Looking for user experience with Napoleon Grills

[BenInTexas]

Hi all,

Please redirect me if this is not the right forum.

I'm interested in the Napoleon Prestige 500 with the Rotisserie and side burner. I'm not familiar with Napoleon and was wondering if anyone on these boards owned one and was willing to share their experience.

My current grill is an old Weber Silver B that I've been using for almost 9 years that I picked up off of Craigslist. I really love this grill, but one of the burners has long stopped working and it needs some work. I thought about buying another Weber, but all of the gas grills that I can afford (Genesis and Spirit) are made in China. And with all things being relatively equal, I'd like to help out US or at least N. American manufacturing. I heard that the Napoleon Prestige series is made in Canada and their manufacturing people volunteered their time to help make PPEs during Covid. So with all that, if the Napoleon is comparable to Weber, I'd like to buy one. I'm due for a mid life crisis anyways so instead of a shiny new car, I'm going to buy a shiny new grill.

I'd appreciate any guidance here.

thanks,
Ben

[thedude9999]

I don’t own one, but I know several people that do. Very high quality grills that I’ve heard no complaints over. BBQ stores here are recommending them over Weber now as they are apparently better quality. It’s a Canadian company, those grills are made right here in Ontario. If I needed to replace my Weber Genesis today - I’d do so with a Napoleon.

While not directly related - I replaced my furnace and AC a few years ago with Napoleon units - they have been rock solid.

[70monte]

Originally Posted by BenInTexas

Hi all,

Please redirect me if this is not the right forum.

I'm interested in the Napoleon Prestige 500 with the Rotisserie and side burner. I'm not familiar with Napoleon and was wondering if anyone on these boards owned one and was willing to share their experience.

My current grill is an old Weber Silver B that I've been using for almost 9 years that I picked up off of Craigslist. I really love this grill, but one of the burners has long stopped working and it needs some work. I thought about buying another Weber, but all of the gas grills that I can afford (Genesis and Spirit) are made in China. And with all things being relatively equal, I'd like to help out US or at least N. American manufacturing. I heard that the Napoleon Prestige series is made in Canada and their manufacturing people volunteered their time to help make PPEs during Covid. So with all that, if the Napoleon is comparable to Weber, I'd like to buy one. I'm due for a mid life crisis anyways so instead of a shiny new car, I'm going to buy a shiny new grill.

I'd appreciate any guidance here.

thanks,
Ben

You can probably still get parts for your Silver B. I had one and they are nice grills.

I've not heard anything really negative about Napoleon grills other than being a little expensive.

[Qkooker]

I did a lot of research before I replaced my old gas grill. Like you said made in China, is not my cup of tea, so I passed on the Weber. I ended up buying this one; Napoleon Rogue XT 425 SIB Natural Gas Grill with Infrared Side Burner - Black - RXT425SIBNK-1. I love it, well made and a great warranty. Set me back for $800 but came with a nice cover that fits like a glove with that price. It took about six weeks for delivery due to the company not mass producing. The wife loves cooking on this and I like the cast iron grill verses the stainless for the taste.

[NoOne]

I have the exact grill you are looking at, it is solid as a tank and cooks evenly, really great grill. I love the rotisserie and back burner, you can’t go wrong with it.

I’ll never go back to a Weber gasser and I never got super excited about them, but the Napoleon hits the mark for me, built well, always reliable, cleans up easy. Not much more I can say.

Good luck with your decision.

[Gyosa]

I don’t believe they’re 304 stainless , therefore disposable grill.

Bk

[NoOne]

Originally Posted by Gyosa

I don’t believe they’re 304 stainless , therefore disposable grill.

Bk

While it doesn’t state it is 304 stainless, it is heavy duty stainless for sure. Coming in well over 200lbs, it is not Char Broiler quality.

Therefore - speaking from experience, they are as far from a disposable grill as you can get.

[ChrisBarb]

Originally Posted by Gyosa

I don’t believe they’re 304 stainless , therefore disposable grill.

Bk

Literally no new grill is exclusively 304 anymore, except the extreme high end, $5,000.00 plus

[ChrisBarb]

Originally Posted by No1

While it doesn’t state it is 304 stainless, it is heavy duty stainless for sure. Coming in well over 200lbs, it is not Char Broiler quality.

Therefore - speaking from experience, they are as far from a disposable grill as you can get.

I agree. The "not 304" comment is dumb or possibly flame bait. I have a Broil King Regal S490 which weighs about 200 lbs bought in March 2014. I don't see it rusting out any time soon. Excellent grill. They are made in either Indiana or Ontario (BK has plants in both Canada and the USA). No Chinese bs.

[MattGoose]

Originally Posted by BenInTexas

Hi all,

Please redirect me if this is not the right forum.

I'm interested in the Napoleon Prestige 500 with the Rotisserie and side burner. I'm not familiar with Napoleon and was wondering if anyone on these boards owned one and was willing to share their experience.

My current grill is an old Weber Silver B that I've been using for almost 9 years that I picked up off of Craigslist. I really love this grill, but one of the burners has long stopped working and it needs some work. I thought about buying another Weber, but all of the gas grills that I can afford (Genesis and Spirit) are made in China. And with all things being relatively equal, I'd like to help out US or at least N. American manufacturing. I heard that the Napoleon Prestige series is made in Canada and their manufacturing people volunteered their time to help make PPEs during Covid. So with all that, if the Napoleon is comparable to Weber, I'd like to buy one. I'm due for a mid life crisis anyways so instead of a shiny new car, I'm going to buy a shiny new grill.

I'd appreciate any guidance here.

thanks,
Ben

I went through the search, and although I didn't end up buying a propane grill, the Napoleon was way out in the lead for me.



The only concern that I had was overall heat output, which was lower (on a square inch basis) than similar grills. I talked to them and they said they were actually planning a BTU upgrade by changing out the nozzles. Not sure if they ever implemented that, but would have been the nail in the coffin for the Weber.

Good luck!

[Hawklaw]

With any Gasser I think the key would be to investigate what the spare parts distribution looks like. Burners, ignitions, etc. are usually wear items and will eventually have to be replaced. I have heard so many horror stories of nice, expensive gas grills from smaller companies turning into scrap because some relatively simple part became unobtanium or just so unreasonably expensive it makes you question fixing things.

[BenInTexas]

Thank you all for your comments and thoughts.

I did look at Napoleons website and they are selling parts. My understanding is that Napoleon is actually a pretty big company that does more than sell grills so hopefully they will be in business for quite some time. Also, somewhere I heard that original owners receive 50% off on any parts for their grill - if it isn't covered by their warranty.

The only question left now is propane vs natural gas. While I have NG inside, I would have to hire someone to bring it out to the porch - need to figure out if it is worth it.

[Gyosa]

There’s plenty of 100% 304 stainless grills out there ...
None of them are “cheap” - but certainly less than $5k.

AOG - affordable , made by Firemagic
Firemagic - the best of the best.
Blaze - made in China , but still very good and more affordable.
Just to name a few ...

My point being , anything that is not 100% 304 (except aluminum - the PGS aluminums are nice ) will eventually “rot” from within - especially if they’re not easy to take apart and clean. Yeah , you gotta clean a grill.

And you certainly want either 304 burners or cast burners , as well as 304 grates.

For what a Napoleon costs , just a little more cash will get you a much better built AOG for example.

Google it ...
Not trolling , just my experience.

Bk

Originally Posted by ChrisBarb

Literally no new grill is exclusively 304 anymore, except the extreme high end, $5,000.00 plus

[Dweverett]

Originally Posted by Gyosa

There’s plenty of 100% 304 stainless grills out there ...
None of them are “cheap” - but certainly less than $5k.

AOG - affordable , made by Firemagic
Firemagic - the best of the best.
Blaze - made in China , but still very good and more affordable.
Just to name a few ...

My point being , anything that is not 100% 304 (except aluminum - the PGS aluminums are nice ) will eventually “rot” from within - especially if they’re not easy to take apart and clean. Yeah , you gotta clean a grill.

And you certainly want either 304 burners or cast burners , as well as 304 grates.

For what a Napoleon costs , just a little more cash will get you a much better built AOG for example.

Google it ...
Not trolling , just my experience.

Bk

I agree that you can get it for less than $5k but it's still a pretty big premium over the Napoleon. I think the Prestige 500 is in the $1,200 range and I believe the AOG is pushing $3,000 with the cart. I think you need to go to the Pro line for Blaze to have all 304 which also gets you up into that same $3k range.

I know that the Napoleon Prestige Pro uses 304 burners but don't remember if that's one of the differences vs the lower Prestige line.

Ultimately I think Napoleon is a great option for someone who might otherwise be considering a Weber. If I was inclined to spend Firemagic money though, no question there are better options.

[Gyosa]

There’s several websites where you can find the Blaze and AOG at substantial discounts from MSRP .... the Napoleon as well.

But , I agree ... the Napoleon is a step up from even the TOTL Weber summit series - although they are both probably close in price.

The burner tubes on the Napoleon look a little chintzy...

I went down this road several years ago , and decided to get a 304 grill with easily available replacement parts - although it has a very long warranty .

I figured might as well spend a few more bucks and get one that will last vs replacing them every few years.
Cheaper in the long run.

Bk