Weber 44020001 Spirit II E-210 Gas Grill LP Outdoor, Sapphire

I almost ordered the old model when this new Spirit II was released. I was thrilled an updated version came on the market just as I was buying! The extra fifty bucks buys a lot and the price is essentially the same as the old model until a few months ago. This new Weber has many, if not all, of the features of the far more expensive Genesis 200-300 series, including both the GS4 grilling system and iGrill 3 compatibility. The ignition on gas grills is historically terribly unreliable, so I was pleased to note this one comes with a 10 year warranty, as does the whole grill! The new availability of colors was also a plus, I like my red one much better than the standard black. While I was initially not sure of the open cart design, it now seems to be much more practical and the grill does look better than the old style. Design wise I’m left with only one thing I really don’t like. The new model comes with two wheels and two “skids” instead of four casters on the prior model. Weber should have either used two wheels and two casters, like on the Genesis, or at least made it possible to replace or refit the skids with casters as an accessory. Pushing is much better than lift and roll.

Packaging and Assembly: Terrific Weber engineering is obvious upon opening the box. They’ve thought of everything when designing the packaging, and the unpacking, just cut the master carton down to remove the contents. The heavy box, as delivered, was pretty roughed up by the carrier, but after unpacking it was obvious none of the contents could possibly ever have been damaged. After completely unpacking everything there was not a scratch on anything. Do have an empty recycling container handy, there is a lot of cardboard! Weber has done everything possible to make for easy assembly. The parts are easily identifiable and there are dual instructions…an amazingly clear written Assembly Guide is included and a 3-D guide is available on the terrific BILT app. I did find one very minor discrepancy between the two guides, I’ll just say Weber has included plenty of screws,so not to worry!

Assembly of the grill was moving along well, even enjoyable, and just about finished… but then I ran into a significant issue which requires a WARNING! I was installing the left side table, the folding one, when I cut my finger badly on the bottom side of the table. It’s a bit hard to explain exactly where this underneath “edge” on the folding side table is located, so I’ve included a picture. I’m thinking this cannot be on every unit made. I would like to think mine is the only one. This one was just not machined down properly or whatever. But I’m compelled to issue a warning here as the edge I’m speaking of, on mine, is razor sharp….this was not just a little nick, but a fairly deep slice.

I was looking forward to giving this new grill five stars, but only due to the above issue I cannot. I’m actually writing this review before even using the grill because the issue is so important. However, my grilling expectations are high, for despite my problem during assembly Weber’s legendary engineering and quality are quite obvious. I’ll try to update after actually grilling for a while!

Its like trading up from a Honda to a Mercedes C-class. I always resisted buying a Weber because they seemed overpriced. And there was always a review from Consumer Reports or some other reputable source that said there were better/cheaper grills out there. Decades ago a bought a Vermont Castings grill based on a CU review. Maybe back then the Weber was not the build and performance champ that it is now. This new model fixes the two main issues people had with its predecessor. !. The gas tank location makes it much easier to mount and dismount the tanks. 2. This model is easy to roll.

It took two mentally sharp men with joint issues under two hours to assemble. All the parts were easily identified. The hitch pin fasteners that holds on the top were missing requiring a trip to the hardware store and $.52 for the parts. It could be assembled by one person but lining up some of the holes with heavy parts involved is much better done with two.

I’ve only cooked three meals on the grill so I am still getting to know it. I also added the iGrill 3 with an extra ambient probe. When they work, they are great. But care has to be taken in setting the probes into the base unit and placement within the food is important; too close to the flames and it greatly overstates the internal temperature. And repositioning the probes is not easy because they are very hot.

But, this is about the grill itself. I am thrilled. Time to trade in my Hyundai Genesis for a …?

I have heard so many good things about Weber, so I was really excited when I received it. I’m a BBQ noob, my first grill ever, and so here are some things I learned from this experience:

1. The grill came in separate pieces, and you’ll have to assemble it yourself.
Pro: It’s pretty easy to assemble, and the instruction manual/app were very helpful.
Tip: I recommend using both paper manual and digital app. Manual is easier to use and gives you a good overview (it’s easier to read the steps before and after). The app can let you rotate a digital model of what you are building, so you get a better view/understanding of how the pieces should fit together.
Con: It’s sort of hard to find the right pieces. To save space, the pieces were packaged very tightly and not necessarily grouped together in a meaningful way.
Ugly: Two pieces came bent, I have attached the photos of one of them, and that’s after I tried to hammer it flat. Fortunately it’s facing the back and I was still able to screw everything on tightly.

2. The stand is made of thin, nicely painted metal.
Pro: It’s pretty light, and it looks nice and shiny.
Con: It feels flimsy and bends easily, and probably easily scratched
Tip: Take the grey metal pieces out carefully, and follow the manual to build out the bottom part indoor first, once you have the wheels installed, roll it out to the backyard and finish the rest of the installation.

3. Using a gas grill is indeed much easier and fun
Pro: It heats up fast, so you can turn it off in between batches of cooking and still get the food ready in a snap. The cast iron grill also leave a nice grill mark on the meat and is spaced just right that things don’t fall off easily. Also, I grilled some pretty greasy food, and barely had any grease fire, I think the flavorbars probably have something to do with it. Speaking of flavorbars, they provide a great amount of fragrant smoke to the meat and gives it a nice smokey flavor.
Con: Can’t think of anything.
Tip: Read the cooking and cleaning instructions! I learned a lot, but most importantly, PREHEAT, THEN scrub off the old food on the grill, makes it a breeze to do so. And it makes your food not stick to the grill!