So, I've had my new Weber E310 in full service for about a month now. It replaced a loved, but worn out, Weber Spirit three burner grill I rescued off of a construction job site. It was the Spirit's inherent tenacity and sturdy build that drove me to stick with Weber when I chose to replace the Spirit with the Genesis E310. If I do say so myself, it was a darn good idea. My Genesis E310 has exceeded my expectations in almost every way. My Spirit and I had shared many great memories together, but I was in love with my new girl and I wasn't looking back for anything.
Rather than blabber on about how much I love my new grill, I'm going to offer up the following list of reasons my Genesis is better than my Spirit (and why you should run out and buy yourself a Genesis also!)
1. The grill lid and body are solid. There's real substance here. My old Spirit was nice and heavy, but the Genesis has much better overall construction and it just looks better.
2. There's a lot more cooking area. I haven't checked the specifications but I would guess I've got around 100- 150 extra sq. inches to use, not including the warming rack.
3. The warming rack is much better. The Genesis design lifts the warming grate two or three inches higher than the Spirit. That makes working with the main grill grate easier and it also helps out when it comes to indirect cooking of meats.
4. This grill gets HOT. The built-in thermometer on the lid runs up to 700 degrees and, believe me, you can get there.
5. The burner tubes, fat and juice drainage system, and side shelves are made from better materials. Especially the side shelves.
6. The casters are of a higher quality. You can move this grill around much more easily than the Spirit.
7. My E310 came with nice, heavy gage cast iron grates. These things will last for years if I keep them dry.
So, that's about it. Ferris Bueller had a quote that ran something like, "If you have the means, I highly recommend you try it." That's how I feel about the Genesis E310. At $650, it is not a small investment. But it is one that you will reap dividends from for many years.
I am stuck between the Spirit and Genesis 310s at present, but leaning more and more to the Genesis. PCI grates are included (vs Porcelain enameled steel), along with about 20% more primary cooking surface (507 sq inches vs 424 on the Spirit), but other than that, they seem very similar. There is more use of metal on the Genesis, as on the lid and cabinet handles, and the end-caps of the side shelves are cast aluminum vs plastic. I can't tell if the stainless steel on the side shelves are of any higher grade than on the Spirit, but the burners are supposedly of the same grade. Also, I don't know what Spirit the reviewer is comparing (maybe an old E210?). I think there was a new version in 2009. At any rate, I think the Spirit would work fine for me, but the Genesis looks much better, is assembled in the US, and comes with everything I want. Very tempting to splurge a little. Thanks for the review!
Posted by: Roger in Wichita | January 28, 2010 at 09:18 AM