Weber vs. Generic Kettle BBQ?

[sandik17]

We are in the market for a Weber....or a Kettle BBQ...you know, the ones that cook roasts so that they melt in your mouth.
Anyway, I was just wondering if it's worth paying extra for the 'weber' brand, or if others have one that is not a weber, but is still good?

They use heat beads.
Would appreciate any assistance?

 

[krisbarry]

Re: Weber vs Generic Kettle BBQ?

There are plenty of good BBQ on the market, why limited yourself to the tried and tested "Webber" I reckon Webber are over-priced anyway.

Hell... I have even used a $30 hibachi or a $6 portable throw-away BBQ you get from BBQ's Galore and they cook meat pretty damn fine.

Try this store: its my fav. for BBQ needs: (NOTE: I DO NOT WORK HERE, NOR DO I GAIN ANY FINANCIAL PAYMENTS BY ADVERTISING THIS STORE)

http://www.bbqgalore.com.au/

 

[Smurf1976]

Re: Weber vs Generic Kettle BBQ?

I've had 3 kettle type BBQ's and suffice to say I had a bit of trouble with one of them...

First was the Weber. It cooks really well but I did get fed up with having to wait for the heat beads to get going before cooking. Good for weekends maybe but not when you're in a hurry. Also not being able to use it during a fire ban day was an issue for me since that's when I wanted to use it most.

I still have the Weber but rarely use it now.

After the Weber came the square gas kettle-type BBQ. It wasn't a Weber, can't remember the actual brand name. But anyway, it was the single worst purchase I have ever made.

To cut a long story short, it would catch fire and incinerate the food on a regular basis.

It came with what a gas shop told me later was a non-Standards Approved hose (which explains why it blew apart).

And then the whole thing fell apart (during use) at the age of 6 due to rust. This resulted in volcanic rocks and hamburgers going everywhere, set the ground on fire and ended with a gas explosion.

But I'll give credit where it's due. That BBQ was exciting. Lots of Frank Spencer moments cooking food back then. Fires, gas leaks, explosions... Not to mention how many times the wind blew the gas out.

Now I mainly use an electric kettle BBQ. It cooks better than you might be expecting. It doesn't do roasts like the Weber does (though it does them OK) but it's way better than the gas one was. It's not as big as the others (roughly same length as the Weber but only about 60% as wide - it's oval shaped) but it's fine for my day to day use and I still have the larger Weber if we're going to invite lots of people around for a BBQ.

 

[Flying Fish]

Re: Weber vs Generic Kettle BBQ?

Convection cooker is nice. I bought one from warehouse for about 64$ works ok. Has wire racks and pirex bowl!!

 

[sandik17]

Re: Weber vs Generic Kettle BBQ?

While I'm not into buying 'brand name' products as such...we did go into bunnings this arvo to have a look...and theirs did look pretty nasty compared to the Weber. Thanks for the bbqgalore website...they're they ones pushing the Webers.

 

[Stan 101]

Re: Weber vs Generic Kettle BBQ?

You might like to have a read of this thread...

http://www.bbqblue.com.au/home.html

Cheers,

 

[Smurf1976]

Re: Weber vs Generic Kettle BBQ?

I'd be wary of the metal quality and thickness in any non-Weber BBQ of the same design.

It could well rust or burn out as happened to my gas BBQ. It's also a common problem with cheaper woodheaters, wood stoves etc that are often too thin or of inferior metal. So I wouldn't be surprised to find this problem in a cheap Weber copy BBQ.

 

[krisbarry]

Re: Weber vs Generic Kettle BBQ?

And then the whole thing fell apart (during use) at the age of 6 due to rust. This resulted in volcanic rocks and hamburgers going everywhere, set the ground on fire and ended with a gas explosion.

But I'll give credit where it's due. That BBQ was exciting. Lots of Frank Spencer moments cooking food back then. Fires, gas leaks, explosions... Not to mention how many times the wind blew the gas out.

LOL, that cracked me up.. just getting this image in my head.... what if you had a bad case of gas...that certainly would have compounded the problem

 

[tech/a]

Re: Weber vs Generic Kettle BBQ?

ASK THIS BLOKE


Its un Australian not to!