New (to me) Performer!


 
Dave Maze

Dave Maze

TVWBB Member
Landed this beauty on Marketplace yesterday for $80! My old Performer didn’t have the gas assist so I’m eager to try it out this weekend. I’m thinking use it to fire up my chimney instead of newspaper? Also does the charcoal stay dry in the bin? Any advice? Thanks in advance!
 

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In live in the PNW and we a little rain once in awhile and bin has kept the charcoal dry. I have gas assist but do not use it..I use Weber starter cubes they work great
 
I love my performer. I am on my second one. The bin will keep your charcoal dry for sure. The gas assist is nice but I’m with Randy in that I prefer Weber starter cubes.
 
Dave Maze said:
Landed this beauty on Marketplace yesterday for $80! My old Performer didn’t have the gas assist so I’m eager to try it out this weekend. I’m thinking use it to fire up my chimney instead of newspaper? Also does the charcoal stay dry in the bin? Any advice? Thanks in advance!
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I use a chimney no newspaper works great. Nothing wrong using the cubes its just one thing less I need hanging around. You only need a few minutes with a gas assist to get going, the small tank lasts a long time.
 
Here in Costa Rica the Charcoal stays dry in my Weber Performer Deluxe(WPD) Bin. Recommend closing the top of the bag real tight before placing-it into the Bin. I too prefer using the Chimney and those Weber Light cubes. When I feel real lazy I then turn to the excellent propane ignitor.
Looks like you got a heck of a deal as my WPD pictured below was bought new here in Costa Rica last January for $550 out-the-door assembled and delivered to my "casa". Truly is an outstanding cooker for the price!

Oh, the Costa Rican(CR) Lump Charcoal pictured on the left cost around five(5) dollars and the Kingsford Charcoal Eight(8) Pound bag on the other side cost around twenty(20) dollars and I have never found it on-sale in my many years here in Costa Rica. The CR Charcoal is A-OK for the cost and I generally use a mix of the both when Grilling. However, when smoking on my 18" WSM Classic I use only the Kingsford.

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Dave Maze said:
Landed this beauty on Marketplace yesterday for $80! My old Performer didn’t have the gas assist so I’m eager to try it out this weekend. I’m thinking use it to fire up my chimney instead of newspaper? Also does the charcoal stay dry in the bin? Any advice? Thanks in advance!
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Congrats! That's a great price for that grill. Looks to be in good shape too!

I use the gas assist to light the charcoal I have in the chimney.

The charcoal will stay dry in the charcoal bin. If you use the bin I'd recommend you keep the charcoal in the bag it came in rather than dumping it all out in the charcoal bin. I keep my charcoal inside my garage and basement. I use that bin for BBQ tools, accessories and wood chunks/chips.

Since the grill is new to you, I'd recommend you swap out all the nuts and bolts for stainless steel ones. Also would be a good time to give it a good cleaning....you never know what was going on with the grill before you bought it.

If you don't plan on moving your grill around a lot, you can use one of those adapters to connect a full size propane tank to the grill, that way you don't have to worry about buying replacement small bottles. The standard tank will last you well over a year.
 
Great buy! I use my gas assist to light charcoal in two trays (running parallel right over the gas tube). I find it more convenient than using a chimney and lighter cubes. I turn off the gas after about three minutes when the lowest level of charcoal in the trays has lit. Bags of charcoal definitely stay dry in the bin.
 
Kelly C said:
Great buy! I use my gas assist to light charcoal in two trays (running parallel right over the gas tube). I find it more convenient than using a chimney and lighter cubes. I turn off the gas after about three minutes when the lowest level of charcoal in the trays has lit. Bags of charcoal definitely stay dry in the bin.
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I do the same and am amazed at how long a small tank lasts.
 
Dave Maze said:
Landed this beauty on Marketplace yesterday for $80! My old Performer didn’t have the gas assist so I’m eager to try it out this weekend. I’m thinking use it to fire up my chimney instead of newspaper? Also does the charcoal stay dry in the bin? Any advice? Thanks in advance!
Click to expand...

That is an AWESOME deal on what looks like a very clean Performer.

I still don't understand why anyone would not use the gas assist. It's the premier feature of the Performer in my opinion. Like someone else said, you only run the gas for a few minutes to get the bottom coals started so it doesn't use much fuel at all.

When I had that model of Performer I definitely kept the bags of charcoal in there with no issues. Now that I have a SS Performer and the bin is considerably smaller, I use it for holding my large and small chimney and my leather gloves.
 
Wow guys, thanks for all the fantastic advice. Huge help and now I’m really excited to clean it up a bit and break it in this weekend!
 
After using my gas light I plumb quit any type of fluid, I bought a electric loop to use on my cowboy grill . for years I used a propane torch to light my offset smoker, like I have always stated my Performer will be the last grill to leave my home, I hope you love yours as much as most of us that have owned them for awhile do
 
I'm late to the game, but I'll echo the same sentiments as others. I'm staring out the window at my Performer all covered in snow and slush (yes, we're getting a freak snowstorm - temps are supposed to be back in the 80's this weekend), but I'm not worried about my charcoal. I do keep it inside the bag and slide it in and out of the bin. It's easier to dump the coals in my chimney at once, than to scoop, scoop, scoop. It easily holds a 20lb bag of KBB, plus oven mitts and a hand-cranked blower that I have.

I also use the ignition system, but I've switched to a 20lb tank. It's less elegant, but it lasts much longer, and I can just pick it up to know if I'm running low on fuel. Others have attached an in-line fuel gauge. I went through about 5-6 1lb bottles before switching, and I wish I had made the change sooner. I run the propane for about 5 minutes when lighting a chimney. If I'm going for a low-n-slow cook while using the Weber charcoal baskets, I'll fill them with charcoal, put the long sides together to form a hexagon, and put the corner of both joined baskets over the flame for a few minutes. Once some of the charcoal pieces in each basket are lit, I'll separate them and put them on opposing sides and let them do their thing.
 
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