Help me choose a BBQ

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3332 posts

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#1686177 11-Dec-2016 20:12

sbiddle:

I'm on the lookout for a BBQ as well. Ours is probably 20 years old and has outlived the BBQ factory by many years!

I was looking at a Weber but am aware it's a very different style of cooking. Are my steaks and sausages really going to be significantly better than a $300 conventional BBQ?

Yes.

Our Weber is the business. Have had it a year (thanks Dad for the Christmas present!) and yet to have a bad meal on it.

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davidcole

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#1686191 11-Dec-2016 20:19

sbiddle:
I'm on the lookout for a BBQ as well. Ours is probably 20 years old and has outlived the BBQ factory by many years!

I was looking at a Weber but am aware it's a very different style of cooking. Are my steaks and sausages really going to be significantly better than a $300 conventional BBQ?

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dusty42

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#1686199 11-Dec-2016 20:46

k1w1k1d:

The BBQ was from the now defunct BBQ Factory.

The gas bottle is on the other side of the fence to the left. The gas line goes through pvc pipe. You can see the gas line just to the left of the BBQ.

Thank you. That's some terrific use of tiling and brick.

dickytim

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#1686298 12-Dec-2016 07:29

We are looking for a Weber for the MIL. We have looked at the 3000 and 2000 series and the 3000 series doesn't look much bigger than the smaller one.

I really like that it can be folded up and quite easily taken elsewhere, and I have had food from a Weber cooked with the lid down and know how good it is! I have actually cooked on my BBQ with the lid down for years to BBQ/ Roast the meat, in fact I usually put the meet over the grill with a lower flame and crank the heat under the hotplate to get the temperature under the hood to a little over 200.

So the real question is... who has seen the best deal on a Weber Q around? Needing the 2200 version with the higher lid and thermometer so Mite10 isn't an option.

timmmay

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#1686299 12-Dec-2016 07:42

One more time.... can anyone recommend a good value BBQ for very occasional use 1-3 times per year, probably $200 or less, probably charcoal?

Monza

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#1686315 12-Dec-2016 08:30

So the real question is... who has seen the best deal on a Weber Q around? Needing the 2200 version with the higher lid and thermometer so Mite10 isn't an option.

When I looked around last year I found the Weber price pretty much the same where-ever I looked, talking to one of the salesmen he said that Weber don't allow discounting on their products (like Apple etc).

Ended up getting a Q2000 from Mitre10 and they threw in some extras for a discounted price (hotplate and cleaning brush etc). Can't say I've ever felt I'm missing out on the 3cm cooking height difference and the built in thermometer isn't necessary.

Monza

299 posts

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#1686316 12-Dec-2016 08:34

Fred99:

The thermometer might not be a hell of a lot of use, but you'll fit 2 legs of lamb or 3 chickens under a Q2200 lid, but will struggle to do that with the Q2000.

Done exactly that a few times with a Q2000, really don't see 3cm as a deal breaker.

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jonathan18

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#1686363 12-Dec-2016 10:06

Monza:

So the real question is... who has seen the best deal on a Weber Q around? Needing the 2200 version with the higher lid and thermometer so Mite10 isn't an option.

When I looked around last year I found the Weber price pretty much the same where-ever I looked, talking to one of the salesmen he said that Weber don't allow discounting on their products (like Apple etc).

Ended up getting a Q2000 from Mitre10 and they threw in some extras for a discounted price (hotplate and cleaning brush etc). Can't say I've ever felt I'm missing out on the 3cm cooking height difference and the built in thermometer isn't necessary.

I went through all of this last Xmas as well, as our present to ourselves was a Family Q.

The full Weber dealers operate on a similar model to that mentioned above re Mitre 10 - namely next to nil discount on the BBQ itself, but throw in an item for free. In our case it was a cover, other times it's been the hot plate etc. The Apple comparison's a good one, in that Weber have very much positioned themselves as the premium BBQ brand, and can get away with their pricing model.

We went with the thermostat model - partly as we also wanted it in black - and I'm glad of this feature. The item we cook the most on ours is pizza, and it's really useful to have a (semi-accurate) idea of temperature for that sort of thing.

I'm vegetarian, so couldn't say how it's different to a cheap model in cooking sausages and steaks, but I'm totally happy with spending over $1k on it - it cooks even and fast, it's economical on the gas, we can cook basically anything we like on it (including bread, scones etc) so is a great emergency cooker... Not sure you'll get all of that for a basic standard BBQ.

I didn't want to be looking for a new BBQ in a few years, as I'm not keen on the idea of an item like this being a temporary solution; as such if it last 10 years, it's cost not much over $100 a year - given what it can do, and the damn fine pizzas it makes, it's totally worth the initial investment.

This year I've bought a decent chain and padlock, and have chained the BBQ to a downpipe on the back deck - it means we're using it heaps more, even if it's just to char-grill asparagus.

dolsen

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#1686438 12-Dec-2016 11:13

jonathan18:

This year I've bought a decent chain and padlock, and have chained the BBQ to a downpipe on the back deck - it means we're using it heaps more, even if it's just to char-grill asparagus.

What's the downpipe made of?

jonathan18

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#1686466 12-Dec-2016 11:24

dolsen:

jonathan18:

This year I've bought a decent chain and padlock, and have chained the BBQ to a downpipe on the back deck - it means we're using it heaps more, even if it's just to char-grill asparagus.

What's the downpipe made of?

Plastic! (Actually, it's not a downpipe, but the toilet air vent, so would probably need to be cut through to steal the bbq.)

Anyway, the Weber Q series are put together with screws (as I'd imagine most are), so undoing a few of those can by-pass the chain anyway. In reality, someone who really wants to steal such an item will get it, but at least the chain will stop opportunistic theft.

Earlier this year we had our outside table (a six-eight-seater, so not small) and chairs stolen from the same deck, and there's little we can do to stop that kind of flagrant theft occurring.

Monza

299 posts

Ultimate Geek

#1686469 12-Dec-2016 11:27

jonathan18:

We went with the thermostat model - partly as we also wanted it in black - and I'm glad of this feature. The item we cook the most on ours is pizza, and it's really useful to have a (semi-accurate) idea of temperature for that sort of thing.

Full disclosure that my wife bought me a wifi enabled thermometer later that I use extensively. With two prongs can have one measuring the heat inside whatever I'm cooking and the other for the general heat inside the BBQ (or oven etc). Not exactly a cost effective solution though...

https://store.weber.com/accessories/category/igrill-products/1640

dusty42

117 posts

Master Geek

#1686729 12-Dec-2016 21:30

timmmay:

One more time.... can anyone recommend a good value BBQ for very occasional use 1-3 times per year, probably $200 or less, probably charcoal?

Weber's Jumbo Joe has an NZ rrp of $199.

https://www.webernz.co.nz/barbecues/charcoal/portable/jumbo-joe-2/

($60 on Amazon, sigh)

Here's a fan site. http://www.weberjumbojoe.com/

timmmay

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#1686807 13-Dec-2016 07:01

Thanks Dusty, we'll take a look :) I hear Warehouse sometimes stocks them, and I think Mitre Ten has that model.

t0ny

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#1686824 13-Dec-2016 08:41

Handle9:

I've got this from Tradetested. It is exactly what I was after - large enough to cook 2 x 4kg Pork sirloins on the rotisserie and fully stainless so it shouldn't rot out like my old BBQ.

It can generate a heap more heat than the Weber while still having very good turndown. I think it's is much more versatile and a much larger cooking cooking surface.

At the same time I bought this thermometer and these lights from Aliexpres. The lights are great, the thermometer is OK but looses connection occasionally. I found a link online somewhere which showed threading the wire through the rotisserie fittings and then taping the base to the spit. It worked a treat and made doing the rotisserie dead easy and perfectly cooked.

How are you finding the Buffalo Grills BBQ? I would love a weber after using it couple of times but the larger units (big family :) ) are expensive and i can get the buffalo for less. Do you know if it comes with Natural Gas conversion kit?

Handle9

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#1687036 13-Dec-2016 12:21

t0ny:
Handle9:

I've got this from Tradetested. It is exactly what I was after - large enough to cook 2 x 4kg Pork sirloins on the rotisserie and fully stainless so it shouldn't rot out like my old BBQ.

It can generate a heap more heat than the Weber while still having very good turndown. I think it's is much more versatile and a much larger cooking cooking surface.

At the same time I bought this thermometer and these lights from Aliexpres. The lights are great, the thermometer is OK but looses connection occasionally. I found a link online somewhere which showed threading the wire through the rotisserie fittings and then taping the base to the spit. It worked a treat and made doing the rotisserie dead easy and perfectly cooked.

How are you finding the Buffalo Grills BBQ? I would love a weber after using it couple of times but the larger units (big family :) ) are expensive and i can get the buffalo for less. Do you know if it comes with Natural Gas conversion kit?

I'm very pleased with it - I would buy another without hesitation. The only real criticism I have is the stainless grill could be heavier gauge.

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