The now-discontinued Char-Broil Advantage 3-Burner Gas Grill from Lowe’s met the low expectations we set upon seeing its sub-$200 price. It cooked burgers acceptably, char broil performance but to get an even cook we had to shuffle the patties around from hot spots to cool spots. Unable to keep a steady low temperature, it burned the barbecue chicken.
The compact open-cart design and the practical folding side table makes it fit even on small spaces, and you have all the basics you need to get familiar with gas grilling. Invite a couple of friends over, push the ignition and enjoy the special atmosphere that surrounds the grill. This generally means that the grill comes with a dedicated rotisserie burner; the motor and spit are usually purchased weber spirit 2 separately. A dedicated rotisserie burner is usually located on the back of the firebox, slightly above the cooking grates; some models use the grill’s main burner. This feature allows you to roast meat very evenly, yielding a flavor that some people prefer to that of grilled food. A good gas grill should last a decade or more, provided you clean it after every use and protect it from the elements.
More convenient is a battery-operated electronic igniter, which usually ignites the gas on the first try. Some grills also have lighting holes, on the side of or beneath the grill, that can be used with a match should the igniter Blackstone Adventure fail. While burners remain the grill’s most-replaced part, most are warranted for only 3 to 5 years. An indication of the sturdiness of the gas grill, based on our rigidity test and judgments of our expert testers.
This Weber Spirit gas grill doesn’t have too many extra accessories. So, if you are looking for bells and whistles then you may want to check out other gas grills. As far as BTUs go, the Weber Spirit II E 310 isn’t especially high up there. In fact, it is on the lower side, but I don’t really see that as a bad thing. Sure, higher temperatures are great for searing food, but most meats are cooked on mid to high temperatures and this gas grill is perfectly capable of doing that.
We wish the bars of the Spirit II E-310’s warming racks ran front to back, parallel to the main grates, like they do on our upgrade pick, the Genesis E-325s. That way, you could easily slide a spatula under stuff that’s warming. As it is, the warming-rack bars run edge to edge, and you have to awkwardly jimmy a spatula in there sideways.
Though there’s no debating that, some experts argue that lump charcoal is potentially carbon neutral. If you want to read more about comparing grilling fuels, we found helpful articles from The Atlantic, Slate, and NPR. If a burner seems to be running cool or creates patchy flames, use a thin piece of wire to clean out the gas ports . There’s nothing inside the burners to break, so don’t feel like you have to be delicate. Check the grease trap after every use , and don’t let it get too full.
Among those experts, Joe Salvaggio of Big Apple BBQ spent two hours explaining the fundamentals of gas grill design, function, materials, and maintenance. Joe and his brother Tony have run Big Apple BBQ, one of the New York region’s leading grill shops, for over 30 years. At the same time, this is a great grill and it could be the right grill for you.