Anyone have the Crate & Barrel Slate Blue Performer?


 
Bob Correll

Bob Correll

R.I.P. 3/31/2022
I like the looks of the C&B blue. My current 2006 dark blue Performer was purchased used in 2009. It's been used a lot over the last 12 years. Still tons of life left in it, but I'd sure like the metal table, new style lid holder, a new GBS grate, new ash pan design, and a working spark igniter.
Wondering if any members have one, and how the fit and finish is on it if you do.
Here's the C&B model, mine below it:

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Don't envy the metal table. They rust. Mine is a 2016 and rusting. If they were porcelain coated instead of painted, you could be envious.
 
Bob Correll said:
I like the looks of the C&B blue. My current 2006 dark blue Performer was purchased used in 2009. It's been used a lot over the last 12 years. Still tons of life left in it, but I'd sure like the metal table, new style lid holder, a new GBS grate, new ash pan design, and a working spark igniter.
Wondering if any members have one, and how the fit and finish is on it if you do.
Here's the C&B model, mine below it:

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That's more of a royal blue, A.K.A. K.C. Royals, I'm surprised you don't want something to match the Cards.
 
That slate blue is gorgeous. I just saw a kettle today at Ace in that and would love to have it. On a Performer, I might have brought it home. (Oh yeah, also if my wife hadn't been with me. ;) )
 
The only nice part is the lid bale. Nothing else IMO is better. I could hardly get the one I bought my son together. The table top didn't line up well and they are just getting cheaper each year IMO. The GBS is again IMO just a gimmick. I will use mine for my vortex. Who want's a grate that falls apart when you hang it on the side. I exchanged mine for a Hunsaker ss grate and I love it. I honestly don't use the gas assist so it has no value for me. Two things I have noticed the porcelain enamel isn't put on as nice and the one I got had a bent bottom shelf. I just had to bend it to fit but I don't like things like that when I spend money on them. The fit and finish is hit and miss and not the quality it once was. Now my 26er was perfect the two performers not so much. Each had different issues but both had issues. One didn't line up had to really pry to get last bolt in table top and had a bent under shelf and the porcelain wasn't well applied. The other table was bent and I had to beat them flat. It's the fold up table performer. Everything else was good. The other problem I had was the hole for the lid bale was off just a tad but not a huge issue.
 
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~Buy a Stainless Steel Performer for $100 +/- (the best Performer).
~Buy a Slate Blue Performer.
~Swap kettles.
~Sell inferior Performer.
~Install Tim Snyder's marvelous custom limited edition Performer logo and 5lb propane cover on your gorgeous American made SS Performer.
~Profit

~Or just buy the propane tank label if you're too damn cheap to buy a cover.

:ROFLMAO: :ROFLMAO: :ROFLMAO:
 
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Chad the GBS is a gimmick that kind of works they need a tool to grip when taking off or on. Great for using vortex,and with the cast iron inser good for searing steaks, I also have the Korean dome bbq cover that we use for Kalbi,shrimp, veggies while doing a Korean bbq dinner with or without friends. I had a Stainless model it was too low always bending over to far, the top door is nice as no rust but must move everything to open it. And the frame square tops are not water tight and rust badly.
Overall I like the table, the ignition system works great, the color is to die for. And I got it at a great price 200.00 two years old. Buy one and if the frame,or something else bothers you, swap the bowl and table over to your older model and resell the other.
 
Thanks for all of the input!
To address some of the comments, without a bunch of quotes.
I like the blue color better than crimson which really isn't Cardinals baseball red.
I really wanted to know about the C&B model in particular, worried that the kettle finish might have issues, like their SE red did.
I do not like stainless steel appliances period, and would not want the older style. Plus, I'm pretty sure the SS models were not as tall as the newer models, I'm 6'2"
I love the GBS, I rarely have to take the whole cook grate off and have a tool that makes lifting the center section easy. Weber should provide one with the grates. I'm sure it's no longer made by Char-Broil:

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My $.02:

Metal Table:
I flipped a Gen4 performer earlier this year. Even though the prior owner said it spent its life covered, there was rust bubbling beneath the surface of the metal table.

"Upgraded" Ash Pan:
I'm torn on this one. I have this on my SSP. I like the look (mine has the black ash bucket), and the size/shape of the ash bucket. Initially, I wasn't a fan of the squeeze-handle bucket removal system. Now I don't mind the squeeze-handle, but I still prefer the older twist-style system.

Upgraded Lid Bale:
This is a wonderful upgrade, and one you can do a la carte. Weber Part No. 65188.

GBS Grates:
The Ivory Master Touch that I transplanted into my SSP frame came with the GBS grates. On the plus side, they seem well made and are substantially beefier (and heavier) than the standard grates. Now for the downsides . . . I don't use a vortex, and I can't think of any good reason why I'd want the center of my cooking grate to be removable. The gap between the center and outer pieces is a pain when placing food on the grate. I have to hold the center piece down to keep it from falling out when brushing the grates clean after a cook. I have to hang the main grate and the center piece separately when lighting the grill. I'm already considering going back to the standard grate, but I may look into modifying the GBS grate to make the center piece non-removable.

P-Shaped Bowl Vents:
One additional plus of the C&B performer is that the bowl should have the new P-shaped bowl vents. I'm still experimenting with these on my Ivory, but at least in theory they should provide better air flow control for low and slow cooks.

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While you could order the lid bale, table, GBS grates and ash catcher individually, the only way to get Slate Blue is to buy Slate Blue. If it were me, I'd be more inclined to find a Slate Blue stand-alone kettle and modify it to work in the Performer frame. There's one for sale by me now, but the asking price is $200 and I just finished installing an Ivory Master Touch in my SSP frame . . .

Good luck. There are no wrong choices here.
 
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I thought about fixing up my old one with newer parts, but at 74 and health not so great that ain't gonna happen. $121 for just the table? Ha!
I absolutely Love the Gourmet Barbecue System!!!!
Why take off the whole grate to fire up a chimney or char baskets of coal???

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Chad-Burnt to a T said:
Why have a grill at all with that method?
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Sorry, I don't know what you mean.
Unless you mean the burger on the chimney, it's the only pic of mine I found firing up a chimney on the Performer. Weber's small chimney fits flat down, the large one at a tilt, but both work great without removing the whole grate. I pretty much only use a chimney for my WSM start up.
GBS, either ya love it or, apparently, hate it. I was an early adapter and on my second one.
 
Bob Correll said:
Sorry, I don't know what you mean.
Unless you mean the burger on the chimney, it's the only pic of mine I found firing up a chimney on the Performer. Weber's small chimney fits flat down, the large one at a tilt, but both work great without removing the whole grate. I pretty much only use a chimney for my WSM start up.
GBS, either ya love it or, apparently, hate it. I was an early adapter and on my second one.
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I was saying with that method why use or have a grill at all? They make a small circle grate for 13 bucks if all you do is cook 1 burger at a time.
 
Chad-Burnt to a T said:
I was saying with that method why use or have a grill at all? They make a small circle grate for 13 bucks if all you do is cook 1 burger at a time.
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I get your point, but it's obvious you haven't seen many of my 12 years of posts. I'm always trying new or different things. That burger on a chimney was a why the hell not deal.
Guess you don't have the C&B model to help me with my original question.

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BFletcher said:
I'll get slapped but I cannot resist...
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Thanks Fletch, not sure why I don't just get a yes I have one, or no I don't without the grilling lessons. :p
 
Bob,
After all the discussion I still love this Blue C&B grill system. I like the GBS grate and the toys you can get for it. And today I will be doing some Lampe HH ribs. Only mode I have done is paint the ash can ,I just had to. My advise if you can find one buy one you only live once . Besides I really want to see more your great cooks and nature photos.
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Bob Correll said:
I get your point, but it's obvious you haven't seen many of my 12 years of posts. I'm always trying new or different things. That burger on a chimney was a why the hell not deal.
Guess you don't have the C&B model to help me with my original question.

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Thanks Fletch, not sure why I don't just get a yes I have one, or no I don't without the grilling lessons. :p
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I have the same grill in black I actually have 3 and yes I did reply. For me to get a pretty blue cb model would be 537 bucks shipped. Sorry not worth 100 bucks more. Plus right now it looks like they are on back order. I can still get black for 399. I was disappointed at the colors when I seen them in person. Ace has indigo blue that I think is the nicest color.
 
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