Customer Reviews

Weber 3711001 Spirit E-210 Propane Gas Grill, Black

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

For whatever reason, Weber has renamed the Genesis line Spirit for 2007. I just bought a new Weber Genesis 3 weeks ago (prior to the name change) after owning my last one for 11 years. There's a 3 burner model and a 2 burner model. If you're reading this you're looking at the 2 burner model.

Excellent product. 2 burners are more than sufficient; I don't know why they even have a 3 burner model since the 3 burner model isn't really that much bigger. The 2 burner model has plenty of room for the needs of everyday family grilling and entertaining a decent size group.

There's plenty of product info on this page from Amazon and the manufacturer, so let me tell you a few things that I do to make my Weber work best for me.

-Most importantly...keep it covered. Amazon sells a cover...get it. Not coving it will cut its life in half at least.
-Cover the funnel shaped grease drip pan with tin foil and change it regularly; otherwise build-up in the trap can catch fire and THAT does not make a steak taste very good.
-Change the disposable grease traps regularly (otherwise they start to stink).
-Get yourself a quality wire brush and use it before each use...NOT after. The build-up on the cooking grates after each use actually protects them from the elements.
-Before each use, after you wire brush the grates, put some cooking oil on some paper towels and wipe the grates down.
-Pre-heat the grill on high for at least 5 - 10 minutes; it burns off anything left over from the cleaning and makes the cooking grates nice and hot.
-Initiate cooking steaks, chops, any cuts of meat (even burgers...no, not hot dogs) on just-over-medium heat for no more than 2 minutes on each side and flip before cooking to your liking. This brief searing of each side locks in the flavor of your cut of meat.
-Cook with a closed cover; normal cuts of meat shouldn't take more than a total of 10 minutes (including the searing).
-Let your meat sit for up to 5 minutes before slicing (or biting into it!). This locks in the juices; if the juices are too hot when you slice (or bite), they'll run right out of your cut of meat.

There you go. Hope that helps. And don't forget to cover the grill after it cools. Bon appetit!

Pros:
Sturdy construction (other than the wheels), but not as sturdy as the Genesis.
A lot less expensive than the Genesis.
Very little flame up.
Good grease catcher.
Where many other grills have gone to a low-slung hood that makes it difficult to roast large pieces of meat, you can close the hood on this one over chickens and loins and the like.
Work surface (on one side) removes for easy cleaning.
Built-in propane tank gauge.
Condiment bins are mounted away from the box so they stay cool.

Cons:
Flame control not as precise as on Grill-Mate grills (what I had previously).
Wheels a little flimsy for the weight of the grill; they will probably be the first thing to go, and I'll have to replace them with some heavier ones.
Control knobs take up one entire side; only left side is usable work space.
Enameled grill surface is not as nice as the cast iron one on the Q.

Bottom Line:
If you're rich and your yard is secure, look at the Genesis.
If you need a portable grill, look at the Q.
If you're ready to move up from the $150 grills but want to spend less than $500, and capacity is more important than portability, then this is the grill for you.

After continuous investigation and analysis of gas grills and no matter what, all roads led to a weber grill, just came down to which one and to be honest, how much $$$. I've previously have owned 'cheap' gas grills (charbroil,etc.) and always had mediocre interaction with them flareups/hot-n-cold spots, part failure, etc.
So I decided to give Weber a try, to see what the 'fuss' is all about. I really must admit, I'm pretty impressed. I"m not a savvy gas griller, just ok, but this grill almost feels like a grill and an oven in one... The temperature for 'warmup' can easily hit 500 degrees....I've cooked so far, boneless chicken, fajita meats, chicken strips, more meat!, chicken teriyaki all in about 10 days.
I would agree with some that the default grates w/ this grill are questionable, but they do work and do a fine job, I'm considering changing to SS (stainless steel). The flavorizer bars (used to wonder what the heck they were) work really good, definitely notice flavor enhancement on our food in comparison to our other grills. WHile more expensive overall, I do feel that I"m getting my $$ worth so far and I"m very satisfied with this purchase.
It took me about 40 minutes to put it together out of the box, overall very easy and intuitive, so no real complaints there, just pay attention to the instructions. The propane gauge is awesome! I'm glad it's there.
I guess this is what you can say about this grill, it makes you feel like your in control, it's not humongous, it's not high, it's not heavy, it doesn't get crazy hot where you can't stand next to it.
It does what it does very well so far, I could have easily bought a gas grill (kenmore/barbquegalore/etc.) that looked everybit a high price grill w/o the efficiency that I have experienced so far. It's a very safe and reliable bet to purchase if your on the fence! NO REGRETs!

This is our second Weber grill in the past 10 years. In fact the new grill is essentially the exact same grill as the one we purchased in the '90s...same size and features. We actually use natural gas rather than propane (I goofed on the order), but we were able to quickly transplant the conversion kit from the old grill to the new one. We've used it a few times and it works perfectly. Quickly heats up and grills evenly. Looking forward to many years of great meals off this grill.

I ordered the Weber Spirit E-210 online and assembled it today. Unfortunately, I failed to check out the actual product, depending instead on online reviews and photos, plus Weber's reputation. Big mistake. I dropped by a Lowe's Home Improvement shortly after ordering and saw the Weber, along with many other "entry level" grills, and realized my mistake. I have to disagree with the previous reviewer who calls the E-210 high quality. It is not. I knew it is manufactured in China, but assumed because of the Weber name that the quality would be superior to what it actually is. The construction is flimsy, with many plastic parts and thin sheet-metal type shrouds - in short, a typical discount-quality import. Weber has done what so many other high-quality product lines have done - cannibalized their corporate reputation/name, putting it on a line of inferior products ( the German knife mfgs have done the same thing ). The Weber Spirit 210, though higher priced than the other entry-level grills at Lowe's, seemed to be of the same quality EXCEPT for the actual grates, which look to me to be sub-par to anything else on the market. Check the photo on this page and don't be fooled. The grates look like your standard stainless steel or cast-iron grates, but they aren't. Instead, they are a thin, hollow-body porcelain-coated steel, like the material you'd find on for the grated tray of an oven-roasting pan. No other grill had this kind of grate. Also check out Weber's warranty list on this page for all the individual parts, and you'll see that there are several grades of grates, starting with stainless steel ( the best ), then porcelain cast iron, and finally, just porcelain, the lowest level. That's what the E-210 comes with. I have not used the grill yet, and maybe this is not a problem. However, be aware that these grates are thin and hollowed out and the quality of the grill bears no resemblance to the $500+ Weber grills you may be familiar with. Go check out the product before you buy.
One other thing. I love Amazon, and I buy plenty of products from them, but you can get this grill at Lowe's for the same price and they'll assemble it. Even if you have to pay for assembly, if you are not super-handy-intuitive, I'd highly recommend having someone else do it. The grill assembles easily enough, once you struggle through the picture-book instructions that come with hardly any actual words. I am neither handy nor intuitive, though over the years I've assembled my share of k/d furniture and other imported items. Instruction manuals vary greatly, and can make the assembly, for people like me, either a breeze or a damnation. For some inexplicable reason Weber chose to incorporate hardly any actual words; instead, they rely on drawings, with lots of arrows and lines. On some steps this is okay, but not always, and at one point they have you put a bolt in, but then, in the next step, you have to remove it and put it through again. Also, there were washers that didn't fit. I was forced to hold them with pliers while screwing the screw into the washer, before I could use them. I can't say whether the grill works well or not, since I was so aggravated after assembling it I used my oven to broil the steaks.

My old Broil Mate LP grill finally gave up it's ghost , as the store I'd purchased it from stopped carrying the parts because it was so old.
I'd paid about $250 for it, and it had served me well for almost 9 years.
I started searching for a small, no frills LP grill to replace it with, since we seldom entertain big groups. Most I could find locally were close to $600, and had all the options that I had no use for. Found this Weber Spirit e-210 online & based on reviews, bought it. While it WILL cook most foods well, the build quality I found to be disappointing for the price I paid. Worst of all the "Flavorizer bars" and cooking grids are cheap stamped steel with a thin porcelain coating, and are already starting to rust! (I bought this only last March and use it only once or twice per week)I live in California, and cover the grill every time after use, so it is well protected against weather conditions . And the cost of replacing them both is over $100.00!! I tried to find higher quality after market grids , but the unique dimensions prevent this too. Also the burner design is such that you cannot "split the burners" for indirect cooking, instead of side by side burners, then are front and back.
I will say that it functions well from week to week, steaks, burgers, fish etc come off cooked perfectly. But the Weber brand was supposed to stand for quality. For my $400 I wasn't expecting to have to spend an additional $100 every year for new grids and bars. I doubt I will ever buy another Weber product after this.

This is an excellent grill. THe thing I like about it most is the temperatures it reaches. Never had a grill be able to get up to just under 600 degrees. I have only used it a couple of times, but so far have not noticed any cool spots on the grill. Its pretty much the same temperature throughout the entire surface which is really nice. Only reason I gave it a 4 was because of the side table on the left of the grill is pretty cheap. It didnt snap into anything and can be just pulled right off, however unless you pull it off it will stay in place.

I bought our Weber from Lowes and the cover from Amazon. We had owned a Genesis model for over 20 years and I gave it away when we moved. It was still functional but we wanted a new one. Of course we got sticker shock when we saw the prices. We are very pleased our purchase and it was already assembled. The manual is really lousy, though. It doesn't even tell you what the symbols on the burners mean. Of course you don't have to be a mental giant to figure them out. Glad I didn't have to assemble mine using the manual. It does seem to cook just as well as our old one ( which now costs over $700). The grill is not as heavy but works just fine for us. Getting the cover is a good idea and ours should be here any day now.

I was (and still am) a charcoal snob. But as single Dad, starting the Weber kettle was just too much work for so little food. So I took a chance on the Weber Spirit. I put it together in less than an hour, rolled it out onto the deck and went to work. I love it so much I have actually gone out and purchased cookbooks so I can learn to do more with it. I hardly ever use the range top anymore if I can possible help it. It's such a good product I even bought one for my mother for her birthday (she wanted a new grill - it's not like I bought her an iron or a vaccuum cleaner). Well made, well planned -- the grill surface cleans up well, it heats up fast, you don't have to turn both burners on high for a quality flame -- all in all a worthy successor to its predecessors.

I received the grill quickly and happened to be home when it came off the truck so it was delivered into my garage. This was a great help to me since it was quite heavy. It was packaged well and arrived in great condition. I put the grill together easily - no problems. It is a smaller grill but plenty big enough to cook for 10 or so people. This is my first Weber, but I think I am really going to like it. In fact I'm having another BBQ tonight!! It was a great buy ($100 off)and I saved tax which paid for the delivery which I would have needed anyway since I had no way to transport it.