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I don't even have to worry lugging the charcoal from the garage and back every time. I received this grille as a father's day gift. I inherited the original Weber kettle grill from my dad, who bought it around 1980 and I have faithfully used it all these years(2010). The features of the grille are all functional and well thought out. the work table is large enough to fit utensils, platters and various other items vital for grilling. I was hoping for a gas grille for the convenience.
The "doors" on the grill grate make it even easier to move the baskets while grilling. When the box(huge) came my wife didn't want want to hide it so when I got home that night 'surprise". The baskets that hold the burning charcoal are ingenious, I can move them around according to the food I am cooking. With the ease of putting it together and learning about how AWESOME this grille really is,I am so happy that I am a proud owner of the Weber Performer. The grille is quality built like the original I used for 30 years. The propane fired "one touch" lighter is a cinch to light my baskets of charcoal.
Yes, I believe that Weber has designed an as close to perfect charcoal grille that is humanly possible to mankind.
The ash can is anothergreat feature, and is easy to empty and hold probably enough for 4-5 uses. This is a fantastic grill, with all the features of a gas grill, but the flavor benefits of charcoal. The easy to use propane tanks screw right on, and last for about 12 starts. Everything you need is there including a push button ignition lighter. The table is larger enough, the grill is more than ample and you can grill direct or indirect with easy charcoal addition for slow cooking. Some people connect a hose to a bigger tank, but I find the disposable canisters more convenient. There really are no negative I can find, and would highly recommend to any bbq nut.
My Gold does not have a shelf, so I keep it near a small table and use that as a work area. In the garage it stays nice and dry. I was okay with the hook lid holder but my wife always had a problem getting it lined up. Plus its one less piece of equipment I need cluttering up my garage.It has a decent sized work area. Why.
So I no longer have to use my Weber Chimney Starter which works great, but 5 minutes of gas burning under my pile of charcoal is much easier. I am not a fan of using the 1 lb disposable propane tanks. These are both fantastic grills, but now that I have a Performer, with its added features, I will have to say it might be better than my Weber Gold. Thats one less piece of furniture I now have cluttering up my deck.It has a thermometer on the lid.
I know, why is my wife even touching the grill. Weber should have stayed with the 5 lb propane tanks. The tabletop area on the Performer is very handy. I love that feature. Or you can get a Propane Tank Refill Adapter and then use it to fill up the 1 lb disposable bottles from your 20 lb propane tank.
I say this is ONE of the best grills ever, only because I already said that the Weber One-Touch Gold is the best grill ever in a previous review. The Performers wire lid holder hangs the lid much higher, and is actually pretty handy if it is windy because it blocks the wind much better than the hook type lid holder which hangs the lid pretty low down on the kettle.It has a storage area. I know the storage area is designed to hold charcoal, but I store my charcoal in the garage because when it is stored outside it tends to absorb moisture from the air. I use the storage area to store some tools and I roll up the grill cover and store it there when I am cooking.There is only one negative comment I have about this grill. Since I no longer have to heat up my hand to check temperature, my beer stays colder when I hold it. That is what I do and I am able to reuse the disposable bottles over and over again.In my opinion a Weber charcoal grill is superior to any other charcoal grill I have ever used. Here are my reasons.It has a gas ignition system.
Maybe something even better will come along one day, but I cannot imagine what they could do because the Weber is already charcoal grilling perfection.Now all I need is to get a Weber Kettle Rotisserie and I am all set. Normally I remove the lid, hold my hand over the coals, and start counting seconds to try to figure out what my temperature level is. How can you put a price on a feature that important.It has a wire lid holder instead of a small hook welded to the inside of the lid. There are two ways around this problem, the first is to get a hose and adapter so you can connect to a 20 lb propane tank. Fathers day is coming, are my sons paying attention.
I bought this grill last year to replace and old one that had rusted out (not a Weber). The camping gas cylinders are cheap so I always keep spares. I needed a working table and it had to be charcoal. This grill not only met but exceeded all expectations.The wheels roll very easily, the table is easy to clean and durable, nothing has rusted in the past year, and the different methods of cooking on this will keep the chef busy trying new things for a long time.The gas starter works great and lasts for about 10 starts. The rotisserie attachment fits with no problem.Everyone who comes over for a cookout wants one of these. After a year of weekly use I still wouldn't buy anything else.
nothing has gone bad on this product. I cannot say enough good about this product. The only issue has been a self caused crack in the table surface (which was quickly replaced for FREE by weber customer service). I purchased it on Amazon back in 2005 and it has survived harsh PA winters, a 700 mile move to IN and still gives me a great consistent performance (pun intended) I must admit it took me a while to figure out how to manipulate the temp, but that is the fun of cooking with a live fire. If you are looking for a quicker way to enjoy a charcoal prepared meal this is the way to go. One thing that you must remember is that when you purchase a weber, you are not purchasing a grill only, but you are getting a wonderful customer support team that backs it up. I will never purchase any other brand of grill.
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