We've started to perform some series reviews on our favourite barbecues we offer. A few weeks back, we showed you the Napoleon Prestige 500 Series. Now we wanted to highlight one of its rivals (It's a heavyweight bout!).
Weber has been an industry leader for decades in the barbecue universe, and we wanted to run through one of their most popular series. With that said, we'd like to introduce you to the Genesis II CSS & CSE series.
Now, we'll start off by breaking down the different models, you'' have either a CSS or CSE, along with either a 315 or 335. You can see below how the combination of letters and numbers are represented.
Now that we have this, we know the CS model is only found with select special dealers (such as yours truly) and not the common big box store. After that we get an indication of the cart colour - S for stainless, E for black enamel. Then we get into the good stuff, the first digit indicates the number of main burners (3), the 2nd is the accessory burners (1 indicated no side or sear burner, 3 indicating both side and sear burners), and lastly the 5 indicates a closed cart design, compared to some models that end in a 0, which is an open cart design.
Now that we've covered the basics of the models, lets get into the good stuff, starting with the grills exterior. The side shelves, control panel, lid & doors (on the stainless model) are all #304 stainless steel, which means it'll be a long long time before you have to worry about those parts rusting out. On black cart models, the doors and lid are a porcelain enameled steel, which adds some flare to your grills exterior. Once again no worries about rust for a long time. The welded tube frame is extremely durable, and the two locking castors ensure it doesn't end up in your envious neighbours backyard.
The cast-aluminum cookbox is great for retaining heat, while the vintage clamshell lid design is surely one to catch ones eye at a mid afternoon Smokey Soiree. Propane models come with a fuel gauge on the right hand side, along with some wind guards to protect your propane tank (or natural gas hose) from the harsh elements of the Canadian Winters.
On the two mounted side shelves you will find some hooks to easily store your BBQ brush and other accessory goodies. Lastly, but certainly not least is the FREE grill 3 thermometer that is included with CSS and CSE models. Never over cook a roast or beer can chicken again with this bad boy.
Moving on to the juicy stuff, the guts and the glory, the inside of the grill. Here you'll find loads of value, with 9mm stainless steel grills (the thicker, the better the heat retention), 513 square inches of primary grilling space, and a collapsible warming rack adding an extra 156 square inches.
Weber's outstanding GS4 High Performance Grilling System offers their extremely reliable, battery powered infinity ignition system, high-performance stainless steel burners and stainless steel flavourizers (We did mention value, didn't we?).
The three main stainless steel burners offer up 13,000 BTU's a piece, or 39,000 total. 335 Models also come with the 12,000 BTU side burner (perfect for boiling water and prepping sauces), and the extra sear burner (placed in-between two of your main burners) offers an extra 9,000 BTU's.
Finally, we end with Weber's warranty on these fantastic units. These units come with a 10 year top to bottom warranty. What does that mean? Well, everything from your burners and your grates, down to the very last nut and bolt, are covered for 10 years. It means you can pretty much guarantee at least a decade of happiness out of this grill.
If you have more questions about this series, or you're not quite convinced just yet, stop by or call any of our 5 locations across Canada and one of our BBQ experts will help you through the process. We have two locations in Calgary (North & South), Alberta and three locations across the Greater Toronto Area: Burlington, Oakville & Etobicoke, Ontario.