Weber 441001 18 1/2" One Touch Silver Kettle Grill, Black

(Update): Was reading the review for this in the Cook's Illustrated.com site and realized the reason this unit was 'panned' by that organization is that it was the only unit tested with a 'fixed' grill and grate. Unfortunately, that means the distance the food is from the coals also remains 'fixed'. Would cut my review back to 4-Stars if I was able to.

(Original):This unit screams QUALITY and it's nice to see that such still exists for an American made product. Nicely packaged, all the parts were there (plus an extra) and it was easy to put together. A reviewer complained about the aluminum tubular legs falling off after 2 years. I suppose this is possible but with the 10-year warranty on most of the parts, replacements should be delivered rapidly. Although I have had no reason to contact them, I have heard the Weber customer service is as excellent at its fine products.

There is a large hook for hanging the top off the handle so when looking for accessories, you may not wish to purchase the highly touted Weber 'Slide-Aside'.

I purchased this grill via the Amazon site and received free shipping. In my opinion, that is almost always the way to go, as long as you take the time to check out Amazon's sometimes quirky pricing.

Unlike most reviewers here who had grill(s) for many years, this Weber 18.5" One Touch Silver is my first grill. Also, unlike most here, I'm a total newbie when it comes to grilling.

The first impression I have with this Weber grill is how forgiving it is even for a newbie. I think its the rounded design and perhaps choice of materials that makes it so.

I made the mistake of not realising I need to open the bottom vent but the grill still managed to allow me to finish some pretty good steak and pork chops for 2. I only realised it when I've done cooking and the coal died down. :-)

There are also some other newbie mistakes which I made and hope someone else reading this before buying his/her first grill will avoid:

1. Kingsford match lit charcoal. As a high-tech professional, I like innovations and the match lit charcoal sounded liked a great idea until I read its really only charcoal soaked with lighter fluid. It is convenient however but probably not the 1st choice if you're seroius of grilling.

2. Ash tray. It catches ash alright but any slight wind will blow the ashes all over the place. Try putting some water in the tray or use a deeper one with water. That'll both extingish the ash and keep them in place.

3. Left over coal. Being a total newbie, I threw some away, not realizing I can leave them in the grill for next time.


In summary:
- Great 1st grill, simple and forgiving
- Better documentation needed, newbies will probably miss the bottom vent like I did
- Ash tray not useful during grilling unless water added or no wind
- Excellent form factor for Town House use, should be useful for decks of apartments too

I use this grill for direct cooking, and everything that has come off the grill surface has looked and tasted fantastic, and I'm no grill-meister by any means. Very easy to use, assemble and clean. If you want to cook indirectly, go buy a smoker; anything else, this grill will perfect. It's just the right size; not too big, not too small, and easy on the wallet. I'm very pleased with the quality, and the results.

To my suprise, the legs on my grill fell off after four years. While it works great and I get great results and wouldn't go back to gas grills, just be aware that it won't last forever.

This grill is great! We received it as a wedding shower gift 18 years ago and it still works great! The lid does not fit as well as it used to, but that is because I dropped it a couple of times! I am now moving up to an 22' Platinum charcoal grill because I want a bigger one and love the idea of a built in table. I did buy the table that you can attach to this one, but it was small and was not very sturdy.