Two questions here about Gas grills. I plan to get a Weber Genesis
Silver B.

Home Depot has porcelain enamled cast iron cooking grates on theirs.
True Vales has Stainless Steel cooking grates. Which is better? True
Value assembles and delivers free, and is local to me, I prefer to do
business with them when possible.

I have an LP grill now. I hate it when the tank runs out halfway
through a nice steak. Considering natural gas. There is a gas line
just inside the house from where the grill will be, will need the
outside gas hookup to be run just a few feet to get to that line thats
indoors so shouldn't be any real expense. Anything special to
consider about natural gas vs LP? If I order a natural gas grill can
I move and need to switch to LP can it be done? I may call Weber to
inquire about that.

Thanks,

J Kelly wrote:
Two questions here about Gas grills. I plan to get a Weber Genesis
Silver B.

Home Depot has porcelain enamled cast iron cooking grates on theirs.
True Vales has Stainless Steel cooking grates. Which is better? True
Value assembles and delivers free, and is local to me, I prefer to do
business with them when possible.


I believe the porcelain grate lasts longer but neither of them is going to last
forever. It doesn't really matter as generic replacements are easily found at
Home Cheapo or Lowlife's. I generally rebuild my gas grill about every three
years: pressure wash it, replace the stainless steel burner (which rusts out in
that time), replace the lava rock (or equivalent) and the grate. I'm good to go
for another three years.

I'm not sure if the Silver B is a stainless grill or not (sounds like one) but I
don't really recommend them over the old standard black cast ones. While the
stainless looks great in the store, the first time it gets hot when you're
cooking on it, it's going to discolor... and you'll never get it looking new
again.


I have an LP grill now. I hate it when the tank runs out halfway
through a nice steak.


I keep a fuel gauge on my grill. It lets me know if I'm likely to run out of
gas during a session. If it looks pretty low, I'll go ahead and change the tank
out preemptively. The empty one goes the next day to be filled. I *always*
have a full spare tank available. I haven't run out in the middle of a steak in
years.




--
Mortimer Schnerd, RN

VE

I have a Silver B that is about 5 years old. Haven't replaced anything
on it yet. I believe it has stainless grill, but like Mortimer, I
wouldn't put much weight on that vs porcelain.

I also have NG line close by but preferred to go w LP for several
reasons. 1. it is not tethered, period. I move it around from time to
time on the deck -- to get better light on the meat when cooking at
night. 2. Although running the gas line a few feet isn't a Major
expense, it ain't free. You need a gas-qualified person to attach it.
3. The Silver B has a built-in gauge (measures weight of tank). 4. LP
grill can be changed to NG and vice versa. Different size orifices. 5.
I have owned 3 different LP grills and the Weber is the best (and most
expensive) I have ever had. It isn't hard to assemble but free assembly
and delivery sounds great.

JJ

J Kelly wrote:
Two questions here about Gas grills. I plan to get a Weber Genesis
Silver B.

Home Depot has porcelain enamled cast iron cooking grates on theirs.
True Vales has Stainless Steel cooking grates. Which is better? True
Value assembles and delivers free, and is local to me, I prefer to do
business with them when possible.

I have an LP grill now. I hate it when the tank runs out halfway
through a nice steak. Considering natural gas. There is a gas line
just inside the house from where the grill will be, will need the
outside gas hookup to be run just a few feet to get to that line thats
indoors so shouldn't be any real expense. Anything special to
consider about natural gas vs LP? If I order a natural gas grill can
I move and need to switch to LP can it be done? I may call Weber to
inquire about that.

Thanks,

I had one of those. It had the porcelain grates. I liked them and they
were trouble free for the few years I had it. I suspect they would still be
trouble free, but someone stole the thing off my patio a few years ago. I
just wonder how they got it?

In any case I really liked that grill.

--
Joseph Meehan

Dia duit

There is alot, lot, more to a grill then cheap grates, its in how it
cooks and overall quality that counts to me. Weber gets great revievs ,
consumer reports did one, find a review comparison.

On Tue, 15 Nov 2005 15:51:34 GMT, "Mortimer Schnerd, RN"
wrote:

I believe the porcelain grate lasts longer but neither of them is going to last
forever. It doesn't really matter as generic replacements are easily found at
Home Cheapo or Lowlife's. I generally rebuild my gas grill about every three
years: pressure wash it, replace the stainless steel burner (which rusts out in
that time), replace the lava rock (or equivalent) and the grate. I'm good to go
for another three years.

I rebult mine a few weeks ago and replaced the burner with a stainless
steel one. I cooked something for the first time last Saturday and the
burner was all glowing red. Is that normal for that burner or did have
it set to high or something?

On Tue, 15 Nov 2005 10:50:30 -0600, (m Ransley)
wrote:

There is alot, lot, more to a grill then cheap grates, its in how it
cooks and overall quality that counts to me. Weber gets great revievs ,
consumer reports did one, find a review comparison.

I'm sold on the Weber. Everyone I know how has one loves it. My
dad's is 10 years old, replaced the igniter a couple years back, other
than that it is still like new. Don't know what kind of grate his
has.

"J Kelly" wrote in message
...
Two questions here about Gas grills. I plan to get a Weber Genesis
Silver B.

Home Depot has porcelain enamled cast iron cooking grates on theirs.
True Vales has Stainless Steel cooking grates. Which is better? True
Value assembles and delivers free, and is local to me, I prefer to do
business with them when possible.

In the final result, you will see about no diffrence. Both work. I'd go
with the True Value dealer. Well, not really. Weber is a very good grill,
but there are other brands that suit my needs better and are equal or better
quality. The signature series of Vermont Castings, MHP, or Broilmaster.
Check to local outdoor furniture dealers or a good propane dealer and see
what they offer.



Anything special to
consider about natural gas vs LP? If I order a natural gas grill can
I move and need to switch to LP can it be done? I may call Weber to
inquire about that.

They can be converted. If you go with NG, I doubt you'll ever change back.

"Mortimer Schnerd, RN" wrote in message
...
I generally rebuild my gas grill about every three years: pressure wash
it, replace the stainless steel burner (which rusts out in that time),
replace the lava rock (or equivalent) and the grate. I'm good to go for
another three years.



Every three years??
I have a ten year old Weber gas grill that we use a couple times a week in
the summer, a few times in the winter. Other than to clean it off once in a
while I have never replaced a thing on it!

As far as the OP. The ceramic grills are OK, but I believe the stainless
steel are better. The ceramic grills will slowly disintegrate, the stainless
grills will hold up better over the long haul. That said, I have the ceramic
coated grills and they are in good shape yet, so either is probably ok.
Price the stainless steel replacement grills compared to the ceramic coated.
AI am sure the stainless steel is higher priced.

I have my Weber running on natural gas. As far as I know all Weber grills
can be converted, but it is quite a price to do so. It would probably be
cheaper to buy a natural gas grill instead of buying a LP grill and
converting it later. I lucked out when I bought my grill. I wanted natural
gas, and I found just what I wanted. The store gave me a pretty good deal to
as they had the grill in stock for some time and were unable to sell it. It
was a stationary grill, no wheels. Seems pretty much everyone wants wheels
on their grill.
Greg

"Edwin Pawlowski" wrote in message
news:2qsef.390$Sb.136@trndny03...

"J Kelly" wrote in message
...
Two questions here about Gas grills. I plan to get a Weber Genesis
Silver B.

Home Depot has porcelain enamled cast iron cooking grates on theirs.
True Vales has Stainless Steel cooking grates. Which is better? True
Value assembles and delivers free, and is local to me, I prefer to do
business with them when possible.

In the final result, you will see about no diffrence. Both work. I'd go
with the True Value dealer. Well, not really. Weber is a very good grill,
but there are other brands that suit my needs better and are equal or
better quality. The signature series of Vermont Castings, MHP, or
Broilmaster. Check to local outdoor furniture dealers or a good propane
dealer and see what they offer.



Anything special to
consider about natural gas vs LP? If I order a natural gas grill can
I move and need to switch to LP can it be done? I may call Weber to
inquire about that.

They can be converted. If you go with NG, I doubt you'll ever change
back.


I love my Vermont Castings Home Depot barbecue.

If you want to switch from natural to propane, you just need to change the
orifices. Shouldn't be a problem, as I see natural gas grills all the time
mixed in with the propane ones at HD.

Steve

In article ,
says...
Two questions here about Gas grills. I plan to get a Weber Genesis
Silver B.

Home Depot has porcelain enamled cast iron cooking grates on theirs.
True Vales has Stainless Steel cooking grates. Which is better? True
Value assembles and delivers free, and is local to me, I prefer to do
business with them when possible.

I recently replaced a 25 year old Jacuzzi LP grill. Wooden handles,
plastic knobs, wooden shelf and steel briquet rack had all been
replaced numerous times, but the porcelain coated cast iron grates
and cast iron burner were original and looked as good as new when I
retired it. I'd remove the burner and run a 1/8" drill through each
hole every two or three years to clean them out. The aluminum
venturi tubes (or whatever they're called) finally gave out and I
just didn't feel like repairing the beast anymore. I understand that
a cast brass burner is more or less equivalent to cast iron in terms
of longevity. If I'm not mistaken, Kenmore's Elite line of grills
use cast brass burners. Stamped stainless steel burners (sheet
metal) have seams that split after a few years and need to be
replaced.

I replaced the Jacuzzi with a Napoleon. This has stainless steel
tube type burners (no seams or welds) and stainless steel grates.
The grates are made with what looks like 1/4" commercial type rods
that should last a good long time. It comes with a lifetime
warranty, so I'm not too worried. It's also got an infrared bottom
burner that heats to 1500 degrees F. It's absolutely super for
searing steaks!

I have an LP grill now. I hate it when the tank runs out halfway
through a nice steak. Considering natural gas. There is a gas line
just inside the house from where the grill will be, will need the
outside gas hookup to be run just a few feet to get to that line thats
indoors so shouldn't be any real expense. Anything special to
consider about natural gas vs LP? If I order a natural gas grill can
I move and need to switch to LP can it be done? I may call Weber to
inquire about that.

I had two LP tanks when I was using LP, so I never actually ran out,
although cooking was interrupted from time to time while I changed
tanks. My Napoleon is NG and I will never look back! Conversion
either way a simple matter of replacing the orifices - a 5 minute job
as long as you can get the parts, which shouldn't cost more than a
few dollars, although I don't know what Weber will charge you for
them.

I had an eight year old Weber propane grill. When I redid my kitchen I
looked into converting the grill to NG. The cost was higher than I
expected so I simply bought another grill (a Weber Silver B NG).

I now have both. First of all, the Silver B grill, while not as shiny
as new, still looks good (the older grill is red).

The only parts I've replaced on the grills (and they get a lot of use)
are the grates. You'll be replacing the grates either way, so it's not
a big deal compared to convenience when you purchase the grill. I
think, though, that the porcelain grates may last a bit longer.

My original grill had cast iron grates which I really liked (they took
a bit longer to heat but they held the heat much better) but they did
eventually corrode and had to be replaced.

One thing I have noticed, though, is that the NG grill can get MUCH
hotter than the propane grill. It may be the fuel or perhaps there was
a design change over the years between manufacture dates (Weber says
the fuel should make no difference in temperature).

As far as moving-- converting back to propane would probably not be
worth the trouble vs. getting a new grill. And when you go to sell
your house, having a NG grill may be a selling point with the
purchaser- you never know what might get someone's interest (what sold
my old car, quite a number of years ago, is that it was the only used
car for a thousand dollars the buyer could find that had a tape deck).

Best of luck.

Shaun Eli
http://www.BrainChampagne.com
Brain Champagne: Clever Comedy for the Smart Mind (sm)

Shaun Eli wrote:

One thing I have noticed, though, is that the NG grill can get MUCH
hotter than the propane grill. It may be the fuel or perhaps there
was a design change over the years between manufacture dates (Weber
says the fuel should make no difference in temperature).

NG produces almost 10% more BTU's then propane, so the NG grill should get
hotter, just like you see.

Why Weber says it should make no difference doesn't make sense, other then
for marketing reasons.

On Wed, 16 Nov 2005 14:10:34 +0000, Retiredff wrote:

Shaun Eli wrote:

One thing I have noticed, though, is that the NG grill can get MUCH
hotter than the propane grill. It may be the fuel or perhaps there
was a design change over the years between manufacture dates (Weber
says the fuel should make no difference in temperature).

NG produces almost 10% more BTU's then propane, so the NG grill should get
hotter, just like you see.


Hi, actually it's the other way around. Propane is the hotter burning
fuel. Propane is a gas that is present in most natural gas and is the
first product refined from crude petroleum. It contains approximately
2,500 Btu per cubic foot. Methane is the chief constituent of natural
gas and has a heating value of about 1012 Btu per cubic foot. Therefore,
propane has more than twice the heat value of natural gas per cubic foot.

Thanks for all the replies! I'm going with the Weber Genesis Silver
B, LP, with the stainless steel grates. I grill several times a
week, year round, and my old grill is toast, so decided not to wait
for someone to come install a natural gas line. Plus now I can move
the grill more easily if I wish to. I often use it in a different
place in the winter time so I have less snow to walk through to get to
it.

"Retiredff" wrote in message
nk.net...
Shaun Eli wrote:

One thing I have noticed, though, is that the NG grill can get MUCH
hotter than the propane grill. It may be the fuel or perhaps there
was a design change over the years between manufacture dates (Weber
says the fuel should make no difference in temperature).

NG produces almost 10% more BTU's then propane, so the NG grill should get
hotter, just like you see.

Why Weber says it should make no difference doesn't make sense, other then
for marketing reasons.


Weber claims it makes do difference because they change out the burners and
orifices from NG to LP. The grills are probably set up to produce a certain
BTU with either fuel. Which fuel has a higher BTU rating has nothing to do
with it as long as it has the proper burners and related parts.
Greg