I bought a Weber Spirit II E-310 GBS (not really; more on that later) propane gas grill at the Dutch Weber Store. I’m not quite sure what their deal is: they are not part of Weber itself, but they use their name and sell everything Weber? They offered the best deal – €50 below any other retailer or Weber.com – and in the end, their support was pretty great, too.
PS: You might notice how this same model is sold by Weber in the US for (currency converted) ~€530 while they are priced at €749 in their Dutch store. The markup, in this case over 41% (!), on anything barbecue is crazy over here.
First, about the GBS, or “Gourmet Barbecue System.” GBS Weber grills (gas grills and kettle grills) come with grates with a round hole in the middle, which holds another grate. The idea is that you spend too much money on buying Weber accessories such as a wok, pizza stone, and other things that fit in the hole after removing the center grate. In practice, it’s not that useful.
After placing the order, I noticed that the Spirit II E-310 GBS comes with two rectangular grates that sit side by side, both of them with a half circular hole in them, which fits the round center grate. I had already bought an official Weber griddle insert the size of one of the two rectangular grates. To use that, I’d have to remove one grate and the circular grate, leaving me with a griddle and one rectangular grate with half a hole in it. Weber’s solution? Buy an additional rectangular grate without the hole if you want to griddle and grill simultaneously!
I contacted the Weber Store – again, which isn’t actually Weber – to tell them how displeased I am with that approach, and I asked them whether we could arrange a solution. I suggested they replace the GBS grates with two plain rectangular ones, which are exactly the same minus the middle hole. They could use the GBS grates for spare parts, and the retail value of the replacement grates is about €15 less than a set of replacement GBS grates (I was willing to pay that price). They promptly agreed, which both surprised and delighted me.
The box the grill comes in is heavy, weighing nearly 70kg. After breaking my back getting that in the house, and starting assembly, it turned out that the undercarriage and lid were both massively damaged. I got to take the whole thing apart and arrange a replacement.
At first, the Dutch Weber Store wanted Weber the Netherlands – yes, it’s very confusing – to handle the replacement directly. Based on previous slow interactions with Weber, I asked them to replace it and work it out with Weber themselves. They agreed to that immediately, but then again, under Dutch law, they had to anyway. Still, communication was great, and they even called me on the phone to apologize.
A week later, the replacement grill arrived, which consisted of plenty of refurbished parts. Parts of the undercarriage, the wheels, and the axle had been part of a previously assembled but unused model. I guess that Weber salvages parts that can be reused from returns like mine, which is fine with me. Putting the grill together took about an hour and is easy to do solo.
Anyway, the grill itself is fine. I’m used to charcoal, briquettes, and wood, so it took two cooks to get used to using propane, but with great results. Would I buy this as a replacement for my Weber kettle, Weber Go Anywhere, or Rösle vertical smoker? No. But for a quick weekday dinner, it beats fiddling with fire after a long day of work. This one is more of a “let’s grill and not get the kitchen dirty” and less of a “let’s all sit at the table while I grill” device.
Pro
- Easy to assemble alone
- Works well for its intended use; not a charcoal replacement
Con
- Poor quality control (even the replacement came with a damaged knob)
- Doesn’t provide that charcoal taste or feeling