Weber grills are not cheap. They have priced hundreds of dollars. When we look for a Weber grill, two questions straightly strike into the mind that why are Weber grills so expensive? And are Weber grills worth the money? In today’s article, we will be going to have a detailed and straight discussion of this whole scenario.
Weber grills are one of the most popular grills that most families are using for generations. The company has continuously worked on new innovations they can bring in Weber grills. How they can make the grilling experience more joyful and convenient.
Weber grills allow users to have temperature control. This allows the users to control the temperature of their grill and easy to control flare-ups. Another great advantage of Weber grill is the durability and good quality material used in it. You will see Weber grills are backed by a ten-year warranty from the company.
If you use the grill properly and take care as well then your Weber grill will be going to last for decades. Even, you can divide the price of weber grills to ten. Here, you will get the cost you are paying per year. Now, you can compare this to the cost of buying and throwing away a cheap grill every year. That’s one of the main reasons behind most people prefer buying grills from Weber.
One important note is that not all grills can completely fulfill your grilling requirements. Every grill is different from others. Therefore, you must look for the right grill for you. Weber Q2200 is the best tabletop portable gas grill from the company. Weber Smoky Mountain is considered as the best value smoker from Weber.
About Weber Grills
Weber-Stephen Products LLC has a very rich history. A family business of Weber Bros. Metal Works was incorporated in 1893. George A. Stephen, the co-owner build a round charcoal kettle grill. He used two sheet metal half-spheres normally used as parts of buoys built in his sheet metal shop. He called the first grill as George’s Barbeque Kettle.
The grill becomes so successful that he started selling it in 1952. He formed the barbeque division. In the late 1950s, Stephen bought out the Weber Brothers factory. Now, he was the sole owner. He was working hard to improve and innovate the Webber kettle. Soon, he changed the company’s name to Weber-Stephen Products Co.
The company was family-owned until it sold a majority stake to BDT Capital Partners in 2010. Weber-Stephen acquired some assets of competitor Ducane for $13.6 million at a bankruptcy sale in 2004.
As of now, the company manufactures and sells outdoor electric grills, gas grills, charcoal smokers, and charcoal grills. The company also owns five restaurants located in Chicago, Indianapolis, St. Louis, and two restaurants in Illinois. Apart from that, the company also publishes cookbooks.
Are Weber Grills Worth The Money?
Weber grills are durable and quality tested by the company that they last for decades, with proper care. The company must be providing some useful features that will make a sense to the expensive price of Weber grills. You can read our guide on the best gas grills under $500. Below, we have discussed some features that make Weber grills expensive and quality products than other grills in the market.
1. Materials Used
Weber has more focused on their grill’s longevity and durability rather than just manufacturing, selling, and making a profit. The Weber grills are more durable and have rustproof seams that last for decades. When building grills, the company uses weld instead of using fasteners. This process takes time, energy, and labor but the company believes in manufacturing rustproof and heavy-duty grills.
High-quality materials like porcelain-coated enamel, cast-iron, or stainless steel are used in Weber grills. Apart from that, the manufactured grills also go through testing and quality tests. This makes Weber grills to meet company standards. You can select any model, each of them is tested to simulate ten to fifteen years.
2. Design and Engineering
Since, the year 1893, George A. Stephen founded the company, Weber grills have continued to innovative technologies every year. As we know that Weber is not the only inventor of grills, but the company has a great contribution to the development of new technologies and innovative techniques to the grills. The company had also filed patents for its innovative technologies.
Most of the required features like the self-cleaning system and grease channels that are must in grills be found in classic Weber designs. Not only innovations and new techniques are important but customer feedback is also important. Weber – Stephen Products LLC focuses on feedbacks from customers and applies the requirements.
3. Warranty
How can you buy a product with no or less warranty period if the manufacturing company is not confident about their product? In Weber’s case, the company is so confident about their grills that you get a ten-year warranty on your Weber grill. Moreover, your grill will be going to last for decades because of the easy availability of parts.
4. Parts are Easily Available
Weber has also focused on the easy availability of parts of the grills. Therefore, you will easily find parts for your Weber grill. If you don’t want to move your grill then you can also order parts to your home and repair them yourself.
There are several service centers too available to repair your Weber grill parts. What a few people do is get an older model Weber grill at a garage sale then rehab it with new parts. Overall, the easy availability of parts of all Weber grills makes you love your grill.
5. Customer Support
Another great reason why most people love Weber grills is the after-sales service. Weber has wide customer support to help you with your queries and problems. People tell about the excellent follow-up of customer support. They may take time to repair your grill but in the end, you will get your grill perfectly repaired.
Why Quality is Declining in Weber Grills?
Some people have reported feeling a few quality declines in Weber grills in recent years. Below, we have discussed why these issues are actually appearing:
- Outsourced Manufacturing
Right now, Weber is not entirely manufacturing grills in the United States. The company has moved production plants outside of the US. Assembling of parts only takes place in the United States of America. Although, the headquarters of Weber – Stephen Products LLC is located in Palatine, Illinois. After assembling the grills are also quality and assurance tested. However, after the outsourcing of grill manufacturing, some people feel a decline in the quality of Weber grills.
- Technology Glitches
Weber has introduced stunning innovations in their new generation of grills but sometimes you will face technology glitches as well. Today’s era is about smart devices and we are living in homes packed with smart gadgets. The ovens, bulbs, tube lights, side lamps, coffeemakers also run on smart connections.
Weber grills come with a smart grilling hub and Weber connect system. However, users have faced some technology glitches including connection errors. Sometimes they are even not that accurate. Its competitors have smart technologies that allow users to monitor and adjust the grill from a smartphone. It gets very important for that company to properly test the technologies than deliver them to the consumers.
- 430 Grade of Steel
The company is using 304-grade stainless steel in the manufacturing of grills but in recent years, they are using 430-grade steel. It is durable but it is a lower grade of steel than 304-grade stainless steel.
Conclusion
Weber grills are perfect for traditional usage. If you don’t need any smart technologies in your grill and just want traditional grilling then Weber grills are the best in the market. Yes! They are still worth the money because you get longevity and durability product that comes with all required features for grilling. However, there are some recent launch Weber grills that are not a good option to consider.
That’s why most of the people continue upgrading their older model Weber grill. The easy parts availability, good customer support, quality build, durable materials led to the usage of Weber grills for generations.
You can also go for buying an old model Weber grill and spend some investment in upgrading a few parts. We are not opposed to purchasing a new Weber grill but make sure to wait and check unbiased customer reviews before purchasing. By reading the customer reviews you will get a complete idea about how that particular grill practically works. You can check out some reviews of the best gas grills under 2000 dollars here.
