b4 i went pellet, the best grill i had was a weber genesis... i started with the cheap walmart gas grills 25 years ago, but would burn them up in in about 2 years... they came with the lava rocks at the time, and really gave great flavor when you got the rocks seasoned after about a year... i always put my old lava racks in the new grill, and added a few for the ones that had burned up to fill the bottom grate again...
about 15 years ago, my dad bought a genesis with the flavorizer bars and didn't like it... he was a true charcoal guy, and didn't like the flare ups of the gas, so he gave it to me... i was not impressed with the new flavorizer bar setup, so i found a grate i could cut down to replace the bars and put my old lava rocks on it... the taste was back and i was happy... that grill finally burned through and was junk about 4 years ago... i replaced it with a q, but because of space was never able to get the spacing right between the rocks and the top grate... the holes in the gas tube were also pointed up instead of out the side as well, and would clog up... also, i hate the grate on that thing... hot and cold spots all over with the design of the grate... it is now relegated to occasional weekend duty in the summer up at camp...
fwiw, the best results i had out of a grill b4 the traeger was the genesis re-worked with the lava rocks... i tried the smoker box and tube in it, but got way better flavor just throwing some wood chips on the lava rocks when i started to cook... awesome flavor, but i had to babysit it all the time and move meat away from fire spots...
i'm seasoning up a couple of pork buts now that will hit the traeger in the morning... i'll throw them on, fill the hopper, and maybe lift the cover to check on them twice in a 10 hour cook... temp will stay consistent, even with the heating and changing sun and wind of the day, and i will pull off 2 beautiful crispy but juicy butts tomorrow evening...
:;:cheers