Karl's BBQ Review

We bought a nice looking stainless steel BBQ 2 years ago from the Bay (a Beaumark brand BBQ). Although it looks nice, I was never totally thrilled with it. The thing is huge - too big for the needs of a couple like us. It is rated for 40,000 BTU. It needs that much to heat up the cavernous interior! It came with a rotisserie, which we never used. And it went through propane like there was no tomorrow. Last week, it stopped heating above 225 degrees F and it was literally falling apart..... so I said 'enough' and went BBQ shopping.

Our needs are simple. All we ever cook on a BBQ is small pieces of meat or skewers. So we don't need a mammoth piece of machinery. I started reading reviews on various BBQ makes and models and then found the budget end of the Weber brand - the 'Q Series'. Bingo! Talk about efficient. I chose the Q320 model simply because it had electronic ignition to light the flame. A nice, small cast aluminum body with grill grates that don't let food fall into the flame (so hard to find these days).

Normally, I do not look forward to putting BBQs together, so I didn't feel too excited about the job that lay ahead. But the guy in the store said not to worry, the grill was practically put together already. He was right. All I had to do was build the cart (super simple) and bolt the body onto it. Then attach the lid, temperature probe and handle and presto finito!

On first use, I was impressed. Fast heat up time. The extra heat is vented out the sides, not the back - nice touch - so less worrying about melting the wall behind the grill. Not that I put it too close to the wall, but you know how there's always one neighbour with the melted siding....

All in all, I was not anticipating spending $500 on a new BBQ, but I feel with this Weber model I got my money's worth. Sometimes, you just have to pay for quality. I have a feeling this grill will last more than 2 years.