makmcm's Full Review: Weber-Stephen Products Q Propane Grill
Over the years, we've a had a couple of relatively inexpensive full size grills, without bells and whistles. However, it was always a pain to store them in the winter, as they took up too much space to keep in the shed or garage, and were too bulky to bring to the basement. After being wrapped up outside for the winter, they would be rather grungy come spring, and after a year would have ignition problems.
So, we decided that if we wanted to BBQ outdoors, we wanted a grill that was small enough to store in the basement for the winter. I researched portable gas grills, and kept coming back to the Weber Q as the most highly regarded of the bunch. When I saw the $179 pricetag, I thought it was steep for a "small" grill, but I knew that Weber generally makes quality products, based on my friends' experience with full size Weber grills.
Retail stores generally do not offer any sales or discounts on Weber products (perhaps at the end of season), so we bought ours for $179 at a local electronics/housewares store. We also purchased the basic cart and adapter to use a full size propane tank. We do not tailgate, so since this grill would be used exclusively at home, we decided to go the full size tank route.
Assembly is fairly easy. Attach the handle, use a couple of pins to attach the lid to the bottom, and attach the tank. It rests on the cart, but is not really attached to it. However, since the grate is solid cast iron, the grill is quite heavy, so there is no danger of it falling off the cart in a stiff breeze.
We attached the adapter hose and the full size tank easily, hit the ignition button, and . . . no flame. We shut off the gas, let it air out for 5 minutes as per the instruction manual, tried again, and . . . no flame. We called customer service, and the rep informed us that the adapter hose has a safety feature that if the tank valve is turned too quickly, the hose will not allow a full stream of gas into the grill, so it might not ignite. She said that the valve should be turned a 1/4 turn every 10 seconds or so, so it should take about 40 seconds to open the valve completely. We tried that and . . . no flame. The rep decided it sounded like a faulty regulator, and shipped one out to us. Being that is was Memorial Day weekend, it took a few days to arrive. We had wanted to kick off the summer with a BBQ on the holiday, but so much for that idea.
Anyhow, the regulator arrived with no installation instructions. We figured out how to unscrew the old one and attach the new one and . . . we had one tiny flame coming out of the center hole of the burner. The next customer service rep suggested that the holes in the burner might be clogged with "factory dust", so we used a wire brush, even though it looked perfectly clean to us. We continued to get just the one flame. The rep said perhaps the hose was defective, so we should try the small propane canisters instead. After a trip to Home Depot to buy the tank (about $3, in the plumbing supply section), we still just got a tiny flame. The customer service supervisor told us that on the Q, we would not see "big flames," but that if we ignited it and closed the cover for 10 minutes to preheat, it would get hot enough. I was very skeptical, since every grill I had ever seen would have flames coming out of the entire ring, so I did not think this would heat up enough to cook anything safely. She told me to use an oven thermometer to see how hot it gets. Yup, another trip to the store to buy one of these for a few bucks.
To my surprise, even with just the one visible flame, the grill heated up to 500 degrees in 10 minutes. Apparently, the Q burns so cleanly, the flames are not even blue, they are invisible! On the first run, we grilled burgers according the directions that came with the Q, and lo and behold, they cooked perfectly!
Next, we tried a London broil, which also came out juicy and flavorful. Over the course of the summer, we've made mostly burgers, hotdogs, and London broil, but I've also tried making pizza (using refrigerated dough from the supermarket), and it came out tasting just like the coal-oven pizza from a pizzeria! Because the grate on the Q has such thick lines, there is no danger of food falling into the grill. I usually spray the food with olive oil, but even when I have forgotten to oil the food, I have not had problems with anything sticking to the grate.
Cleanup is fairly simple. The grill cools down quickly (within 15 minutes). A quick scraping and brush with a wire brush, and the shelves can be folded in, tools stored inside, and lid closed. I bought the Q cover on Amazon, so it protects the grill (but not the cart) from the elements. It is cool enough to put the cover on within 15 minutes, which is a plus.
The two plastic fold out shelves are handy, but do bend under the weight of heavy dishes. I tend to keep a small table near the grill to put my "overflow" supplies while I cook.
The drip tray slides out easily, although I've been using the same one all season without a problem. The grill comes with 3 of them, so I figure I'm set for the next 2 years.
The front of the grill has three hooks for tools, and a small tray that's really not big enough to hold anything, since the front of grill bulges out over it.
If you plan on using only the portable propane tanks, be aware that they only contain enough gas for maybe 45 minutes (and that includes the 10 minutes of preheating, so you'll only be able to cook about 3 times on one tank). So if you plan on using this grill at home, I would strongly suggest getting the adapter hose and full size tank.
The basic cart is not sturdy enough to hold a full size propane tank, so the tank has to stand on the ground. Therefore, if you want to move the grill, you either: 1) need 2 people, with one lifting the tank and one moving the cart or 2) disconnect the hose, move the tank, then reconnect the hose. Kind of annoying, but then again, we don't move it during the season, so it's no big deal.
We're very happy with our purchase, as we again can enjoy grilled foods that cook evenly. Whenever I've had company over, inevitably they venture over to the grill while I'm cooking to see for themselves that this is not the BBQ equivalent of an Easy Bake Oven, but instead is a real grill that does a great job! For something that looks like a pod from the future, it does the trick.
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