Weber Performer Deluxe Charcoal Grill and BBQ, 22-Inch, Touch-No-Go Gas Ignition, Black

This is the best grill. We purchased a previous model more than 10 years ago and are just now replacing it. I love grilling with lump coal but hate the lighter fluid taste. This grill has a self lighting feature that is just perfect. We have smoked, grilled and roasted everything from veggies to wild game in this kettle.. using lump coal, charcoal and even just a wood fire. The counter top is metal on this one. The previous one was plastic but held up very well. There is also a bin to hold charcoal and smoking chips. This grill looks good, works like a charm and is of excellent quality. It was easy to put together and is pretty light considering how well it is made. The footprint is easy to accommodate and it will grill up enough for a big party. I would say this grill is worth every penny and would definitely purchase it again.

I started with charcoal grilling on a Weber kettle and always loved it but wanted more work space. The Performer Deluxe has work space in spades, and I love it! This is a well known grill, so I won't get too wordy. As a summary for those with short attention spans, just buy this grill, I can't see you regretting the purchase, there is just so much to love. And now for the pro/con list:Pros:Huge work surface is my favorite feature. It is no longer plastic, but a texture painted metal and very sturdy. Plenty of room to have plates laid out ready to receive burgers, franks, etc.. You can have your foil/paper laid out, plop your pork butt, ribs, brisket onto it, juice it, wrap it up, and back on the grill in moments. No walking to a work surface, it's right there!Much more stable than the kettle. I always worry about the kids knocking the kettle over, but this thing is solid as a rock. I don't worry when rolling it with lit charcoal like with the Kettle.Weber customer service. Have a problem? Weber will make it right. Mine came with a broken leg support. A short call to Weber and they sent me a new one.Weber build quality. This thing is built really well, and well thought out too. They are always improving little details. For instance, the lid on this model now sits more upright when put in the holder so that it doesn't get in your way as much as the previous model. I would still have liked to see a lid hanger on the inside of the lid, more on that in the Cons section.The hole in the center of the grate and hinged sides give you all the access you could need to your fuel grate during a cook. I use the snake/fuse method when smoking and not having to take the grate off to extend the snake is really nice.Push button lighting of your charcoal! This is a much larger benefit than I thought it would be. No more bits of burning paper and ash flying around, no more lighter, matches, torches, whatever...just turn the dial, push the button, and you have flame on your charcoal. It lights the charcoal faster and more thoroughly than the paper method does too, so you reduce your startup time by a good 5 minutes. If you grill as much as I do this adds up. And if you are one of those people that use lighter fluid then stop reading this and BUY THIS NOW.The ash pan is a must have, especially if it is windy where you live. Keeps embers and ashes from blowing around.The fuel bin is a handy spot to store charcoal and a spare propane cylinder.Excellent warranty.Cons:Screws for lid holder protrude into the kettle in a way that can interfere with grate removal/replacement. Not in a big way, but still can be annoying.Hooks for tools on the front aren't as useful as the hooks on the handles of the kettles. Still, I have tried to figure out what I would do differently and couldn't see a better way of doing it.No lid on fuel bin. Seems like a no-brainer to me. Spiders and such won't get in if there is a lid, this doesn't have one. You can use a bin liner and a bungee cord as a makeshift lid if you want.No hook on inside of lid. It's not a bid deal since you have the great lid basket, but it seems like they should have left the classic hanger hook on the inside of the lid so you could hang it low if you wanted to. I asked Weber why they removed it and the nice lady said she didn't know.The bottom shelf doesn't give you much storage space as there is a bin, tools hanging, and the ash pan taking up most of the access to the shelf. It is good for keeping accessories like rib racks and such on, but not super useful because of the limited access.Still no markings on the bottom vent slider to show how open/closed the vents are. You would think this would be easy for them to do, and since you can't see your vents a lot of the time it would be very handy. Just use a sharpie and mark 0, 25, 50, 75, and 100 percent open on the metal. Then you will have a very good idea of how your vent is set when you cant actually see it. Because of the shape of the vent lobes the markings won't be linear, but it's easy enough to eyeball.Larger and heavier than the Kettle. Not easy to take to the lake like the Kettle. But really, portability is what the Smokey Joe excels at, so just buy a Joe and use it for travel.Overall, my cons are small and almost nitpicks. The fact remains that this is the best grill I have ever used, bar none. You can grill, braise, broil, smoke, and cook low and slow. I've made some amazing food on this grill, and I'll be doing it for years to come since this grill is built to last.

I’ve always owned Weber grills, and it’s always been the standard black kettle. Not a thing wrong with that setup either, but when my 12yo kettle lost its inner cleaning blade to rust I looked at some options to expand into more of an outdoor kitchen type of grill. I ended up zeroing in on two options...this one, and a Traeger pellet feed grill/smoker. We chose this one because we did not want to be forced to be next to a power outlet or run power out to our grill to get it to work if we wanted to load it up and take it somewhere or just move it to a new spot in the yard. We were also happy that this one ended up being about $250 less than the Traeger.I’ve used this grill heavily since Father’s Day weekend and I’m rating it a 5 star buy for anyone thinking about it. The side table is very nice size and extremely durable...I had a coal drop onto it and not leave a mark even after sitting there for about 10 seconds. The underneath storage for charcoal is fantastic. The gas ignition for the charcoal though? AMAZING innovation, and works perfectly every time. I have the gas on for maybe 2 minutes before my coals are lit on the bottom inside the chimney and then I kill the gas and the chimney does the rest of the work from there. I love the charcoal baskets for controlling where my direct and indirect heat is at. I’m also a big fan of the new grill grate with removable center for some other attachments that are now on my wish list(griddle will be first then the searing grate).In summary, this grill is worth the money. I bought the cover to protect the investment and it fits very well and is made of nice durable and waterproof fabric. I’m loving cooking outside on this thing and looking forward to using this grill for many years to come!!