3.17.2011

When Good Grills Go Bad

Unfortunately, our beloved grill has finally met its demise. After we moved into our house in 2002, this was the first thing we purchased. I think my parents gave us money to buy it as a house warming gift. Like so many former apartment-dwellers, we were so excited to have space to grill. It was a Kenmore and I think we paid $400 which seemed like a ton of money to us then. This would have been the 10th summer with that grill, so we don't feel like it owes us anything. Still... it's bittersweet.


It did not work well last year - the burners worked only at about 50% power and the electric ignition had stopped working last fall. We figured we would buy some parts and it would continue on for another year or two. The other day, Jim started taking the old grill apart to see what was wrong and to figure out what parts we needed to order. Then we took a good look at the inside and realized that the parts that attached the burners to the sides were completely rusted out, the paint was peeling and looking way shabby (not a good decorator way either). All I could picture was paint flecks in our food and I was done.

So, of course, I started shopping for a new one because we NEED a grill and we use our grill multiple times per week. We often use our grill 12 months out of the year, so we've been on a grilling hiatus for months.

This time, I was sure I wanted a Weber. They are known to last. I know a lot of people who have had their Webers for more than 10 years. I don't want to buy a new grill every 5 years. Just not worth it.

It's down to these two models.
Weber E-320 - $749


Weber E-310 - $699

Same size and features but the E-320 has the side burner and the E-310 doesn't. Will we ever use the side burner? 12K BTUs doesn't seem like enough to boil water but maybe just to heat some sauce or melt butter.

Thoughts?