With a little bit of sun, and the idea seeded in my mind here [1], I have started to look at buying a BBQ for the balcony. For the convenience and to keep the neighbours sweet (although how can anyone complain about the smell?) we'll go with a gas BBQ. I was looking at the Weber Q 320 [2]. But before parting with any cash, I was wondering if anyone has an opinion on this? Or would you recommend something different?

Thanks for any advice


[1] Barbeque season approaching .....
[2] http://www.weberbbq.com/grills/?glid=6&mid=38

I had a Weber BabyQ (Q100) in the States. I loved that grill. I still kick myself for not putting it in the moving crate. Gave it to a friend instead who loved the grill as much as I did. We would grill on the deck, toss it the in the booth of the car and take to the beach, make burgers, ribs, fish...*sigh*

I highly recommend this range of Webers. My Q100 would always light up reliably and the flames would heat the griddle evenly. I used camping gas cartridges but you can also hook up a big bottle with a hose.

Some grease and food remains fall through a hole on the bottom onto a pan provided with the grill. To make cleaning the pan it easier put some aluminum foil on it. When you need to clean the grill, remove the griddle and scrape the inside of the grill bowl with a piece of cardboard. Everything will fall onto the pan.

The Weber brushes that have a notched metal scraper are nothing special. Just get a handful of regular brushes from your local store instead. You will go through a few of them in busy season as the bristles tend to bend.

Please keep us posted on any deals you find. I am considering getting one myself. The price here is double that in US, unfortunately.

Looking at getting a gas grill myself, although the Weber ones are expensive. Think I might get better value with Outdoor Chef or Koenig - anyone have opinions on the quality of these two brands?

Using gas on a BBQ is pointless and expensive, you may as well cook in your kitchen. There's a reason for using coals and dry heat, but we discussed this argument in the previous BBQ threads (and I suspect out of the same laziness we'll continue it here...)

Certainly not pointless as convenience and getting out of the house are my reasons....
But be sure you got one with well built parts and easy to find replacement pieces (so stay away from no-name brands).
Normally the igniter and main element need replacing after a few years from the heat, I buy Weber and last one is a Barbecook. Very nice and so far lasted 4 years without ANY complaints.

I have a European Outdoorchef, the thing works fine but to be honest with you I absolutely hate cooking with a gas grill. My last apartment was on the top floor with a terrace on the roof so cooking with briquettes or wood wasn't a problem but now I live in a ground floor apartment and I don't want to disturb my neighbors with all the smoke. My grill uses indirect heat to cook the food which (in my opinion) makes the thing work more like an oven than a grill and as previously mentioned a gas flame is wet where as with briquettes or wood it's a dry heat.



Another interesting feature of the European Outdoorchef is the ability to use a Wok on them.

http://www.outdoorchef.com/index.php...,66&prod_id=10



Or making a pizza.

http://www.outdoorchef.com/index.php...2,66&prod_id=6

But only when you have the lid closed?

You can't cook with the lid off as the heat only comes up the sides (indirectly) unless you invert the cone which deflects the heat to the center but then you need to use the wok on it.

Although you can buy the optional cast iron griddle and cook with the lid off, which will set you back another CHF100 or so...

http://www.outdoorchef.com/docs/PDF/...s_Kettle_E.pdf

Greetings,

Going back to the OP's question...

I recently bought a Weber Q300 (I think this is the toys-light version of the Q320) - so far very pleased with it as it does a good job in terms of cooking and control, is sturdy, and doesn't flame up.

This replaced a UK-source "Aussie Burner" which was a complete disappointment and fell apart after a few years light use.

Regards.

PitBull.

Weber is the only way to go. Yes, you do pay a bit more for them, but you also have to take into consideration how many cheaper BBQs you will go through in the same amount of time a Weber would have lasted you. With proper care, you can hand Webers to your kids 20 years from now!

Heres my baby. The Weber Genesis E-310.


Smaller than the HUGE models. And no extra side burners or rotate racks, its just a plain old BBQ... that built to last.

That all being said... can you get Webers in CH?

g.clarke82,

Certainly can get them in CH - lots of places. I happened to order mine online from some company I found via toppreise.ch, but Bauhaus (which is near me in Schlieren) sells them for example.

Regards.

PitBull.

Thanks for all the replies.

Indeed the Q320 is the slightly upgraded version of the Q300, which is why I'm after that. Looking around lots of places including Fust there are Q300s available, but as yet I've only seen the Q320 via two places on Toppreise.ch. There they are wanting a little over 900,-!

In the states there are a few places selling the Q320 for around the $320,- mark. One of whom will ship to Switzerland for $60. Doing a $ to CHF conversion, adding the 7.6% tax plus some handling fees at the border along with a regulator conversion I'm still thinking that would be roughly 600,- CHF. I'm wondering if the hassle in importing the BBQ doing the conversion, dealing with customs and what to do in case of a fault, is worth the 1/3 saving in the price?

Cheers

MonkeyBoy76,

Personally speaking, for the sake of a few hundred Francs I could not be bothered to wait for import from the US - especially as you never know how long it will take and what shenanigans the Customs people will play.

Also is it really worth the extra for the Q320 - I know it gets you a rather lame looking LED light on the hood - what else ?

Regards.

PitBull.

I went to a local BBQ shop here in town yesterday (Barbecue Country . com) and they had the Q320. They are a serious BBQ shop! A real manly man shop. It was selling for $499 CAD. Just for your info. It is on there site in the Weber section if you want to take a look.

PitBull,

Thanks for all the replies. Reading some reviews of the Q320 and Q300 it looks like there are some small differences, better ignition, added warming tray, nothing huge. But much to the annoyance of my girlfriend I am a bit of a geek who needs to have the newest toys, hence I'm also interested in the iRobot Roomba Vacuum Cleaner

Cheers

I don't think a vacuum cleaner grills a steak very well..

I know, but pussy enjoys the ride:

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x8l...z=706c61796572

Oh that had me laughing.

I would recommend seeing a demo with your own eyes before buying one. They don't pick up dust and fine grit and just push it around with their little stick. You need to make sure you have enough clearance through your dining table chair legs too. They unfortunately don't replace your regular vacuum cleaner that you still need to use weekly and on corners and stairs.