Weber 1421001 Performer Charcoal Grill, Black
This is the king of charcoal grills. The Weber Performer Charcoal Grill functions a Touch-N-Go gas ignition program that ignites charcoal briquets with the drive of a button. Organizational features enable you to retain your target on the food, such as an connected operate table, a weather-protected charcoal storage container, a wire bottom shelf and a few device hooks. This charcoal grill is constructed to last very long, as demonstrated by the large-duty metal cart body, hefty-duty plated-metal hinged cooking grate, no rust aluminum vent, a glass-reinforced nylon.
If you are looking for a clean, easy-to-setup charcoal grill, this is the one.
- The Weber Performer charcoal grills feature a Touch-N-Go fuel-ignition system.
- It has a whole cooking are of 363 square-inches.
- It comes with a rolling steel-body cart, table, three instrument hooks, and a lid-mounted thermometer for making the perfect charcoal grills.
- Also included are two charcoal fuel holders, and a charcoal storage container.
- It measures 28-one/two-by-fifty-one/four-by-forty inches.
- Comes with wheels for easy moving.
Listing Price: $ 429.00
Price:
Appropriate Weber Performer Grill Goods
371 Responses to “Charcoal Grills Review – Weber 1421001 Performer Charcoal Grill”
The perfect charcoal grill… almost.,
While I love my Genesis S-320, I decided I wanted to get in to charcoal grilling when time allows. Without question, I was going to buy a Weber, but I wasn’t sure if I wanted to go with the One-Touch Gold, One-Touch Platinum (knowing I’d still buy accessories for both) or the Performer.
What really sold me was the propane ignition and the cart. Having this much workspace outside is invaluable, and I just don’t trust larger items like turkey to the tables on the One-Touch Platinum or the Weber 7413 Work Table that I would have got for the Gold. And when you compare the price of the Platinum to the Performer the only reason not to get the Performer is if you’re completely uninterested in the propane ignition.
Ordering from Amazon was the usual experience. With Prime, my Performer was on my porch two days after I ordered it via UPS. Despite being nearly 100 pounds, this doesn’t need to go through one of the local logistics companies that are usually used with big items, so that was a huge plus in my book.
After inspecting the box for damage, the first thing I looked for was where the Performer was made. As I thought (and in spite of what some have said on different grilling forums) it clearly says “Designed and engineered in the USA” right above “Made in the USA”. So, yes, the Performer is (as of April 2010, when Amazon shows this model number as “new”) made in the United States.
This being my third Weber grill, I didn’t expect the pieces to be pristine, and wasn’t shocked to see that there were a few minor paint scrapes, despite the box showing absolutely zero evidence of being mishandled. This is the same experience as when I bought my first Genesis at a local store, and my next Genesis, and… Basically, if you’re expecting every piece of a Weber grill to be scratch-free out of the box, you’re going to be disappointed, so be prepared.
Assembly was pretty straightforward. As they often are, the Weber manual was easy to follow and well illustrated. All you need to put this together is a hammer (for the wheels), a Phillips screwdriver, and a 3/8″ wrench. I put it together by myself in about 30 minutes with no problems at all. I was mildly amused (and at the same time, a bit annoyed) that the bottom of the kettle has post holes for legs. The only thing that’s different on the kettle between the Performer and One-Touch Gold is two metal flaps that let you mount it to the cart.
The Performer can use the “fat green” propane canisters that you usually see on camping equipment, as well as the type of canisters you’d usually use with a torch kit. I was quite disappointed to discover that the redesigned Performer still uses the old red-button “spark-plug” ignition, instead of the electric battery-based ignition used on all of their other grills.
That brings me to the loss of a star. There are a few other design problems with the Performer that are disappointing. The first, which I haven’t seen depicted in any picture of this item here or on Weber’s site, is that the propane tank hangs down below the control panel. It looks kind of chintzy, and frankly, at this price, it shouldn’t. The other design annoyance is with the holder for the top of the kettle. It’s almost all metal, and it’s quite rough. The first time you use it, you’re going to put some nice silver scratches on your black lid. I’m experimenting with high-temp silicone on the rough edges, to see if that solves the problem.
Another warning: At the time of this review, Weber’s site has a mix of pictures for the current Performer. Some depict the lid with a small, removable thermometer on the handle. Some (correctly) depict the more Genesis-like thermometer mounted between the handle and edge of the lid. Additionally, Amazon’s picture depicts the Thermoset surface as black, it’s really more of a grey color.
All things being equal, it’s a very nice grill. You get the sturdy cart, One-Touch cleaning system with ash catcher, hinged cooking grate,…
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|Best of both worlds,
I’ve had a variety of grilling / bbq products. Primarily Weber, given their history of solid products and great customer service.
I’ve always been a charcoal purist. Apartment living, however, has made me consider propane as a primary heat source for grilling. I recently bought the Weber Q220. It’s a nice product, but it just doesn’t get as hot as I need it to. So I sold my Q220 and decided to go with what I really wanted, which was this Weber Performer.
It’s not petite – it takes up a good 3-4 feet width-wise and it’s about 3 feet high.
Charcoal had always previously required me to get a chimney starter, as I’m not into soaking my briquets with lighter fluid. That meant a lot of smoke and wait time as I waited for the coals to get hot.
The Weber performer, however, uses the little, easy to find propane tanks (hardware stores, your local drugstore’s seasonal merch section) to blast the coals with propane-powered fire in 10 mins. The coals are ashen-grey and ready to go. The grill gets over 600+ degrees F so you can really get a solid sear on whatever you’re cooking.
The whole setup is solid and well thought out. The one touch lighting system works like a breeze and the cook-top / prep area is a huge benefit, as is the tilt-out charcoal holder.
The only thing I’d suggest: google Craycort cast-iron grates and get a 22.5 inch cast-iron grate for this. It’s a bit expensive at $85 but it’s worth EVERY PENNY. If you’ve done a lot of grilling, you know you need cast iron to retain heat and really sear your food. I did and it makes this setup into the ne plus ultra of all charcoal grills and remedies the only weakness of this setup, which is the stainless steel grates that it comes with. Ditch those for Craycort’s cast iron grates. You’ll be glad you did.
I love this product as much as I can love an inanimate product. And that’s a lot.
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