Weber Performer Charcoal Grill, 22-Inch, Black

I have gone through a cheap propane grill and a cheap brinkmann box smoker, I've finally found a grill that will last over a decade of some serious use! I've been researching for a while in getting a grill and smoker combo since maintaining both is kind of a pain in the rear. I've watched plenty of youtube videos on using weber kettle grills as a smoker and it has worked much better than the brinkmann box smoker I had ordered off Amazon over a couple years ago. My cheap propane grill was $100 bucks and the brinkmann box smoker $70 but then had to invest more into parts to make the smoker function and it was about $100 bucks total. So I had spent $200 bucks for items that did not last a couple of years. I got what I paid for...My favorite features of the weber:- Heavy duty, made in the USA.- 10 year warranty! (bowl, ring, center ring) [...]- Grate has multiple access points to refill and maintain charcoal.- Indirect heat for smoking.- Easy to assemble, quality instructions.- Accurate thermometer.- Easy to clean, just remove the ash can and dump it.- Uses a lot less charcoal than the brinkmann. A lot less. Half of what the brinkmann used.- Slide-aside is excellent.- Heat guard for hand performs as designed.- Rugged design, it's like a Jeep, Glock of grills.- Easy to find replacement parts and accessories.I should have gotten a weber years ago and would have saved the $200 that went right in the trash due to buying cheaper inferior products that couldn't make it past 2 years. Good luck finding parts to fix the cheap ones. With a weber, replacement parts are easy to come by.[Update 12/23/2016]I have to leave this product at 5 stars! I purchased the item on April 8, 2015 and it's still working like a champ. Keep in mind that I did not invest extra in the cover that is sold separately. It's open to the elements. I live in NC and the humid summers have not affected the webber at all. It's been sitting (uncovered) the entire time on my deck. Pictures coming soon...[Update 9/24/2018]Well, it finally happened. The one touch cleaning system handle broke. I just ordered a replacement for $15 though! Weber 7444 22-1/2-Inch One-Touch Cleaning System Kit for Grills. It rusted out and broke one day when I went to clean the ashes out. Can't wait to get it installed and get the grill going again. It's cooled down outside so it's the perfect time for smoking meats. Oh ya, it's almost turkey season too!

I've been using my weber for a couple months now and it has been an amazing grill! Very good quality, side table is very convenient, the ash catcher at the bottom functions well, and the bottom wire tray comes in handy to hold my grilling accessories. Overall, very good purchase.

I ruined my husband's mini Weber grill and bought this upgrade as an early gift which he had to put together himself. He was so pleased he didn't mind one bit. The box weight is 70 lbs, no way I was moving it. I didn't think we grilled that much, turns out he loved grilling and missed his original Weber that finally fell apart after 30 years. He complained bitterly about the mini's size and the proximity of coals to food. Anyway, he is quite happy with this grill and would not have spent the extra money for the table, shelf under the grill, and the added features. The small table for setting platters down is convenient and it drops down for compactness when storing. It has hooks for hanging tools & mitt. It was fairly easy to assemble, we got the coals going and burned off the "newness" out of it, added a more coals, oiled then bbq'd some steaks & veg. It did a fantastic job. The temp gauge was helpful and the access to the coals was very helpful. There was plenty of room to move veg to the side without compromising them, and the steaks had a wonderful bbq char and flavor. One of the best extras is the lid holder--no more looking for a place to set it away from the dogs or on the ground. I think he will get many years of use out of it. We grill a pancake breakfast on Christmas day, in Texas that can be sunshine, rain, snow or cold & cloudy. With the kids not home for Christmas this year, it won't be the same, but we will keep our tradition.

Bought this to replace our not-too-old gas grill that always got too hot and had terribly rusty grates. We decided to go charcoal because food just tastes better than gas-grilled food. While heating the charcoal takes a bit longer, so far the tradeoff in flavor is worth it. We bought match light charcoal, so we couldn't use the chimney that we ordered as an accessory, but that charcoal lights up just fine in the grill itself. Next time we'll go for charcoal without added propellent so we can use the chimney and simplify things. Whatever type of charcoal you use, you're cooking in under 20 minutes - that is not a bad thing! We always gave the gas grill a few minutes to preheat anyway - now we just do food prep work during the heating process. It's nice having a grate just for the charcoal, and the one-touch clean out feature works very well. The side tray is sturdy and goes up and down very smoothly. The tool hooks are handy.I assembled this grill myself (with a little help from my four-year-old) - it was not difficult, except for the center nut for the lid holder - that required a ratchet wrench, because the adjustable crescent wrench just wouldn't catch the nut tightly in the concave center of the grill bowl. Other than that, the instructions were straightforward and easy to follow. The stand is sturdy and strong, and the parts seemed to be of high quality.There are fancier versions of this grill out there, but we chose this smaller version because we felt the gas lighter system unnecessary (and the small propane tanks are unrecyclable and expensive). We certainly didn't want any electronic components in an outdoor grill system, and the grill itself is the same - 22 inches, with the potential for adding extra cooking components as available in larger Performer models. We can store our charcoal elsewhere. It also takes up less patio space than a non-folding model. We are very happy with this little grill. We bought a matching cover, brush, and chimney to complete the package.We're looking forward to many years of service from this grill. Our previous two grills were gas powered, and we had them together for under a decade - the 10-year warranty on this gives me hope that it will last a good long time.