Help! My Wife wants to get me a new grill for my birthday!

[pknj]

It finally happened: our old Weber Spirit has become enough of an issue that my wife agrees it is time to replace it. My original thought was to replace it with a pellet smoker for easy use with some smoke flavor, but it feels a bit intimidating to my wife, so gas it is (I have a summit charcoal for real smoking efforts - called the Kamoto now?).

We have a natural gas hookup on the deck, so I would love to keep using that (not having to worry about switching tanks is a real game changer!), but other than budget, not too many constraints. Which is a problem: I now can’t decide! Any thoughts or insights are welcome before I panic and buy a pizza oven instead!

[J-Melt]

Sounds like a nice problem to have, MCS with spousal support! What is the budget you are working with?

[pknj]

If it does it all, I suspect I could get away with $2k?

[Panhead John]

Helping you spend money? Around here it’s doubtful you’ll get much of a response……🥸

[pknj]

Ha! This bunch won’t disappoint!

[LA Pork Butt]

The most logical solution is to replace it with a Weber natural gas grill that meets your cooking needs and budget. I have the Weber SEARWOOD XL 600 pellet smoker and I find it to be even easier to use than my Weber Spirit propane grill. It is certainly more versatile. The only knock is it adds little smoke. It is like an outdoor convection when it comes to roasting. Of course you will need access to electricity.

[barelfly]

Well….you mention grill and pellets. That could lead to a Weber Searwood, allowing you to do both grilling and smoking on the same cooker. There are a few on here that have this cooker and are pleased with it. That’s one option for you, and I’m sure others will provide options to help you spend your money!

[jfmorris]

I had forgotten about the Searwood. That is a good option for smoking and grilling. At least compared to other pellet cookers.

[pknj]

Was thinking the same - but my wife has decided that smoking is “my thing” and wouldn’t use a pellet grill. I do probably 95% of the grilling anyway, but she has recently started to feel more comfortable with the old gasser, so have to stick with that. Honestly, the stuff she can do inside is amazing, but just a mental block on outside cooking. It’s ok - makes me more valuable!

[jfmorris]

The nice thing with a gas grill is that most folks can easily turn a knob and use one, just like they would an oven or stove. And you get better GRILLING performance than you would with a pellet cooker, which is really a smoker with indirect heat. You don't want a pellet smoker for flipping burgers or searing steaks in other words. I know you have the Summit charcoal grill for that, but if your wife wants to use it, might be best sticking with gas.

I am not sure how old your Spirit is or what happened with it, but most of those have 10 year warranties on many of the parts, and you can get free replacements from Weber. And if you do replace it, I kinda recommend another Weber just because of easy availability of parts, and they have lots of models for natural gas. I have a Weber Genesis Silver A, made in 2002, that I have loaned out to first one kid, then another. It no longer lives in my backyard, but I rebuilt it in 2018, and in fact, it is still under a partial warranty until next year (25 years on burn/rust through of the cooking chamber!). My current gasser is a Genesis 4 burner purchased in January 2019 on clearance, and while I like it, and love the size, it is not as well built as my older Genesis. I don't expect it to last 25 years in other words...

[pknj]

Thanks Jim, I think a new Weber is my default choice unless someone knows better. I love the size of the Genesis (the Spirit is a little small but what we could afford at the time).

Good point on the grilling aspect - really do need a grill for that and best to keep things separate (and simple) on that front.

[jfmorris]

pknj since SWMBO is influencing you towards a gas grill, I do heartily recommend the Genesis if you want more space than the Spirit offers. I've got the 4 burner model, and it's VERY spacious. Even the 3 burner is huge compared to the Spirit 3 and 4 burner models.

While my current Genesis does not have a side burner, there are times I wish it does. I last had a grill with a side burner back around 2000ish, before the 2002 Weber Genesis came along. I didn't use it much back then, but feel that I cook a lot more outdoors now than I did back then as well, and I can see a side burner being useful for frying, making sauces, heating a pot of beans, and most importantly, keeping the heat out of the kitchen during these hot summer months. My dad has a 3 burner Spirit with the side burner, and I feel like he uses the side burner as often as he uses the main grill, to fry bacon in a cast iron skillet my mom won't let him use on her smooth glass top electric stove in their new house.

We try to NOT use the stove and oven when it is 90+ degrees outside if we can avoid it, as the AC is already working overtime to keep the house cool. I would use a sideburner for sure these days.

The only thing I personally feel is a gimmick that I would avoid is the new "Smart Grill" stuff built into some of the new Weber grills. I feel it is something to break on a grill that will otherwise last 10-20 years (or more).

EDIT: My current gasser is the Genesis II E-415 four burner in a "taupe" type of color. They had a "Genesis II" series from around 2017 to 2020, and went back to just "Genesis" again after that. I got my Genesis II 4 burner on clearance at Home Depot after they had discontinued all colors other than black in that model, in January 2019, marked all the way down from the 2018 season retail of $899->$699->$599->$399 during the period of October to January, before I finally pulled the trigger.

[Panhead John]

Another use of the side burner would be to blacken things, such as ribeye, pork chops, chicken or fish. A blackened ribeye or pork chop is one of my favorite meals. And it’s one of those cooks you definitely want to do outside, unless you have a super duper stove exhaust.

[jfmorris]

Panhead John I've not blackened steak in a long time. I used to dip them in butter and then coat in Chef Paul Prudhomme's Blackened Steak Magic. Then run the stove vent at full blast while setting off the smoke alarms as I tossed them in the cast iron skillet on the stove top... note that my hood exhausts out of the house, but it still wasn't enough exhaust!

[Panhead John]

Yeah, the average exhaust fan isn’t enough in most cases, even blowing outside. I’ve got one of those worthless microwave exhaust fan that just blows it back in the kitchen…..🙄 Many years ago I blackened a steak inside…….once. I bought a portable single burner butane grill that works great out in my garage.

[Mister C]

Buying a pizza oven wouldn't be such a bad thing, would it?

That said, I'd just add that it's worth at least looking at the 4-burner Spirit if you aren't sure you need the extra real estate. They included a lot of the same features you'd find on the Genesis on that model, it's got 2 sear burners and a lot of control with the 4 burners in a smaller box that'll surely heat up faster than a Genesis.

On top of that you can save a few peas for the next bout of MCS - or maybe a pizza oven to go with the new grill <cough> GOZNEY <cough>

[Mister C]

glitchy Huh, is that right? I had no idea, have got mine still sitting in the box ready to be unpacked...

Any chance you figured out why? I read about the 'bypass mode' issue with the flow limiter but since this is an issue with all their regulators, I didn't think too much of it just figured I'd have to learn a new habit when starting up.

[glitchy]

Mister C I just got my Spirit in June at the lake and probably used it 6 times so I’m still learning its behavior. Mine is the 3 burner with 2 sear burners. I feel like it was constantly taking 15-20 mins to get to just over 400° when all 3 were set to high (not clicked into sear mode). Which compared to the Q2800 and Genesis is slow and considerably lower temperature…

[glitchy]

When you hit sear mode on the sear burners it will get hot, but wanting to cook anything around 450° without sear mode seems challenging. Maybe the 4 burner would do better for temps, but too many flare ups for burgers in sear mode. Works great for steaks though.

[Uncle Bob]

Given your stated budget above you might consider something built with better quality materials than the Weber stuff. Blaze BCM 32-in 4-Burner Built-In Natural Gas Grill - BLZ-4BCM-NG : BBQGuys

[jfmorris]

I think he said "except for budget" there are not many constraints. The Blaze stuff is nice, but pricey.

That said, BBQGuys is a great place to search and compare pricing and features. I would look at Blaze, Napoleon and Weber I think.

[pknj]

Ooh, that Blaze looks mighty impressive - I think might be a bit too expensive though. I will see if I can sneak it in though.

[Uncle Bob]

No guts............no glory..........

[glitchy]

If you go with a Weber, I strongly recommend getting something with sear burner(s). I have both a Genesis at home and a Spirit at the lake both with different type of sear burners/zones. I would not buy another without. Blaze and Napoleon infrared sear zones might be better, but I’m still a Weber guy. If you can afford it, definitely the Genesis. The Spirit at the lake is just fine and I can fold the shelves down and put it in my deck shed for winter, but I like cooking on the Genesis at home better. Gets hotter, preheats faster, and has a lot more space. The new 3 burner Spirits for this year have the grate and cookbox dimensions the two burners have had for years losing a couple more inches of space side to side. So, you might want a 4 burner if you go Spirit, probably making the price difference negligible for stepping up to Genesis.

[HouseHomey]

My first thought was a Weber Ranch kettle then you said natty gas. I just broke in a Weber genesis E-315 for my GF aunt. Loved that thing. As jfmorris played it out for you… the genesis rocks.

I have an old genesis myself and I love it. It’s from 05 or something like that.

happy hunting.

[Henrik]

I'm not an expert on gas grills, so I'll let others chip in. But I'd like to vote for a gas grill with a side burner, for searing steaks or the occasional burger. I think that's really valuable. My main gripe with gas grills is they don't have searing power. But with a side burner that will get the job done.

Anyhow, very nice "problem" to have, which grill to get

[Henrik]

Also, most regulators are 30mBar. I recommend my friends to get a 50 or 60 mBar regulator instead, that will give it a boost for sure. Just check manual for warranty before doing so. It's a VERY cheap upgrade to any gas grill.

[pknj]

Thanks all, after doing some price comparisons, I am leaning toward the Weber Genesis with side burner and sear zone. The 3 burner goes for roughly $1200 and the 4 burner goes for roughly $1700 - any thoughts on needing the extra burner? Seems like a lot more cash!

[Panhead John]

I’d also recommend the 4 burner so you have more space when you buy this……

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Weber-Genesis-400-Series-Carbon-Steel-Non-stick-Griddle/5014176015

[glitchy]

My thought is how much would you use the space? If you’re gonna be smoking things for bigger cooks and using Weber more just for family, the buy bigger may not be as rewarding long term and would be money towards a pizza oven.

[surfdog]

IDK…I have a 6-burner Weber Summit and everything smaller just looks so very tiny.

I’m sure that I “could” get by with a three burner…but it seems kinda limiting to my way of thinking. My “cool” zone is definitely cooler than if it were only a single burner away.

Not sure what they go for these days but also have a look at Napoleon grills. Their build quality seems closer to the older Weber’s like I have compared to the latest Weber offerings.