tubes and the venturi, changing the drip pan, cleaning out the grease tray, scrubbing down the fire box and the lid, and cleaning the shelves and exterior.

I guess the Grilla is more total maintenance in the year, but the start up for the gasser is a larger block of maintenance than the Grilla, unless I have to take something apart on the Grilla. Changing out the fire "pit" was an experience, as was degunking the augur, but I haven't had to change out a burn tube or a venturi on my gasser, so unfair to compare.

[Robermax]

I've done minimal maintenance on my gasser in 16 years unless you count covering it in the winter as maintenance. If I keep it I may put on new knobs as I can't see the markings very well.

edit- does replacing the propane tank count as maintenance?

[Potkettleblack]

Yeah, I replaced the knobs last year. And I got some new deflectors, but the old ones buffed to like new.

Do need some miscellaneous screws for it.

[Robermax]

Update:
jfmorris FTW!

Good news! Weber just got back to me- they are replacing the cookbox on this 16 year old grill!. Currently out of stock but grill is useable.
Bad news. Guess I will have to clean it at some point.