Weber Summit S-470 Stainless-Steel Natural-Gas Grill

Purchased the grill and it was delivered with a broken knob and a faulty regulator. I called Weber customer service (800) 446-1071. Within three days I had the replacement parts which were super easy to install. Held my breath and attempted to light my grill. Like magic, the gas ran freely, the ignitor sparked and voila, FLAME!!! IT WORKS PERFECTLY!!!

I have to give a shout out to Weber customer service. The wait time on the phone was a bit long but it was so worth it. Helpful and understanding doesn’t even begin to cover it. Three days for replacement parts, that’s amazing considering we are in a pandemic and some jackass needs grill parts. I truly can not say enough about the superior customer service.

REGISTER YOUR GRILL!!! This is how you get the 10 year warranty and those free replacement parts. Take the extra time on the internet to register your grill, just do it and you’ll have 10 years of piece of mind.

Now for the grill… It heats so evenly and controlling the heat is easy to do. No matter if you are using the direct heat or indirect method it heats and cooks wonderfully. The rotisserie is amazing! The hens and chickens we’ve cooked are full of flavor and moist. The side burner is really nice to keep sauces warm if you make your own. If you need a quick melt to brown butter or sauté veggies in a skillet it rocks! Watch the heat if you like to cook an egg for your burger however, the heat can jump up quickly and the burner function is the most difficult to control.

All-in-all, this is the best grill we’ve ever purchased. Totally worth every penny and then some. I would recommend this grill to anyone without hesitation. Enjoy!

About two years ago, my dad asked me to help him find a replacement for the 10 year old Char Broil that at that point was rusting on their back porch.

I did my research, and found this guy. Weber has a reputation for making some good stuff, and this top-of-the-line Summit model really delivers.

–Construction–
It is far and away one of the most substantial home grills I’ve seen and used. Its a big boy, and everything feels pretty heavy duty. Maybe not “cast iron pot” heavy duty. More like Ford pickup heavy duty. You know if you kicked it hard enough you could probably dent it, but any thing short of that is unlikely to hurt it. All of the structural hardware is nice and thick. The side shelves have ample workspace, and are extremely stable. I get the impression they can hold a pretty good amount of weight.

The grates inside are super heavy duty, and retain heat extremely well.

I really appreciate all of the storage space inside. Its nice not having to find somewhere to put the rotisserie and other accessories. The hind away motor unit is neat, too.

The propane sensor is a great feature, as are the lighted controls. I’m a big fan of the automatic LED grill light, too.

We’ve never had issues getting the burners lid. The onboard ignition always works flawlessly.

They always keep it covered when they aren’t using it, and two years down the line it looks just about as good as it did when we first bought it.

Its not totally perfect, though. One of the burner controls isn’t mounted straight It works as it should, but it still bugs me to look at. And the magnetic latches on the cabinet doors are pretty much garbage. But I swapped them out with something stronger, and its worked out fine.

All-in-all, minor details.

–Grill Performance–
I’ll tell you what. You get spoiled using this thing. There’s just so much so much heat on tap. I have never needed to worry about putting too much food on the grill at once. As long as there’s an open space, it will grill it all just the same.

No matter how cold outside it gets, I can still grill burgers with the lid open (as you’re supposed to) with zero problems and perfect results.

The searing station is a really nice feature. I didn’t think I’d ever use it, but it comes in really handy in getting a nice crust on steaks and burgers.

Let me put it this way: any time I need to grill at someone elses house, it always feels like a huge step down. You really get used to the Weber.

–The Smoker–
I’m torn about this one. While its one of my favorite features on the grill, its not without its issues.

First off, should you get a grill with a smoker box, or should you get a regular grill and a separate, dedicated smoker?

That really depends on what you want to do. If you’re planning on doing a lot of heavy duty smoking, for big groups, every weekend, definitely get a separate unit. They sell good, propane powered ones here on Amazon for under $200 that would be just as easy to use as an onboard unit, would let you smoke a whole lot more, and probably do a better job of it.

BUT- if that doesn’t sound like you, if you’re only interested in occasionally smoking stuff for your family and maybe a few friends, the built-in might be the better solution. A separate unit means a second, big (and ugly) cooker than needs a place to sit, needs to be maintained, and needs its own gas. The onboard unit saves you that hassle.

First off, it really does work pretty well. On my first try using it, I smoked literally the most delicious salmon I’ve ever tasted. On my first EVER attempt at smoking ribs, the results were beyond perfect.

Its not just a gimmick. It is in fact a functional smoker. BUT smoking involves indirect heat, and often involves big cuts of meat. To get the power you need means turning on extra burners in addition to those in the smoker. When I was cooking the 6 racks of ribs, I found my self turning different burners on and off to maintain the temperature inside without allowing the heat to become to localized.

Another issue is the location of the smoker. Its situation on the far right side of the grill. What this means is that some of the smoke just pours out of the gap between the hood and the grill without passing by the meat. I’ve seen people online use different types of gaskets to keep the smoke in with varying rates of success.

Personally, I would have preferred some sort of provision for a big, removable tray situated between the burners and the grate on which to place the wood, rather than the little, always-there box on the side. But that’s just me.

An interesting feature of the smoker/grill combo is the ability to hybrid smoke/grill food. In other words, grill food while also infusing a bit of smoking flavor as opposed to the tradition method. This aspect of the grill really shines, and gives some neat results.

–Conclusion–
You get what you pay for. This is a fabulous grill. Are there better grills than a Weber? Sure, just like there are better cars than a Mercedes. You’d just need to pay twice as much to get there, but where you are is good enough that you don’t really feel like you need to.

I wanted to love this grill. I have had it now for four years and it performed exceptionally for the first couple of years. At this price point you expect the best quality. It is a beautiful grill and I enjoyed using it until time began to consume the metal parts. The stainless used on the grill is not the same quality they used prior to this generation and it’s breaking down faster than my Blue Ember grill that cost substantially less than this. I would have bought another one except they went out of business. I was torn between this and the Napolean. I contacted customer service for a replacement thermometer. Easy process except they sent me someone else’s order. I reached out to them to let them know. Eventually they congratulated themselves for the order being complete but never resolved the mistake. I ended up buying the part myself. Anyway, the metal used is now crusty after after four years. The burners throw out a nasty yellow flame. The flavorizer bars and drain pan absorb fat and create a fire every time I use the grill now. The exterior still looks nice but I don’t enjoy using it anymore, I might as well grill on a bonfire. Next grill will not be a Weber.