Customer Reviews

Weber 566001 Q 220 Portable Propane Gas Barbecue, Silver

5 star:		(61)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I concur with other reviewer's assessment - this is a great little grill. I bought it as a temporary hold-over until the backyard remodel with outdoor kitchen is complete. I was initially concerned about the relatively low Btu output, but I must say it sears steaks very well. Definitely exceeds my expectations.

I also bought the cart stand, cover, and Weber's cast iron griddle. I use the griddle to do oven-roasted potatoes, and the cart is very nice. NOTE: The cart comes with a propane tank hose, no need to order separately.

After owning (through the years) both the larger and smaller Weber gas grills and all the charcoal kettles from the SmokeyJoe to the 22" .....THIS is close to perfection for our needs.
The temperature range from the lowest setting to the highest is 375 degrees to 550 degrees, which means you won't be doing all day briskets and pork butts that require much lower temperatures, but it does a great job on fast broiling and roasting, which is mostly our type of cooking. I'll use a charcoal kettle for the other stuff.
The igniter starts with the first push of the button, the heat control is smooth and variable in a constant manner, the grill space is ample, it cleans easily and the folding side tables are convenient and easy to clean. This machine is well psyched out to efficiently get the job done.
At 12,000 BTU's it is fuel thrifty compared to the requirements of other (high quality)BBQ's lighting up that much grill space. My last gas grill was a Kenmore three burner (made by Weber) and it was a propane hog, by comparison. The Q is also parts "thrifty" ......no flavorizer bars to burn through and replace or variety of steel parts to rust out. This is a cast aluminum product with a stainless burner .....easy to clean and even heating with little/no flare-up.
While I don't generally take a BBQ to another location, at least now it is an option ....this thing lifts off it's base, and at 32# is a piece of cake to throw in the car and go. The propane canisters to fit are $3.50-4.00 each ...so you don't have to lug a big 5 gallon bottle around. I used it twice TODAY (August13, 2006).
Totally recommended if you are looking for a high performance gas grill that doesn't take up much space on your deck, is portable,affordably priced and looks good, too.

Like many people looking at the Q220, I was deciding between this grill and the slightly less expensive Coleman Roadtrip.

The advantages of the Roadtrip are:
- Comes with attached portable stand
- Has 2 grates instead of 1 big one, which means they can fit in a kitchen sink if you want to wash them
- Has 2 burners (HOWEVER, you cannot cook with indirect heat because the lid cannot be closed while cooking!?)

In the end, I chose the Q220 because:
- It is better built and better looking, and has better accessories (just my opinion)
- It can cook with the lid closed (1 burner though, thus no indirect cooking)
- It has a better cooking grate that is mostly open and really does prevent flare-ups (Coleman's grate has large solid areas covering the burners)

If you're wondering how long the 14oz container of propane lasts, it lasted me about 2.5 hours at varying heat levels, mostly at medium for cooking and sometimes high for preheating and searing.

The Q220 starts up at the first push of the clicker. The grilling area is like a small full-sized grill. It fits 50 chicken wingettes or 12 large patties with room to spare. It cooks quite evenly for a small grill. It puts great grill marks on all the food. Food doesn't stick if you put oil on it before putting it on the grill.

Clean up was OK. Use a brass or stainless steel brush for the grate and then just wipe the stuff stuck to the bottom with a towel. The drip pan catches all the crusty bits as you clean.

I also bought the portable cart. It works well except that it's a bit wobbly. Get the stationary cart if you're going to be using in the backyard. It even comes with the $20 adaptor hose for the 20 lb cans.

Highly recommended!

Strengths: Ease of use, assembly and instructions were user friendly. Customer service gets the Kudo's award!! Cooked meal in record time.
Weaknesses: Can only use one size propane tank, 14.1 oz, should include bracket for the 16.4oz tank.
Summary: I am proud to say that I am a first time BBQer. I used Charcoal before and it took so long to get it going and I do not have control with the heat, therefore food always burned!! Laugh if you want, I am an engineer. So with about 30 hours of research, including going to every store; lowes, Sports Authority, Costco, Walmart, Target ect. I found the perfect Gas BBQ in the Weber Q 220. I wanted the unit for camping with my family of 4, yet for home use too. I first used it today and it worked perfect. I cooked 2 T-bone steaks and 4 all beef hotdogs. The dogs were done in 2 minutes and the steaks in 7 minutes. The new feature of thermo in the hood was a great idea, I was able to keep the flame down very low. Also I got this because of the stand. It seems durable enough and is at the perfect height. I showed this Grill to my Dad and he wish he wouldnt have spend the $400 on his home grill.
I am new at this and the weber Q 220 is making me a pro at cooking on the grill, and you will find that at 100ft above sea level you will only need the very lowest setting on the flame to cook a 1 inch T-Bone.

Bottom line: unit is small enough to be portable, comes with a stand as option, conserves propane and very user friendly. About the customer support? When I got the unit I called about prep for the grill, because online they say spray pam. Weber said just get a brush and use olive oil or canola ect and that pam tends to gum the grill. Also I asked tec support about the grill because at one edge it looked like the finish was scraped off, maybe during shipping. I told them it was only about a half inch on two bars and they said no probelm and it should not be like that and they shipped me a new grill ASAP. This is customer service at its finest.

Conclusion: You will not go wrong with this Weber Q 220. It is well worth the money for a quality product that has superior customer support.

Thank you !

Well it wasn't camoing but I fired the Weber 220 Q in the backyard tonight. I started off by preheating the grill, then placed 13 or 14 5 oz hambugers on it. Then as they cooked another 6. As the hambugers cooked up I added two packages of hotdogs and then 8 polish sausages. Everything cooked even and constantly. I didn't put all of this on at once, as the hambugers shurnk I added more. The grill gets plenty hot and no flare ups. I didn't burn anything. Even though I could of bought a cheaper grill, I feel the quality is really built into the Weber Q. I will say I paid 148.95 for the grill with free shipping off of ebay.
Once again money well spent.
Bill

I purchased a Weber Q 220 Gas Grill several months ago and it was thoroughly tested before I wrote this review. The grill was primarily used on my balcony and also during a windy camping trip with 15 or 16 hungry guests.

MY FINDINGS:

- This grill is large enough to cook regularly or frequently for a family of 3 or 4 people.

- The cooking grate is heavy cast iron (feels like 20 pounds) and porcelain-coated. They retain heat and sear meat beautifully.

- For 15-16 camping guests, food had to be rotated on the grill but it still does the job. We had about 7 burgers and a few smokies cooking simultaneously. Everyone loved their food. It's not often I have to cook for 10+ people so this grill suits us perfectly.

- Flare-ups are infrequent and easy to control. Food cooks very evenly.

- The grill is easy to clean, easy to operate, and visually appealing.

- No flame-outs in 20 knot winds.

- The plastic side tables feel somewhat flimsy. They "sag" a bit under the weight of 1 or 2 plates. If you placed anything spherical/cylindrical on the tables, they will roll off. It would be nice if the tables stay fully erect but they still do the job, there's no problem holding a flat tray of 4-6 chicken breasts per table. During camping trips we parked the grill next to a table so we have more room to set food on for 15-16 guests.

- With portable propane tanks, the heat hardly exceeds 450F. With a large propane tank + hose adapter, I could reach or exceed 500F with ease.

- The temperature gauge is handy, which is why I shelled out a bit more money for a Q 220 instead of a Q 200. However, if you pick up a Q 200 or lesser, you could buy a temp probe/gauge ($10?) from a local BBQ aisle and drill a hole into your Q lid. One of the amazon.com reviewers did just that to his Q 100.

TIPS:

- Before cooking with a Weber Q Grill the first time, CLEAN the grate with mild dishwashing liquid (non citric based) to remove the protective oil coating. Otherwise your food will taste funny during the first few grillings because of the oil. This is mentioned in Weber's FAQ page, although often overlooked by us.

- If using a large propane tank with a tank adapter hose, open the propane tank valve SLOWLY. Opening the valve too quickly may cause the Weber Q regulator to place more restriction on propane flow, thus limiting heat. Weber is aware of this issue. This doesn't inconvenience me.

- As other reviewers have already noted, this grill DOES NOT ACCEPT the common green "Coleman" or similar portable propane tanks. I made the mistake of trying it and it simply won't fit. The grill only accepts the skinny blue 14.1oz propane tanks that are commonly used by plumbers and mechanics. Finding these is relatively easy at local hardware stores. You could however modify your Weber Q Grill to accept the green propane tanks if you really have to; simply remove the metal ring that holds the tank - you'll need to find another way to support the green tank.

- One 14.1oz blue propane tank (e.g. $4.99) lasts approximately 1 hour to 1 1/2 hour with medium to high heat grilling (around 400 degrees F) in a Q 220 series grill. If you will grill both lunch and dinner with 10+ guests, plan on one or two propane tanks a DAY. The tanks may last a bit longer in the smaller Q 100 series grill because of lower BTU and smaller cooking volume.

- Based on Weber's recommendations (as stated in the manual), scrape the grate with a brass bristle brush BEFORE cooking and AFTER you have pre-heated the grill to high heat (450-500F, 10-15 minutes). Do not brush after cooking. You should factor in the pre-heat time when determining how long your portable propane tank will last. For example if you're going to do the actual cooking for 20 minutes, add 15-20 minutes of pre-heating and brushing time. That's almost 50% of your propane tank's life in just one cooking session. I took 6 propane tanks to my 4 day camping trip and emptied 5. This is just for typical food for an average of 6-8 guests: chicken, burgers, smokies, potatoes, misc. vegetables, etc.

- If you plan on using the grill to cook at home at least occasionally, a large propane tank with a tank adapter hose is HIGHLY recommended. It's much less expensive and much more convenient than replacing the blue portable propane tanks.

RECOMMENDATIONS:

- A rolling collapsable cart for camping trips. In pictures it appears pretty flimsy but it actually holds up well. While brushing my grate, the grill does shake a bit on the cart. Simply hold the grill with your other hand while brushing and it's stable.

- A large propane tank with a tank adapter hose if you're cooking at home. The adapter hose can be found for less money at Walmart or a local store.

- A Vinyl grill cover or some sort to keep dust and debris away.

This grill + cart fit in the trunk of my 2006 Volkswagen Jetta. It took up a fair bit of trunk space, but fits no problem. I'm very happy with the purchase, I couldn't have asked for more.

QUESTIONS:

Please leave a comment if you have specific questions.

I just don't like mammoth grills... I don't have the space for one and I don't BBQ for armies on a regular basis. And the large volume of mega-grills means that it takes too long to cook small meals and there's a risk of the meat drying out. This grill actually handles up to a dozen burgers so I don't know why anyone would want more. It warms up quickly, cooks evenly because of the abundance of reflected heat, and the meat is very consistent and juicy (even well done). I use this on a covered patio all winter which wouldn't work with a mega-grill. Easily transportable for picnics and tail-gate parties, especially with the folding/rolling cart. I liked it so much I bought one of these for my daughter, too, so when I have a big party I just borrow hers and two of these will cook for a (small) army! Get the Weber remote thermometer, too.... clip the receiver to your belt and you will get beeped when the meat is 5 degress below "done".... works EVERY time.
UPDATE (April 24, 2009): I continue to be happy with the grill but I am REALLY happy with Weber customer service. I was having an issue with drippings clogging some ports on the gas tube and called them for cleaning advice. In about a minute they offered to ship me a new gas tube (stainless steel - not a cheap part) !! Just great to have such excellent service AND an excellent product.... I'll never buy a non-Weber grill.

I`m a proud owner of two Weber Silver series grills; one more than 15 yrs old and a new "Blue" Weber I purchased from Amazon at the end of last year. We luv Nascar at Talladega and when Weber came out with the Weber Q 220 I knew I just had to have it! It`s the perfect smaller grill for anything you wish to cook. Steaks,chicken,fish and breakfast=eggs ,sausage-the whole breakfast bit with the griddle you can purchase. The grill came with a broken side table from the way it was shipped but never fear Weber was there to take care of my problem. You just can`t go wrong! The Q-220 is worth it! And Weber backs it 110 percent!

This is a great design, and I recommend the cart with the 20 lb tank adapter, as well. One problem that I was having was that every few times that I used the grill, I got a weak flame. I guess that I missed something in the directions related to a safety device in the adapter hose that connects to the 20 lb tank. You have to open the tank valve first, wait one full minute, then open the grill valve, then hit the ignition. If you don't wait the one minute, you can activate this safety device designed to prevent sudden discharges of propane. It basically restricts the gas flow to a trickle. Weber Customer Support straightened me out on this, and now the grill gets plenty hot every time, and still cooks evenly.

After having had the larger "Genesis" model for several years, I thought this would be a big compromise. While billed as a portable, it can easily be accessorized into a backyard model with a stand and a full sized tank. I needed something for a temporary relocation without spending $500, and this has exceeded expecations. Stuff cooks well, it's easy to assemble, and it's made well.