Weber One Touch Charcoal Grill Comparison

We depend on advice and recommendations from our friend on many occasions and outdoor living and preparing for the BBQ season is no exception. Advice about which outdoor grill we should buy is always welcome but often the advice isn’t detailed enough. Being advised to “buy a Weber grill” is very vague or even recommendations like “go for a Weber one touch charcoal grill” isn’t much better with the amount of choices available.

Due to the huge selection of grills in the Weber range, with your permission I would like to clarify the differences of one type, which is the one touch charcoal grill. Possibly at a later date we could cover other group types for you.

I will also build a comparison chart at the bottom of this page where you will see the various models stacked together allowing you to compare models, features and prices. You could either read
through the more in-depth reviews or go straight to the bottom of the page for a quick comparison and read the details after that.

The styling of most of the Weber grills is very similar and the shape is iconic in itself. Indeed with just the mention of BBQ grilling the rounded shape, on triple footed base with the large dome lid immediately come to mind for most of us.

Most kids if asked to draw a sketch of a barbecue grill would produce a picture very similar to what I have described above. Things have moved on in the barbecue world from the flat square grill that incinerated food rather than cook it due mainly to being unable to control the heat.

This rectangle on four legs has since become better known as the backyard brazier that folk could use to burn their food before eating it in the festival known as the BBQ. Back in the 50s one style of grill existed, the type mentioned above.

One layer of coal with a grill above that was way too close to the coal was basically all it was. OK it would get the job done of grilling the usual ingredients of steaks, burgers and hot dogs but
delicate food like fish and many vegetables was a different matter. That being said it did provide lots of fun.

Enter Mr. George Stephen whom we have to give a very big thanks to for bringing us the hemispherical grill which his neighbors referred to as “Sputnik”.

With the history lesson of outdoor grills out of the way let’s look more closely at our candidate for discussion here, the main versions of the Weber one touch charcoal grill.

Weber One Touch Charcoal Grill Reviews

The main versions we will focus on are;

1) The Weber One Touch Gold 22.5 Inch Charcoal Grill

2) The Weber One Touch 741001 Charcoal Black Grill

3) The Weber Performer Charcoal Grill

Weber One Touch Gold 22.5 Inch Charcoal Grill

Starting with the Weber One Touch Gold 22.5 inch charcoal grill we find that there is a selection of

3 real choices for us. There is one other model although it has been discontinued by the manufacturer. I’m not sure how long it will be available for so I will not add it here for that reason.

The 3 models found in this range are;

1) Weber 1351001 One-Touch Gold Kettle Grill, 22.5-Inch, Black

2) Weber 1352001 One-Touch Gold Kettle Grill, 22.5-Inch, Copper

3) Weber One Touch Gold 22.5 Grill Green

With the exception of the model colors, one being black, one in copper and one in green the specifications are the same for all three models and they are;

The bowl and lid are Porcelain-enameled

The cooking area measures a total of 363 square inches

Has a cooking grate made of plated steel – (Hinged)

Ash catcher is and made from aluminum with high capacity – (Removable)

Uses the One-Touch cleaning system which is made of aluminized steel

2 Wheels are made of durable all weather material

Handles made from glass reinforced nylon – (3 off)

Vents are rust resistant

Comes complete with owner’s guide and a limited warranty

Don’t confuse the use of the color “Gold”, this describes the model type. The Weber One Touch Gold 22.5 inch grill comes is 3 different colors, black, copper and green.

The Weber One Touch 741001 Charcoal Black Grill

The Weber One Touch 741001 is actually Weber’s “Silver” model which although having the same large size cooking area it lacks a few of the specs of their “Gold” version. See list of specifications below where the main differences are in brackets.

The bowl and lid are Porcelain-enameled

The cooking area measures a total of 363 square inches

Has a cooking grate made of plated steel (Unhinged)

Ash catcher is made from aluminum (Non-removable)

Uses the One-Touch cleaning system which is made of aluminized steel

The cooking area measures a total of 363 square inches

Uses the One-Touch cleaning system which is made of aluminized steel

Wheels are made of durable all weather material

2 Handles made from glass reinforced nylon – (2 off)

Vents are rust resistant

Comes complete with owner’s guide and a limited warranty

AS in the title the color of these grills come in black, the model is “Silver”.

The Weber Performer Charcoal Grill

In the Weber Performer charcoal grill section there is a choice of 4 models to choose from. I say 4 models although there are another 2 with very little feedback and another which has been discontinued by the manufacturer (Weber). I like to see products that have a purchase history and have a good number of reviews left for them by users.

I’m not saying that these newer models without reviews are bad in anyway shape or form. Its just that the tried and tested method which highlights the good and the bad about a product, goes along
way on how I make up my mind about my purchases.

These main models are;

The Weber 1401001 – Silver

The Weber 1431001 – Gold

The Weber 1481001 – Platinum

The Weber 1482001 – Platinum

Specifications;

The Weber 1401001 Performer Charcoal Grill – Silver

I’m starting here with the most inexpensive of the Performer charcoal grills the Weber 1401001 and will work progressively to the most expensive. Obviously I won’t need to list all the same features
to every model as they will all have the basics of the Weber 1401001 “Silver”.

Each other model like the “Gold” and the “Platinum” have extra feature which I will list. So let’s get started.

What makes the Weber Performer that bit different is the 4 wheeled trolley style made in heavy duty steel and the fold down side table. The handy table provides you with a bit extra space for food
preparation etc. as does the wire shelf mounted underneath.

These grills are the top of the weber range with all the extras of the Performer range added.

The dampers are made from aluminum and allow the heat of the grill to be controlled by allowing more or less oxygen. The temperature inside the grill can be monitored via the thermometer gauge and lets
you know when more charcoal needs to be added.

Close by to the fold down table hinged area are 3 hooks for hanging items such as a stainless steel grill set ready to lay your hands on quickly.

Sauces, plates, cutlery and towels can all be stored in the bottom shelf and wheeled to the BBQ area ready to get it lit. Once you have the Weber Performer in place simply lock up the wheels to keep things stable.

The ash catcher is designed to keep all ash safely locked in to prevent any strong winds from blowing ash all over the outdoor grilling area and especially off the food. Ash is easily removed by
turning the ash catcher by the handle and emptying it in a safe place.

As with all the Weber Performer charcoal grills the one touch system makes cleaning up a breeze. The durable steel ash sweeper uses its 3 prongs to sweep the ash away and into the ash catcher by pushing the lever back and forth.

To the rear of the grill is a specially created wire cradle that is used to safely store the lid out of harm’s way when you need to access the grill.

The plated steel cooking grate has two hinged sections at the front and the back which allows charcoal to be added at any time during the cooking process. This cooking grate provides an area of 363 square inches which can have food still cooking while adding charcoal.

The Performer cart can be easily stored away when not in use and space is saved with the fold down work area. The dimensions when erected are 42 inches x 39 inches x 28.5 inches. A cover is available for the Weber Performer charcoal grill which is – model number 7449 at the Amazon store.

The Weber 1431001 “Gold”

The Weber 1431001 is the “Gold” version in the Weber Performer charcoal grill section and comes in a black finish.

Very much the same features apply to it as the Weber 1401001 model review above with a few extras added, the 2 main ones are.

1) There is a bin for storing charcoal located under the grill which keeps it out of the elements. The top of the bin can be pulled out via a hinge mechanism which allows access to charcoal for stoking the grill.

2) A cooker timing is available due to the built in LCD timer attached to the grill. An especially good feature about this timer is that it can be slipped out and taken with you to keep tabs on
things.

The Weber 1481001 “Platinum”

The Weber 1481001 Platinum which is black in color has all the previous features of the silver and the gold models plus – an electronic gas ignition system which they refer to as “Touch and Go”. The ignition which is located under the LCD timer box uses gas to get the charcoals lit.

Reading through the reviews there are a lot of people who like this feature although one reviewer thought that it only lit the coal in the center of the grill. They felt that they wasted a lot of

time moving the coal from the edges to the top of the lit coals in the center to get things going.

Possibly standing over anything to get it going is not the best idea, we know what they say about watching a kettle boil. I believe the best practice when using the gas to ignite the charcoal would be to just leave it alone to do its job.

5 minutes ought to be enough of the gas to get things started and another 15 to get the grill up to temperature. This time could well be used to prepare food ready for cooking and having a little sip of your favorite beverage.

The dimensions when you have put the grill together and ready to go are 40 inches x 50.25 inches x 28.5 inches.

The Weber 1482001 “Platinum”

The Weber 1482001 Platinum is the very same as the Weber 1481001 except that is in a copper finish instead of black.

Well that about wrap it up for these types of grills. Who would have thought that a Weber one touch charcoal grill would have so many features as well as combinations of features?

That’s with us only covering the one touch charcoal versions of the huge range from Weber. This just shows us the true measure of this company in that they have pandered to the wishes of their
customers and provided so many choices.

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