My 2008 purchased Weber Genesis grill is at end of life. I’ve been nursing it for over 6 years now.
If Weber is still quality, I’m going to buy a new Weber, but I did some checking and apparently the family sold to BDT Capital Partners in 2010 and a lot of assembly is now done in China.
Here’s my thread from 2008:
I bought a mid-range grill last year after a lot of research and assembling anecdotes. It seems nearly everyone is manufacturing in China, except one Canadian company.
I ended up with a Napoleon Rogue. My understanding is that only their highest line is made in the US, while the rest (including my Rogue) are made in China BUT in Napoleon’s own plant.
I know some of the Weber Genesis are still assembled in Illinois. But I’m more concerned with the quality, being made in China doesn’t preclude quality.
Wirecutter (the NYT consumer research page) still has Weber at the top. We bought the two-burner grill yesterday and it’s being delivered today; I’ll let you know!
Cool, thanks.
My Weber is from circa 2015 and has held up really well so far, even with sub-optimal care on my part. I have had to replace the heat deflectors once, but that’s it. That appears to be after the sale, but it’s unclear to what extent manufacturing had been moved.
I do know that around that time the consensus was that the entry-level grills (Spirit, I think) had dropped in quality but that the mi-range Genesis grills were still very good.
Timely topic, since I’m thinking of getting a new grill as well. "Tis the season, I suppose. So I’ll be keeping an eye on this thread. In my case, I’m a charcoal guy so I’m looking at the Master Touch 22" kettle grill.
For what it’s worth, I’ve been getting dealt a lot of “what’s the best grill brand” videos in my YouTube feed, and Weber is at or near the top of most to all of them, though I can never be sure if the people making the videos are shills for Weber or honestly reviewing the grills.
Front Page of the Consumer Reports website was the latest grill round-up.
For Mid-size (18 to 28 burgers) the top 4 are the Napoleon Rogue and 3 Webers. E-315, E-335 & E-470. It looks like the S-470 & S-335 are almost as highly rated.
All 6 have side burners, which I would like this time around.
The top large grills are all Napoleons, But I think I’ll go medium this time.
My tip: if the grill(s) you are considering offer the option of a side infrared grill, it has been a huge bonus feature for us. It’s hot…like 1800° hot, so you can use it as a sear station or, as we do for just the two of us, cook the entire burgers or steaks on it and never power up the main grill.
FWIW, my old Weber is a basic model that I bought about 25 years ago. Even as a basic two-burner model, it wasn’t cheap, but apparently worth it as it still works fine. The main strong feature was the heavy stainless steel burners, which just need to be brushed off once in a while, and which is, after all, the main component of an outdoor grill.
Did things go wrong with it? Sure, but easily repairable. Disappointingly, the original gas regulator started acting up, but I replaced the hose and regulator assembly with a generic equivalent and it’s fine. The self-igniter lasted a lot longer than most, but eventually quit and had to be replaced. More seriously, the clever grease-collecting underbody which funnels drippings into a little tray fell off one of its supports due to corrosion. Meh, I propped it up again with some copper wire. The Weber is still going after a quarter century, albeit with some replacement parts and prosthetics.
There is no question about Weber’s quality from 25 years ago.
The question is for grills after 2010.
Had one I bought in 2008 and was still a great charcoal grill up until last fall when I gave it way. If I wasn’t moving soon I think it would have outlived me.
I have one model down (Spirit I think) purchased circa 2020. I mostly don’t have complaints about the quality… despite that the entire grill basically melted down and burned the bottom out. Thankfully there’s a 10-year warranty, un-thankfully the India-based CS left something to be desired. Very slow response time and problem solving, eventually I got replacement parts which was easy enough to install but it still took some time.
IIRC production is China-based for that line, but the Genesis was US. That may not still be the case.
Their entry level propane/NG line is the Q grills. Technically tabletop but stands are available. Spirit is mid-grade, Genesis above that, Summit at their top.
It sounds like all Spirit grills are assembled in China and Genesis is a mix. So far it appears Genesis & the Summit line still have high quality, but I’m still researching.
I mostly use a tiny copy-cat, the Cobb, which is very similar but way more portable.
It is also very fuel efficient, the original design was to use maize cobs as fuel for people living in poverty, and somehow it became a rich man’s toy.
I like it a lot, but it only caters to 3 or four people. I’ve roasted chicken, baked bread, seared prawns, it’s really great for a one off - because of its size it does not retain heat once the lid is off.
Otherwise, I like Webers, I have one, but aside from the occasional weird ideas (whole turkey for Xmas) I use it basically as any other grill. It is, after all, a grid above coals, in a weird UFO shape…
Yeah in retrospect I probably would’ve looked at Genesis but also a lot of household and COVID costs then and decided to go for the extra burner at that price point. I did do a bit of research and Weber was recommended 2020-2021 at least, but didn’t hear about the Genesis difference at the time.
Places like Costco have had it on sale and it’s probably about the right season(?) to check if you have/want a membership.
Of course. Hence my “FWIW” preface, wherein the “what it’s worth” part amounts to “not much”. 
But one thing I’ll note is that the current price of the basic “Spirit” Weber two-burner model is almost exactly half the price I paid 25 years ago, dollar for dollar, not adjusted for inflation. About a quarter the price if adjusted for inflation.
Yet they still claim to be using stainless steel burners. Is this a “Chinese Miracle”, or are the burners paper-thin? Definitely check reviews and draw your own conclusions.
Here’s the Wirecutter article…
Hmm, I don’t see the usual option for an unlocked link, but you may be a subscriber or have some other way to look at it.
I won’t be buying a Spirit, most likely a Genesis.