Weber Summit E-470 vs Napoleon Prestige Pro 500

[TheOMan]

Hi all!

First of all - this is an amazing resource and has helped me quite a bit in my search for a new grill. The reviews of both of these grills on this site are great.

I have needed a new grill for some time. I finally have a natural gas line at my place and I cannot wait to start grilling again. I have narrowed it down to these 2 (in no particular order). They are fairly close in price (within 100 dollars), so I'm hoping some of you fine people will be able to help me decide on one of these. My budget is about 2000, but of course, if I can spend less for a quality grill, other suggestions are welcome.


1. Napoleon Prestige Pro 500 RSIB

Product Details

Highlights:

- A side burner that is actually useful, gets up to 1800 degrees Fahrenheit and apparently makes searing a steak incredibly easy. (They call it the Sizzle Zone)
- Light up knobs that let you know if the gas is on or off
- Interior lights that let you do grilling after the sun goes down which I do every now and then
- Fair sized rotisserie burner

Concerns:

- Deflector plates slant towards the back of the grill, so cleaning the back might be a bit of an issue
- There are some screws inside the grill that I'm thinking will very quickly corrode, making them impossible to cleanly remove should that time ever come
- I'm not a big fan of the wavy grill grates, I'm guessing they'll be a little annoying to clean
- Not sure about the reliability of the ceramic side burner (and I believe it's only warrantied for 2 years)

2. Weber Summit E-470

Product Details

Highlights:

- Sear Station that gets up to 900 degrees Fahrenheit that makes searing steaks relatively easy which is housed inside the grill
- Pop up rotisserie that makes setting up and putting it away very simple
- Extremely reliable and even cooking
- Very solid and well thought out firebox construction

Concerns:

- Drip tray can fill up and overflow in the rain - making a mess inside the cabinet and on the deck
- Wood smoker tray takes up space from the grill and doesn't really work well (space can be reclaimed, but at my cost)

The Napoleon has a few more bells and whistles, but I'm not too concerned about that, I want a grill that grills exceptionally well, will last a long time, and will do well when I do some colder/windy weather grilling.

[EdF]

Hey FireMan !

[FireMan]

Hey, EdF!

[EdF]

Great input for the OP!

[Histrix]

I was looking at a couple of the Weber Summit 400 series grills a few years ago. One of the problems that came up often was that left uncovered in the rain the hood design allowed rain to enter the grill and flood the drip pan. Don't know if that is still an issue.

[RonB]

Welcome to The Pit. I can't really help you, but I do have a suggestion. If you are worried about screws rusting, be proactive and replace them with ss screws before the first use.

[FireMan]

I was all over the map when I first started my quest for a new cooker. When I decided on a gasser I went straight to Max's expertise, watched videos of his reports & nerdly read & reread is reports. I don't remember much now, it was a 3 months ago. Early in my investigating I found Weber just fell short on more than one area & if I remember was a little under powered vs. the Napolean.
After awhile I was comparing the Napolean vs. a Char-Broil Sabre or pro don't remember, but a comparable unit. The company rep, the stainless everywhere, and yes those wavy grates cuz they were stainless, won out in the end. They are NO problem cleaning at all. It also is a powerful unit as far as heat goes. I also really like the IR side burner a lot and have a lot of fun with it. I just picked up a Napolean rotisserie & am doing a yardbird on it as I type. Max is very thorough and is the master at testing these baby's. I hope this was helpful.

[FireMan]

Oh, and to the O man, welcome aboard, eat good & have fun!

[TheOMan]

Thanks guys! Your posts are helpful for sure. FireMan, the videos that you mentioned, you don't happen to remember where I would find those do you?

I am concerned a bit about the durability of the Napoleon as I always hear stories of Webers running for decades. If I get the Napoleon, I'm hoping it will last a good while.

[DWCowles]

Welcome @TheOMan

[Meathead]

The best gasser I have ever had was my Napoleon 500 primarily because of the sear station. It can actually sear a steak beautifully (I replaced the cast iron grates).

[TheOMan]

The best gasser I have ever had was my Napoleon 500 primarily because of the sear station. It can actually sear a steak beautifully (I replaced the cast iron grates).

Did you find any issue with the sear station blowing out in windy weather?

[FireMan]

I live in a very windy area. Our town is surrounded by 3 huge wind farms,each one covering a few square miles. That said no problem with it ever blowing out.
I am not that savy, but Max had a virtual tour & some gal had a shot on cleaning & using. Sorry, but my advice is poke around till you find it.

[choffert]

I have a Weber S-470 and your cons are correct, but the highlights...Don't let the grill get wet...besides the drip tray issue, the rotisserie motor is not protected from the rain either and will corrode quickly (but easily replaced with a motor from an older model I had lying around)...even cooking is not really a strength either...over time the tubes eroded in the front and rusted over in the back causing severe front to back difference (which, to their credit, Weber replaced under warranty...well, they supplied under warranty, but I had to replace). If I had to replace it today, I would more likely go with Napoleon...jus' my tow cents...