10 Things I Wish I Knew Before Buying a Weber Gas Grill

You never forget your first Weber grill, and I’ll get to mine in just a minute. This is still the biggest name in American grilling, thanks to more than 70 years of evolution from George Stephen’s original kettle barbecue grill invention to a wonderful world of Weber products.

The Weber gas grill is the most popular choice in a wide range that also includes wood pellet grills, Big Green Egg style kamado cookers, pit boss style smokers, standup griddles, portable barbecues, the outdoor kitchen and eleventy bajillion accessories.

If you’re in the market for one of these Weber gas grills, then you can sprint to the store and buy a new one right here and now. We’ve all made snap decisions, right? I mean, they’re just sitting there like big fat Buy Me prizes when you walk into a happy hardware store. They come in a box with easy directions and before you know it you’re home and flipping steaks out back.

If you want some help thinking through this important decision so you are in a position to succeed with the best possible model at the best possible price, then we are here to help! Whether you are leveling up from a Weber kettle grill or replacing your old Char-Broil or just discovering this whole outdoor barbecue cooking life, we’ve put together a list of 10 important gas grill considerations so you can make all the right moves. We are independent and do not generate affiliate income from any of our articles.

It All Begins With Your First Weber Grill

My first Weber grill was on the back porch of an Indiana University apartment as a college dude back in the day, and I remember cutting my barbecue teeth then and there. It was the thrill of building a proper fire, flipping burgers and steaks, with some sliced onions on the side while the meat got absolutely torched or finally just right. It was the camaraderie of people hanging around the grill with a cold beer and cultivating friendships after cultivating the intellect.

That black kettle Weber charcoal grill was as a simple as it comes. Two porcelain enamel semispheres, a top and a bottom with vents. Three long legs, two with all-weather wheels and the other with a black cap to keep it from moving. A stainless steel triangle rack on the bottom that kept that tripod together and stored things. An aluminum disc that snugged inside the top of the tripod to catch any ash from above. A round stainless steel grate that seemed to hold all the food in the world. Puffy charcoal briquettes and smelly lighter fluid. Once you finally figured out how to patiently get the coals going and added food, life was good and there wasn’t a care in the world.

It opened up a new lifestyle of grilling, a better learning experience than many of the courses. Most of us probably went through the same baptism under fire at some point, out back at home, at a park, at a picnic, in a tailgate parking lot. And then just like that, that whole world of Weber BBQ bliss expanded beyond anything you could have imagined. The Original Kettle is still widely used as well, but it has evolved into a whole line of outdoor grilling and most notably the gas grill cookout.

10 Things I Wish I Knew Before Buying a Weber Gas Grill

Weber kind of does it all as a fact of modern BBQ life. That means there is something for everyone, but it also means there are a whole lot of decisions to make first. So we’re here to help with these 10 tips for getting the Weber that’s just right for you:

1. Find the Smartest Time to Buy

If there are so many new Weber grills sitting outside the main entrance of Home Depot that you can hardly squeeze past to get inside, then that’s a pretty good sign that you are buying at the wrong time. Avoid the gotcha purchase and buy your new BBQ grill right after Labor Day when the big sales happen or even after the Fourth of July when prices start to go down. Sellers have to get rid of old inventory so look for gas grills on clearance. Most people pay top dollar because it’s finally nice outside and grilling season is here, so sellers have the hammer.

2. Maintain Regularly But Know When to Say When

A grill is like a car in that regular maintenance will extend the life of your investment. At the very least, get a good cover to protect it. Clean the Weber grill grate while warm after each use, and at the end of each grilling season check parts to ensure good gas flow. It costs less to replace parts than to replace the whole grill and that could last you a decade or more. But sometimes it’s just time to move on from a worn-out grill, and you might be moving up from one Weber to another or just replacing a tired Blaze grill.

3. Where to Find Weber Gas Grills

They are pretty much all over the place. Weber has always been based in the Chicago area, where Stephen invented the kettle grill concept in 1952 while he was working for Weber Brothers Metal Works. His job included welding two metal half spheres together to make the kind of buoys found on Lake Michigan. Brick fireplaces were common in backyards, but this gave him a better idea, and since then these have been made in the U.S.A. with an assembly plant in Huntley, Ill. They are distributed constantly to your local Ace Hardware, Home Depot, Lowes, Walmart or any other large warehouse-type retailer. You also can order exactly what you want on weber.com and find everything Weber has to offer the weekend warrior or pitmaster.

4. There’s A Gas Grill for Every Budget

Weber’s gas grill outdoor selection is second to none, so there is a range of choices that will match every budget. You can spend up to $5,000 for a top-of-the-line Weber Summit Series Grill as anchor of an outdoor kitchen, or you can spend a couple hundred bucks on a mini portable Weber Q Series Grill. Amazon has the Q1000 Liquid Propane Grill in titanium color for $229 and that has nearly 4,000 ratings at our last check. It gets the job done with one stainless steel burner, great for more friendly confines and clearly an important consideration to many foodies.

5. Construction And Assembly

A simple shake is the best way to test a gas grill when you are walking around a wide selection of them. It should feel solid and sturdy. A subpar gas grill will wiggle a bit and might sound flimsy or just loose. Remember that store workers have gone through the whole assembly that they know like the back of their hands, so any that aren’t solid are likely to fall apart on your backyard deck or patio. You can also ask a store worker how the assembly steps compared when they did it. Some gas grills are going to take many hours to put together, and the easier ones will mean more time for you to do what you’re here for: GRILLING!

6. How Much Space and How Many Mouths to Feed

One of the most important factors in your Weber outdoor gas grill decision is known what size you need. That will determine where it fits in that budget. You want at least two knobs and burners, and if you’re like most customers you will want more so you can grill larger quantities and also use indirect as well as direct heating by cooking on off burners.

The Genesis and Spirit series are highly popular gas grills and both are loaded with goodies and great for entertaining guests. But you can see differences on the brand site. The Weber Genesis Grill has a higher-cost range and double doors on its models with storage function, while the Weber Spirit Grill has a single door on those. It’s important to read all the features and benefits of each grill before you decide, and consider user ratings like anything else in life.

7. Propane vs Natural Gas

Gas is the most affordable type of fuel in grilling, with no regular bags of charcoal or coal lumps or pellets or starter fluid to buy at the store. There’s a cost but in the long run it’s quite a bit less. That translates to a big advantage in cost and savings, to go along with that speed-speed-speed advantage that we already discussed. So you know what you want, and now you just have to decide what you need because there are two types of gas grill fuel.

Propane is the most common gas grill fuel. Weber propane gas grills are easy to set up and the only hassle is keeping track of the gas supply in the canisters and occasionally having to refill or buy new canisters. But anyone, even that one cousin twice removed, can hook up a propane canister to a gas grill. And propane grills are as portable as their fuel source.

Natural gas grills use the same fuel that heats many homes, and they tend to be big and immobile fixtures because they require a direct connection to the natural gas source. A professional will (and should) come out make the hookup, and then your Weber natural gas grill runs worry-free with no trip to the store to replace one propane tank and maybe also a backup.

8. Make it a Grill or a Griddle

The Weber Stand-up Griddle is the brand’s answer for the red-hot outdoor griddle movement happening around the BBQ scene. These run on gas as well and they range from $450 to $1,000. You can either get one of these as your solution for a gas grill, or opt for one of the aforementioned types and buy a Weber grill insert that can be used or removed at your convenience. Some people are going to want to have it both ways, adding a standup griddle to an existing gas grill or charcoal grill or ceramic cooker or wood pellet smoker.

9. Great Customer Service and Warranty

Stuff happens in life and that includes grills. A solid warranty from the retailer can be a big difference-maker for you if repairs or replacement parts are needed. Read fine print so you know exactly what parts of your Weber are covered and for how long. It also helps to maintain a good relationship with a dealer near you so they can assist with any warranty claim. You should see a toll-free service line for any questions after you set up your grill, and the whole kit and kaboodle should come with thorough and easy-to-read info about your new purchase.

10. Accessorize!

If you like grill accessories, then you’re in the right place. Weber is overflowing with them, as you have no doubt seen at your local Home Depot. There is plenty more where those came from. Grill cover? Check. Weber utensils? Check. Wood chips and Cedar planks for fish? Check. We’ve already laid out the 12 must have Weber grill accessories for every skill level.

You get what you pay for, whether it’s the food you are preparing or the gas grill on which you prepare it. I never thought much about this back when I was scorching burgers on a back porch Weber kettle grill during college, or even when I leveled up to a gas grill or two in the years that followed. So I hope this advice will help you get it right.

This is your opportunity for a beautiful addition to your home where outdoor grills and smokers can make all the difference in quality of life for you and your family and friends. If you do all of this research first, you are in position to make the right gas grill choice and then you just have to look at our barbecue recipes and start cooking.