Paying Too Much for WEBER Grill Parts?

[Bruce Wrenn]

Recently I was given a Weber Spirit e-310 grill. It needed the following parts: ignitor, flavorizer bars, and lastly burner tubes. Burner tubes weren't shot, but I wanted to replace them while in there. After looking at both Amazon and Ebay, I ordered the needed parts. I chose the GasSaf flavorizer bars from Amazon ($19.99 instead of $52.99 for genuine Webers.) Ignitor from Ebay ($13.46 from Bob's grills, instead of Weber for $39.99.) Burner tubes from Amazon (DELsbbq $22.59 vs $68.44 for Weber part. Weber parts totaled out to $161.42 vs $56.04 for generic parts. Sales tax would have added another seven bucks to genuine Weber parts. Now for the kicker! I ordered SS flavorizer bars instead of steel, ignitior had EXACT same numbers on back, except for manufacturing date, and burner tubes came with Weber instruction pack included. So I saved over $100 by NOT BUYING genuine WEBER parts, even though two out of three were actually WEBER parts .

[Stan Calow]

Thanks good to know. I have a Spirit too, and really like it, so plan to replace parts as needed.

[jack duren]

I need a few parts for a Charmglow. The drawer was $120 an internal burner is $160. Pretty expensive parts..

[Erik Loza]

We have a Genesis(?) and my wife grills probably 3-4 times per week. So far, I've replaced the igniter, burner tubes, and those V-profile spanner bars. The only thing that was Weber brand was the igniter. I think the Weber is like the Honda Civic of gas grills: Plenty of aftermarket mod parts.

Erik

[Dave Lehnert]

Don't quote me on this but believe some Weber grills have a 10 year guarantee. See guys on the Weber forum getting parts under warranty all the time.
I would not put much stock in a part being the same because it has a "Weber instruction pack" Easy for a knock off to copy it.
Having said that. I purchased an after market stainless steel flavor bars for my Weber and they are very well made.

[Frank Pratt]

As far as quality goes, there are Webers and there are Webers. 6 or 8 years ago I got a Genesis from the local BBQ emporium & paid a bit more than what superficially looked like the same model at Home Depot. But there were differences; thinner grates, different burners & bars, much cheaper cabinet. The models that the big box stores carry are specific to them. They take an existing model & then cut costs to meet a price point.

The burners & other internal parts are nowhere near end of life, the grates are good as new, and the cabinet is still looking almost new. The only thing I'm kinda disappointed with is that the plastic on the knobs has gotten rough. Overall, it's been an excellent grill. My son bought the one from HD the same summer I got mine & the internal parts are rotten & the grates are in bad shape.

I wonder how the life of the aftermarket parts compares to the OEM parts.

[Terry Wawro]

I have an old Weber Genesis Silver B that a friend gave me when he sold his house and moved to the islands. It's over 20 years old and almost nothing is original on it. The burners, grates, regulator, thermometer and igniter have all been replaced. I even found a free "donor" grill and used it to replace out the bottom half that had developed a hole in one side. A fresh coat of paint and it looks almost new.

It still works great and gets used at least once a week.