Are Weber gas grills worth the premium?

[Deeko]

Lets start this thread with this - I know dozens of you are going to want to chime in with "lolz deeko real men use charcoal ha gas is for n00bs" or some other elitist garbage that has nothing to do with my thread. Save it. I intend to get a simple charcoal grill as well, but I'm generally too lazy for that so I want a nice gas grill as well, and that is what this thread pertains to.

Ok, now that we've got that out of the way....

I'm looking at grills in the $400-$600 range. I really like the Char Broils in that range, they've got some grills with a lot of features, infrared cooking (which really I don't know much about, but quick internet research seems to approve), etc. Webers are much simpler, and much more expensive. To get the same grilling space, burners, surfaces, etc as the $400 Char Broil, I need to spend $700 in Weber. The consensus is that they're a higher build quality and therefore more durable.

My question is...does that make them worth the premium? If something fails on the Char Broil, I can get a replacement part, and it will still be cheaper than the Weber. Does anyone have experience with both brands? As a side note, opinions on infrared vs standard propane grills?

 

[Zebo]

I use Weber because Steven Raichlen uses them. Seriously I had a cheap Lowe grill and it put out so much heat at the rear it burned steaks on one end and was medium rare on the other. I chucked that POS and bought a smallish $600 weber and im in BBQ heaven. Evenly cooked meats and grill is easy to clean relative with stainless surfaces.

 

[sygyzy]

I'm looking at Weber gas too for roughly the same price range. I don't BBQ that much but I think it'd be nice to have versus the Baby-Q I currently use.

 

[soulcougher73]

Good question. I am in the same boat and have been looking at the Weber E320 model but they are $700 on Amazon

 

[spidey07]

HELL yes.

 

[GuitarDaddy]

I finally bit the bullet this year and bought a Weber gas grill and it is by far the best grill I've ever used and at less than $400 not that expensive either

I have had all kinds of grills some costing much more and nothing compares to this small/medium Weber Q320

http://www.google.com/products/cata...log_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CCsQ8wIwAA#


Unless you regularly feed 10+ people this is all you need. I've cooked for 6-7 many times and still had room to spare. It has massive double cast iron grills and has none of that thin cheap ass stainless steel that rusts out in a couple of seasons

 

[Jadow]

For gas grills I believe in getting cheap ones.

Get the 89 dollar aussie or char broil from Wal-Mart, use it for about 6 years, then replace. I'm on year 6 of my aussie and it still works.

If you wanna spend money on a grill, get a ceramic kamado style cooker, Primo or Big Green egg.

They're charcol, but for lazy people, easy to clean, very low maitenence, low ash, and they just plain rule. If I need to grill up some quick hot dogs or burgers, ill use my gas grill, for steaks, chicken, cooking for a party, smoking some beef brisket, etc.. I use my Big Green Egg.

 

[Jzero]

I think above about $250 it's worth getting the Weber.

 

[Legendary]

I just ran a 60 person BBQ using a Weber gas grill with absolutely no issues.
In fact, it kicked a serious amount of ass. All the food was cooked beautifully.

 

[BoomerD]

We BBQ all year and have burned through numerous Craftsman and Charbroil cheapos over the years. (not always cheap in price...just in quality)

About 5 years ago we stumbled onto a Weber Gold C at Home Depot that was heavily discounted because of a small bent place on the back panel from when they locked it up with a cable. IIRC, it was normally $699 and we got it for $350. It took me a matter of a couple of minutes to straighten the bent piece of tin.
This is the best gas grill we've ever had in 30+ years of gas grills.

Even heating, 3 burners, (no side burner...don't like them) well built.

Most cheapo grills we'd have replaced the burners at least once by now...the Weber is still on the original parts and showing no sign of needing replacement.

 

[Deeko]

A little more context....

I'm looking at this CharBroil ($399) vs the Spirit 320 ($580) Weber or the Genesis 320 ($699 on Amazon) Weber.

 

[Wheezer]

another vote for a Weber...by far the best gas grill I have ever owned...you CANNOT go wrong...do it.

 

[MikeyIs4Dcats]

I never bought into the Weber hype, but then 2 years ago I got in on the $197 Weber E310 deal at Home Depot. I must say, it has completely changed my grilling habits and frequency for the better. MUCH better cooking.

That said, 2008 was the last year the Spirit line was made in the US with high grade stainless. Now they are partially Chinese made with lower grade stainless. Do some research and if you can afford it get the higher grade stainless line.

 

[Zebo]

BTW Deeko we got one that hooks up to house gas as I don't like fuckin with empty canisters right when you gotta get your grill on.

Something to think about...

This one
http://www.amazon.com/Weber-3880001...5?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1276555003&sr=1-5

 

[ElFenix]

my father has a 15+ year old genesis. the paint is starting to wear and every once in a while one of the wooden side tray bars needs replaced. but it still heats evenly. he did replace the ignition last year, first time he's done that.

 

[BurnItDwn]

Webber's are worth a couple hundred dollar premium IMO. But, that doesn't mean that everything else is crap. Bought a Kenmore about 6 years ago, it was built by Webber, but costed me about $100 less than a "comparable" Webber branded model.

 

[Deeko]

Zebo - the CharBroil can use both propane or hook up to the gas line...unfortunately, I currently rent and I doubt the landlord would be happy with me hooking up a grill to the gas line, so if I went Weber, I'd go with the propane option.

MikeyIs4Dcats - that's what I've seen, the Spirit line right now is just not as good as classic Weber, which is why I feel if I go Weber I need to splurge on the $700 Genesis, which I have a hard time stomaching, considering comparable alternatives are almost 1/2 the price.

 

[Deeko]

Webber's are worth a couple hundred dollar premium IMO. But, that doesn't mean that everything else is crap. Bought a Kenmore about 6 years ago, it was built by Webber, but costed me about $100 less than a "comparable" Webber branded model.

That's an interesting option. Is there a way to tell if a Kenmore grill is built by Weber? Or are all of them?

 

[CraigRT]

No.. my folks have a Weber, and I prefer my buddy's Broil King hands down.

The Weber is solid, but works no better than the Broil King. My friends BBQ has needed no maintenance and the Weber has needed a few new parts over the last few years.

 

[BurnItDwn]

That's an interesting option. Is there a way to tell if a Kenmore grill is built by Weber? Or are all of them?

They contract out different manufacturers for different models. I found mine was a Weber because it was literally exactly the same as the Weber I was comparing it to, and I had researched it on the net.

It's not always the easiest to tell for sure though....

 

[Jeeebus]

Deeko - just an FYI. I saw a link to a Genesis 310 on slickdeals.net for approx. $580. better than the Spirit you linked to above. I have the Genesis 310 (or maybe it's the 320 - hell if I know) and it is most certainly the best grill I have ever owned.

 

[SpongeBob]

I have that Weber Spirit and it is sweet. Worth every penny! It's on its third summer and I don't ever regret not going with the Genesis.

 

[GuitarDaddy]

A little more context....

I'm looking at this CharBroil ($399) vs the Spirit 320 ($580) Weber or the Genesis 320 ($699 on Amazon) Weber.

I spent a good week going back and forth between the Spirit 320 and the Genesis 320 and couldn't make up my mind and didn't even consider a Q series grill, I drove to a BBQ galore store 40mi away so I could compare the two grills side by side and thats where I saw the Q320 which was considerably cheaper, actually fit my needs better (not crazy about side burners) had more basic grill space than the Spirit and burners and grill system that seemed superior to the other two grills and overall seemed sturdier and more weather resistant and the super heavyduty cast kettle style body intrigued me, this tottaly screwed up my decision and made me walk out without a grill and start researching the Q320. Spent another week looking at reiview of the three grills and ultimately decided on the Q320.

IMO unless you must have a side burner and or the undergrill cabinet space the Q is a better grill all around. The combination of the cast alluminum kettle and cast iron grills cooks INCREDIBLE, I've been grillin for over 30 years on some great grills including the original Genesis and this little kettle outcooks them all, it cooks fast and locks in the juices like no other grill I've ever used.

Like most everyone the different look, lack of SS, and plastic cart made me overlook this model but upon further inspection the cart is heavy duty and will weather better than the SS, the kettle is awesome and will probably outlast everything else on the grill. It easier to move around than the others and has a nice grillcover thats also cheaper than the covers for the larger box grills

 

[aresvista]

I'm telling from many years of experience, I've owned many different name brand grills, both gas and charcoal, Weber quality and performance is the best. It doesn't matter if it's gas or charcoal, these grills seem to always work the best. Whether it's a genesis or old school black kettle, Weber has given me the best results. And they always seem to look the nicest to!

 

[Dulanic]

Good question. I am in the same boat and have been looking at the Weber E320 model but they are $700 on Amazon

I just bought the E320, 10% bing cashback + 5% quarterly chase freedom rewards.... not bad. From home depot for the 10% bing. I went through this whole debate myself. With the warranty and the sevice and quality of the weber there was no question to me.