Weber Genesis II S-335

[COFlyGuy]

I love my new Weber Genesis II 335! I am looking forward to really experimenting with it's capabilities. So far I have a few meals down, yet I have not utilized the sear station yet. Also, I am not totally familiar with the full capabilities of the side burner.

Anyone else running a Genesis II S-335?

[Huskee]

That's great to hear. Did you mean to put a thumbs up in the title instead?

[COFlyGuy]

Yep oops

[jfmorris]

I don’t have the side burner on my Genesis II but my dad has a side burner, and uses it for his cast iron skillets, and to fry fish and such outside rather than inside. They’ve got a glass top stove in their new house and my mom won’t let him use the CI inside, so it’s out to the grill for bacon and such.

The side burner is similar in output to most indoor stove burners, and useful for making a pot of beans, simmering a sauce, whatever you have a mind to do to go along with your cook on the main grill.

The sear station just gives you an extra heat boost in that one area of the grill, to give your steaks a nice hard sear, either at the start or end of the cook. I often reverse sear by lighting one or two burners and puttin my steaks at the far end of the grill away from the heat until they hit about 115-120, then I run them over the lit burner(s) or sear burner on high, flipping until the sear looks good and they reach the desired doneness - 135 for me, 145 for the missus.

[Dan Deter]

Sounds familiar, SWMBO won't let me use the cast iron on our glass top, either. But yet I keep getting more...

[Jerod Broussard]

Upside down GrillGrates rock! I have a Genesis II. I don't use the extra sear burner much, just the 3 main burners. The side burner hasn't even been used. It looks like it would have issues in windy conditions.

[btuckertx]

I had a Genesis in the murky past with a side burner, and a Spirit with a side burner, and can tell you here in Oklahoma ("where the wind comes rushing down the plain") they don't work.

[COFlyGuy]

My two tests on the side burner have nit impressed me much. Kind of bummed out by this fact. But there are good and bad things in all Realms of tech.

[jfmorris]

Yeah - after having a grill many years ago with a side burner, the fact I used it no more than a handful of times before that grill rusted out and had to be replaced (it was not a Weber or anything quality) led me to NOT feel that feature was worth paying for in my next grill. I was then given a 2002 Weber Genesis Silver A when it was 2 years old, by a widow after her husband passed away, and it didn't have a side burner. And my 2019 Genesis II 4 burner doesn't have one either. I don't miss it really as I have much better outdoor burners, from a Coleman stove to various turkey fryer burners that put out 60K to 104K BTU's.

[WillTravelForFood]

side burners are helpful when you decide you need them.

[WayneT]

I've a Genesis II 330 and love it. Use it mostly for searing, veggie kabobs, etc. With that sear station and all three main burners on, it will easily reach 600F in about 15 mins. I've only used the side burner about a dozen times. It's great for keeping things hot if you don't want to be inside in the kitchen. I've had mine about 7 years and it hasn't aged a bit. I actually had to put mine together and was extremely impressed by the quality and craftsmanship of each part.

[jfmorris]

If your grill is 7 years old, it is not the Genesis II but the original Genesis line. I have a Genesis II, and they cut some corners when they came out with the "II" line in 2017. It is definitely NOT the quality of my much older 2002 Genesis grill. Metal seems much thinner in all areas. Stainless side tables rusted up after only 2 years. I kinda wish I had not given my old Genesis 2 burner grill to one of my kids, and had just kept using it!

[WayneT]

jfmorris, thanks for the clarification and correction. Sad that the build quality has suffered with the next generation of grills. This was my first, and still my only, Weber gasser and I don’t foresee ever needing another. I’ll replace some parts for sure, but it is solid!

[jfmorris]

WayneT the Genesis I got in 2002 is still going strong at my daughter's house. I replaced some parts a few years ago, but believe it or not, the firebox on that bad boy is still under warranty - 25 years!

I've looked at the new Genesis lineup that replaced Genesis II this year, and it seems they reverted some of the design elements to where they were before 2017, so its possible to learn from mistakes. I still don't expect the grill I bought in 2019 to last as long as the 20 year old one...