First off, I've never seen these grills discounted. Everyone sells them for the same price. I've never used an "A" before but I've used many grills with two burners before. I currently own a Silver B, been using it for about 4 years. I have never gotten these results from a 2 burner grill. Like you mentioned, the ability to turn off the center burner allows you to slow cook anything. I know $150 seems like a lot of money, but for insuring you get good results cooking expensive meat, it's worth it.

klara, The part you are referring to is the manifold if it is the metal piece that the regulator rubber hose fits into under the grill. If it were my grill YES I would get a new manifold assembly. Quite frankly I'm surprised that it rusted out so quickly. My Weber Genesis 3000 is 15 years of age sits outside year round here at Va Beach. At about the 2 year point I had a bad center burner and Weber sent me a whole new Manifold and Burner assembly gratus, with the stipulation that I send them the bad one back (they paid postage). Not sure about our economic times and the toll it may have had on Weber but all my dealings with them have been awesome. You should be able to get this part from Weber or one of their authorized repair places. I'm lucky I have a repair place a little over a mile away. Your grill shoud give you many more years of service. I'm originally from New Hampshire. Sister lives in West Quincy Mass. Very Respectfully, Jeff GO NAVY Fly Navy

Yes, it can be converted. Just call Weber and they will be able to give you the details, the parts prices and you can also order the kit from them if you decide to go that route. You can call them any time of day and any day of the week toll-free. The number is on their website (www.weber.com).

I agree with GrillMeister. I bought my first Genesis 3000 when Weber first started making them in the 80s. I had a traditional Charbroil, and the aluminum castings corroded to where the whole thing turned white. Also, the "H" shaped pressed-steel burner corroded to where I had very little heat control. And the chrome wire grills lasted maybe a year. The engineer in me really liked the Genesis design with the pipes for burners, the flavorizer bars and the porcelain coated parts. I did the math, and if the Genesis only lasted up to its warranty, it was cheaper to own the Genesis than to buy Charbroils like the one I had. That Genesis lasted over 10 years. I'm now on my second Genesis; a 1000, which is about 8 years old or so. (I found I didn't use the external burner) I've replaced the bars and grates with stainless parts. And this past weekend, I replaced the rails that the bottom tray slides on. Weber sent those to me at no charge. If I were buying a new grill now, it would be a Silver C. I wouldn't spring for the Gold, cause the SS lid is not that big of a deal to me. I can replace the bars and grates in stainless if I need to down the line. I wouldn't spring for the Summit series, 'cause it's a lot more money for something that is not much more functional. It does look cool, though... The Silver Weber is a great cooking machine.