Weber 741001 22 1/2-Inch One-Touch Silver Kettle Grill, Black

UPDATED: Edited after using several times: I changed the title and if I could I would knock off a couple of stars. Cannot recommend this at all all ONLY because the ashes go everywhere, even while you're cooking! (NO wind)

When the charcoal burns, the ash falls through the vent and onto the metal tray, but what ends up happening, is that the ashes float around all over the place as they fall through, and because the vents are BELOW the kettle, the updraft blows the ashes up onto your food. Horrible design imo, esp considering their smaller unit w/o the legs (18" kettle) doesn't have this problem due to vents being on the side. If I could take mine back, I would, and just add legs to my portable 18" or something. This thing is awful. Maybe the Gold would be better for this reason alone (but it still has the vents below). DARN! and ARGH!

Strike the con about the cheap legs - doesn't affect anything so far, and helps to keep it light I guess.

Also, I was wrong about the handles not getting hot. Too hot to touch (I though the complaints about this were just from weenies, but no, it's really too hot to touch). The handles on my smaller, non legged Weber (18") seem to be made of the same material, but never get too hot to touch with my bare hand. Interesting. Either they changed/cheapened the heat resistant material, or the bigger 22" kettle simply gets hotter, not sure.

Original review:

Bought gold version initially, took it back b/c it was completely bent out of shape. Bought silver because I decided I couldn't justify paying so much extra for a hinged grill grate and the ash catcher. Cost is out of line on gold imo.

Pros:
- great size (upgraded from the smaller, portable 18" ver)
- kettle made really well
- so many accessories available
- Sliding the "fan" vent to get the ashes out worked very well imo. Some reviews say this doesn't work, but it did for me. Got almost all the ashes out (at least the first time, we'll see how it holds up).
- never had a problem with the handles getting too hot.

Cons:
I think I could crush the cheap alum. legs with my hand if I squeezed hard enough. As mentioned, the base and wheels, etc are VERY cheap, bottom line Kmart grill cheap.

ashes from coal go through vents and onto catch tray, then blows all around and up and probably into food. I live in a low/almost no wind area...can't imagine anyone using this thing where wind is even minimal. Yes, you can buy the gold and I would assume this would fix the problem...for $60 more!

I think they should have put in separate, simple side vents (like on the portable 18" weber) AND the lever. Trying to combine two functions into one for the sake of a marketing gimmick name (one touch) was a huge mistake. I feel like I went a step backwards wrt to ash.

Must buy: charcoal chimney. This thing is built really well and does it's job so well. They should make the base of the grill as well as they made this chimney!

I would not recommend buying the accessory to hang the lid, I found the little hook inside the top works just fine.

I guess I would recommend this but, if you were not at all concerned about money (or the principle of how they differentiate between the silver and gold versions as in my case), I would go for the gold only because I would think the ashes would not fly around. For the extra cost they are asking for the gold, I just could not justify it.

Awesome grill. Very good price... as long as you buy it directly from Amazon. It took me about 15 minutes to assemble. highly recommend!!!

As for being a Weber product the construction could have been sturdier. The legs are light, wheels are cheap so you have to be careful when moving the grill, it can be a bit top heavy if you have anything in it. The charcoal grate grid spacing is a bit wide so I had to put another one on top to prevent unspent coals from dropping through. Weber could have just put in the hinged cooking grate instead of the flat one. Also, you have to jury-rig the ash catcher. For the money, Weber could have done better. I am disappointed in this product just because it's a Weber and I don't feel that they lived up to their reputation. I'm glad I didn't go for the gold.

Love it. I'm only giving it four stars as a comment on manufacturing in general these days. Things today just don't seem as solidly built as they did twenty years ago. I'm no economist, but I'm sure it comes down to pinching every penny along the way to the finished product, and really, considering the market, this is a great classic grill for under $100.

What can I say .... it's a Weber .... just about the best grill for beginners and experienced cooks! This replaces the One-Touch Gold that I bought for my DH about two years ago. He made the mistake of allowing our son to light a wood fire in it and it melted the handles and did some other damage. The grill was never the same and my DH has complained constantly since then. We are now back to enjoying juicy burgers since he can control the heat again. We have owned Weber's for 20+ years and my DH says the gold is not worth the extra money. He is happy with the silver. Anther Weber favorite of his is the Weber smoker.