New Member - Weber Spirit Question

[cjm8232]

Hello Everyone,

I am new a member here and have been browsing for about 1 week or so and you guys really have a great forum here!

2 weeks ago I purchased a 2013 Weber Spirit SP-310 (my first ever real gas grill).

I think I like this grill (I have no choice it was $550)...However, it doesn't get as hot as my old cheap-o uni-flame grill from wal-mart. It's impossible to sear a steak or really get much maillard reaction going on at all on any meats. My hood thermometer hits 600 when it's closed. I am not sure of my grate temp since I am still waiting for my thermoworks probe to arrive.

My question is: would it be dumb to place one of the grates directly on top of the flavorizer bars to get the food closer to the burners?

 

[Ron_L]

Hmmm... I wouldn't think you'd have a problem searing on a three burner. It's rated at 32,000 BTU. My old Genesis is a three burner rated at 36,000 BTU and it sears great. 4,000 BTU doesn't seem that much of a difference.

I'm not sure about putting a grate on the flavorizer bars, but I can't see where it would hurt.

You could also try Grillgrates. I bought a set when they were on Woot.com a while back and I've been using them on my pellet grill and I am very happy.

Here is a steak I cooked on them recently...

 

[cjm8232]

That looks like an awesome steak! I was thinking of trying out a set of those grillgrates. I just find it odd that my old cheap-o uni-flame seemed to get hotter than this weber.

On the uni-flame with the 3 burners on high you had to keep the lid open, otherwise you'd burn everything. On this Weber the 3 burners seem like they have to be on high the whole time and if you want any sort of heat the lid has to be down. I like to do steaks and burgers on high with the lid open so as not to roast them with convection heat.

I called Weber and it seems like my grill is acting normal. I guess they are just not that hot with the lid open. I'll be interested to see what my grate temp is once I get my thermoworks probe.

On the other hand I'm going to try and set one of the grates directly on the flavor bars and see what I get for searing. I'll report back!