Weber's Summit FS38 S is the company's flagship gas grill — what you buy when budget isn't the gate. Five PureBlu burners plus a top-down infrared broiler, integrated rotisserie, built-in smoker box, and 681 square inches of primary cooking area put it in a different conversation from the Genesis line. Weber rates it 4.4/5 across 218 customer reviews, with praise centered on heat evenness and the sear feature. At $3,999 it's a luxury purchase, but for the host who entertains weekly and wants one grill that does griddle, pizza, wok, rotisserie, and smoker — it's the only Weber that does all of it without accessory swaps.
Full review
Cooking Performance and Heat Distribution
Five tapered PureBlu burners deliver 65,000 BTU across 681 square inches of primary cooking area — by far the most evenly heated large grate in the Weber lineup. Customer reviews on weber.com average 4.4/5 across 218 ratings, with owners praising heat distribution 'with the 5 burner design.' The top-down 16,000 BTU infrared broiler is the standout feature — it directs blazing heat onto the top of food, producing the edge-to-edge caramelized crust Weber's marketing claims, and per Weber's own usage notes it works best with the lid open on high. Owners describe the searing capability as 'insane' for cooking steaks and melting cheese on burgers.
What makes five burners cook differently from four isn't the extra BTU — it's the ability to truly compartmentalize the grate. Leave burner three off and you have a precisely controllable indirect zone in the middle of the cooking surface; leave burners one and five off and you can hold two separate low-temperature zones for ribs and chicken thighs while burgers sear on burners two and four. The Genesis E-435's four-burner layout forces a binary on/off-half-grate compromise that the FS38 S sidesteps. Combined with the integrated smoker box, the FS38 S can run as both grill and indirect smoker simultaneously without juggling burners.
Build Quality and Materials
Stainless steel construction throughout — 9mm-diameter solid stainless steel rod cooking grates (heaviest in Weber's gas lineup), stainless steel PureBlu burner tubes, stainless steel cabinet, stainless steel side shelves, stainless steel smoker box. The cookbox is cast aluminum with a 15-year no-rust-through warranty — three years longer than the Genesis line. Owner reviews on weber.com consistently use words like 'luxurious' and 'feels like a backyard appliance, not a grill.' The 247-pound shipping weight (vs the Genesis E-435's 220 pounds) is mostly thicker steel in the lid and cookbox. This is Weber's halo product and they built it accordingly.
Rotisserie, Smoker, and Infrared Broiler
Every FS38 S ships with a rotisserie motor, forks, and spit — Weber bills the rotisserie as 'heavy-duty, integrated' and capable of fitting multiple chickens, prime rib, or leg of lamb. There's also a built-in stainless steel smoker box that holds wood chunks and runs cleanly over the dedicated smoker burner for low-and-slow flavor. The 16,000 BTU top-down infrared broiler is a genuinely new capability in the consumer gas-grill space — it sears the top of food while the bottom cooks over conventional burners, more like a salamander broiler than a sear zone. None of the other grills in this comparison have all three of rotisserie, smoker box, and top-down infrared in the box.
The top-down broiler is the feature that distinguishes the FS38 S from every other freestanding propane grill on the market. Restaurant kitchens use salamander broilers for exactly this purpose: caramelize the top of a steak or finish a pizza crust without overcooking the interior. On the FS38 S the broiler is a separate burner mounted in the lid, controlled independently from the five main burners. Open the lid on high for searing thick steaks; close it on low to finish a casserole or melt cheese on a tray of burgers. Owners we read in Weber's review feed describe it as the feature that justifies the $3,999 price tag — assuming you use it weekly.
Side Burner and Smart Features
Side burner is a 12,000 BTU stainless steel unit — useful for stockpots and sauces but, like the Genesis, not the 14,000 BTU ceramic infrared Sizzle Zone burner Napoleon offers on the Prestige 500. The FS38 S is the dumb (non-Smart) version of the Summit. Weber's Summit Smart FS38X S adds Wi-Fi temperature monitoring and integrates with the Weber Connect ecosystem for $5,199 — a $1,200 premium that's only worth it if you actually want app-controlled cooking. Most owners we surveyed in customer reviews don't miss the smart features once they're cooking; the manual controls on the FS38 S are precise and the integrated lid thermometer reads accurate to within 10°F.
The WEBER CRAFTED frame is the underrated feature that separates the FS38 S from competitors. It accepts a full ecosystem of custom-fit grillware: griddle insert (eggs, smash burgers, pancakes), pizza stone (Neapolitan-style at 700°F+), wok insert (Chinese-style stir fry), dual-skewer system (kebabs and yakitori), and fish basket. Each insert costs $150 to $250, but together they let the FS38 S replace a separate flat-top griddle, pizza oven, and outdoor wok station — an ecosystem comparison that bends the FS38 S's $3,999 sticker price closer to fair if you actually use the inserts. No comparable system exists on the Napoleon or Char-Broil platforms.
Assembly and Setup
Weber recommends two people for FS38 S assembly and most owners report four to six hours. The Bilt 3D app supports the FS38 line, but the cart frame, cabinet doors, lid hinge, and shelves are all substantially heavier than the Genesis line and benefit from a helper. Home Depot, BBQGuys, and Weber's own delivery partners offer paid assembly for $200 to $350 — at this price point most buyers take the option. The grill rolls on heavy-duty locking casters but with a 247-pound base weight you're picking your patio spot carefully the first time and not moving it often.
Value at This Price
At $3,999 the Summit FS38 S costs more than two and a half Weber Genesis E-435s, which is the real value question. The honest answer: for 80% of owners, the Genesis is the smarter buy. The FS38 S earns its keep when you genuinely use the rotisserie weekly, smoke regularly enough to want a built-in smoker box, and entertain crowds of 10 to 12 where the 681-square-inch grate matters. If those three patterns describe your cooking, the Summit replaces a separate Weber Smokey Mountain plus a rotisserie kit purchase plus accessory grates — math that lands closer to even. If they don't, you're paying a luxury premium for capability you'll use twice a year.
Where It Falls Short
Weber's customer reviews flag two recurring complaints: the propane tank scale on the cart is awkward to load (the tank hook geometry forces an odd lift), and assembly is heavy enough that solo installation is impractical. The side burner is conventional 12,000 BTU rather than the ceramic infrared Sizzle Zone Napoleon ships on the Prestige 500 — if extreme high-heat side cooking matters, Napoleon wins there. And at 73 inches wide with the side shelves up, the FS38 S simply doesn't fit on most townhouse patios; this is a grill for a freestanding outdoor kitchen bay or a generous wood deck.
Who It's Best For
Buy the Summit FS38 S if you entertain crowds of eight to twelve weekly, actually use rotisserie and smoke regularly, want a single grill that handles griddle, pizza, wok, and broiler with WEBER CRAFTED inserts, and have the patio footprint to host it. Skip it if you're cooking weeknight burgers for a family of four (the Spirit II E-310 saves $3,400 and cooks burgers identically well), if you're primarily a steak-and-rotisserie cook (the Napoleon Prestige 500 sears hotter for one-third the price), or if your patio is under 80 square feet. For the right buyer, the FS38 S is the best gas grill Weber makes; for the wrong buyer, it's $3,000 of capability sitting unused. The honest gating question is whether you'll use the broiler, rotisserie, and smoker box weekly; if the answer isn't a confident yes, the Weber Genesis E-435 is the smarter buy.
Strengths
- +Five 13,000 BTU stainless steel PureBlu burners plus 16,000 BTU top-down infrared broiler total 93,000 BTU — the highest-output Weber gas grill
- +681 sq in primary plus 372 sq in top grate cooks for crowds of 12+ without needing to stage in shifts
- +Integrated rotisserie motor, forks, spit, AND stainless steel smoker box ship in the box — no add-ons needed for low-and-slow or whole birds
- +WEBER CRAFTED frame accepts the full Weber accessory line: griddle, pizza stone, wok, fish basket, dual-skewer
- +15-year cookbox/lid no-rust-through warranty plus 10 years on burners and grates — the strongest Weber gas warranty
Watch-outs
- −$3,999 is a serious investment that only makes sense if you actually entertain crowds or want every cooking technique under one lid
- −247-pound footprint and 73-inch width need a real patio bay — not a townhome or balcony
- −Some owners report the propane-tank scale on the cart is awkward to load — Weber's customer reviews flag it
How it compares
The most capable grill in this lineup at more than double the price of every other option. The Weber Genesis E-435 covers 80% of what a typical Summit owner actually uses for one-third the price; the Summit makes sense when the rotisserie, smoker box, infrared broiler, and WEBER CRAFTED ecosystem all matter on a weekly basis. Versus the Napoleon Prestige 500, the Summit FS38 S offers 181 more sq in of primary cooking area, a built-in top-down broiler instead of a side burner sear, and Weber's accessory ecosystem — but loses on side burner sear temperature.
Who this is for
At a glance: High-frequency hosts entertaining 8-12 people weekly who want one grill that genuinely replaces a separate smoker, pizza oven, and rotisserie.
Why you’d buy the Weber Summit FS38 S
- Five 13,000 BTU stainless steel PureBlu burners plus 16,000 BTU top-down infrared broiler total 93,000 BTU — the highest-output Weber gas grill.
- 681 sq in primary plus 372 sq in top grate cooks for crowds of 12+ without needing to stage in shifts.
- Integrated rotisserie motor, forks, spit, AND stainless steel smoker box ship in the box — no add-ons needed for low-and-slow or whole birds.
Why you’d skip it
- $3,999 is a serious investment that only makes sense if you actually entertain crowds or want every cooking technique under one lid.
- 247-pound footprint and 73-inch width need a real patio bay — not a townhome or balcony.
- Some owners report the propane-tank scale on the cart is awkward to load — Weber's customer reviews flag it.
Rating sources
“Rated 4.4 out of 5 by 218 customers”
“Weber's top-of-the-line gas grill reinvented with features that expand outdoor cooking techniques and enable entertaining at a higher level.”
“Weber Summit FS38 S 5 Burner Liquid Propane Grill Stainless Steel — 203 verified customer reviews.”
Our 4.4 score is the average of these published ratings. Ratings marked * were derived from the reviewer’s written analysis or video transcript — the publisher didn’t print an explicit numeric score, so we inferred one from their own words. Click through to verify. More about methodology.
