Weber Performer Charcoal Grill

weber performer grillWith spring just around the corner it’s that time of the year when we check out the gardening tools and the garden furniture to ensure everything is OK for the busy season ahead. Checking through the BBQ equipment at this time also makes sense. Maybe it’s time to upgrade or renew the trusty old BBQ with one of the latest models such as the Weber Performer charcoal grill.

There’s not many people who don’t know what a Weber outdoor cooking grill looks like, especially with its distinctive shape. Although Weber have taken barbecuing to a new level with their latest editions. (See the comparison table for these new grills at the bottom of the page).

What they have done is, take their already successful range of grills and converted them into a cart with many useful features that their fans are raving about. The reviews from those who have updated to the Weber Performer grill speaks for itself and that’s what drew my attention to them initially.

Users realize that the very shape of the Weber grill allows them to load a lot more food to cook than other tradition grills. Without the usual hot areas and the colder corners, which means moving food around like a game of chess to get it cooked. And they feel confident in creating enough heat to quickly sear food with the high internal temperatures yet still retain the natural juices within the food.

With this knowledge and our natural healthy desire to move on to new and better things in life, no doubt this has played a big part in these new Weber grills becoming so popular.

Just as we have now progressed to sitting by a fire pit coffee table later in the evening after the all fun of the barbecue has ended.

Table of Page Contents

Weber Performer Grill Models

weber performer charcoal grillThere is a choice of 4 models to choose from in the Weber Performer range. I say 4 models although there are another 2 with very little user feedback and another which has been discontinued by the manufacturer (Weber).

I personally like to check out products that have a decent purchase history and a good number of reviews left for them by the users. The higher these reviews rate the product, the more likely I am to dig deeper into the product information.

I’m not saying that these newer models without reviews are bad in anyway shape or form.

It’s just that the tried and tested method which highlights the good and the bad about a product,goes a long way on how I make up my mind about my purchases.

Anyway that leaves 3 models to choose from each has its own individual features and they go up in stages.

These are the Silver which is the basic model, if there is such a thing in the Weber Performer charcoal grills. Gold is the mid-range and Platinum obviously is their top version.

The main models are;

1) weber performer silver charcoal grill – Model 1401001

2) weber performer gold charcoal grill – Model 1431001

3) weber performer platinum grill – Model 1481001 Black or Model 1482001 Copper color

Weber Performer Silver Charcoal Grill

weber performer silver charcoal grillStarting with the most inexpensive of the Performer charcoal grills the Weber 1401001 and we 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 basic features of the Weber 1401001 “Silver” model anyway.

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

Features of the Weber Performer Silver Charcoal Grill

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 of extra space for food prepatio etc. As does the wire shelf mounted underneath.

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.

cooking on a charcoal grillClose by to the fold down table hinged area are 3 hooks for hanging items such as a stainless steel grill set making them readily and available 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 grill 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, especially the food. Ash is easily removed by
turning the ash catcher by the handle and emptying it in a safe place.

As with all these 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 harms way when you need to access the grill interior.

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.

Weber Performer Gold Charcoal Grill

weber performer gold charcoal grillThe Weber 1431001 is the “Gold” version in the Weber Performer grill range and comes in a black finish.

Very much the same features apply to Gold version as the Weber Silver 1401001 model reviewed 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 the charcoal 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 cook timing facility is available using 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 Performer gold charcoal grill has 90 user reviews which rate it at 4.7 from 5 stars which are excellent figures.

Weber Performer Platinum Grill

weber performer platinum grillThe Weber 1481001 Platinum which again 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 controls are located under the LCD timer box and 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.

performer platinum weber grill with gas ignitionI would imagine that 5 minutes ought to be enough of the gas to get things started and another 15 or so without the gas for the grill to get 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 of the Weber Performer platinum grill when you have put it together are 40 inches x 50.25 inches x 28.5 inches.

Performer Platinum Weber Grill in Copper Color

weber platinum charcoal grill in copperThe Weber 1482001 Platinum is the very same as the Weber 1481001 Platinum model except that it is in a copper color instead of black.

Weber obviously believe that their custom base would like to see a choice in color in their grills and there are areas of the garden that I think the copper color might suit better.

That being said my priority is a BBQ grill that performs well the color would be secondary.

Weber Performer Charcoal Grill Comparison Table

As we mentioned at the begining of the page, here is the comparison table where we have placed all of the Weber Performer charcoal grill models together. This lets you see at a glance all the features and prices together in one area to help quickly compare one model with another.

 Summing Up

Well that about wraps it up for these types of outdoor cooking grills. Who would have thought that a charcoal grill would have so many handy features to make BBQ life so easy?

Having the unmisakable flavor only provided by charcoal combined with modern technology will surely prove to be a winner.

We have only covered the Weber Performer charcoal grill models here which is just a part of the huge range from Weber. The fact that they have pandered to the wishes of their customers and provided so many choices shows us the true measure of this company.

 

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