The only disappointment is that the warming rack only holds around six uncooked 4-inch burgers. It would be nice to have a larger warming rack, but the reduced size allows you to reach the middle and back rows of the grill more easily, so it’s an acceptable weber q trade-off. Additionally, the warming rack sits 6 inches above the primary cooking grates, so you can flip food over with a spatula without hitting it against the warming rack. You can also fold the rack out of the way when you don’t need it.
Even though it’s stainless steel, this grill should still be easy to clean (though you’ll need a stainless-steel cleaner for best results!). The weber spirit is lightweight for a barbecue grill – I’d estimate around 60 or 70 pounds including all accessories. The weber spirit comes with two flavorizer bars – these are located on the very top, under the lid. I went through the portable bbq progression of cheap bbq grills every 5-6yrs when they start falling apart and tossing them. I finally decided that this being like any other appliance in the house needs to be of quality and it was time to spend a little more to get it… I have had the Genesis series for some 10yrs outside with no cover still starts with original igniter – only replaced battery once.
The Genesis II’s most obvious design innovation—and our favorite by far—is the externally mounted propane tank. Instead of having to wrestle the tank into and out of a cramped cabinet beneath the grill, you hang it on easily accessed mounts on the left side of the grill’s support frame. Overall, the cooking tests were far more important to us; you assemble a grill only once. But poor instructions can make assembly slow, frustrating, and full of retraced steps. Same for assembly that requires lots of screws and bolts, or screws and bolts of multiple sizes.
The app also has recipes and a step-by-step feature that sends alerts to your phone when it’s time to tend to your food. All of these extra gadgets require power, and the Genesis Smart grill takes 10 batteries. The Wifi module alone uses six D batteries, although there is an option to power that part with a power bank. We assume the four other batteries power the igniter, LED lights, and fuel gauge. We’re not big fans of smart cooking gear, there’s too many little things that can glitch out. It’s also nice to just put down the phone and engage in cooking time without screens.
The weber spirit comes with 10,000 BTU/hr output capability. This is primarily due to the two separate burners on the grill. In fact, if you’re grilling something that needs space to cook all sides then I’d recommend using multiple grills instead of just one. The weber spirit is extremely simple to use – it comes with a little side burner which you can turn on and off easily, as well as one ignition switch. I’ve never had to contact customer service for my weber spirit grill – it’s served me admirably for several years now without any significant problems. It’s not cylindrical like most grill designs – I’m beginning to think that with all their different models it’s simply hard to make any new type of shape with propane grills.