Performer, and one touch platinum owners please help.

[John Thom]

My family and I are buying a Weber charcoal grill for my brother as his b-day gift. I cannot make up my mind as to which one though. Everyone keeps leaning me toward the Performer. I cannot decide between one touch gold, platinum, and performer. My main question is - Does the slide away lid holder scratch the lid? Does the lid's resting spot in the slide away holder make accessing the grill difficult? As to the performer is the propane ignition a must have for 70 bucks? Thanks everyone.

 

[John B]

First of all, you are a good BIL for the nice gift idea. To answer your questions, the slide aside lid holder on the performer does not scratch the lid. The lid is out of the way enough to tend to the food on the grill. The propane ignition is nice, but I dont use it as much as I thought I would. I am impatient, so a weed burner gets lighting duty most of the time. The best part of the performer for me is the grill height (it is higher up than in a one touch, perfect height for me when grilling), the table, and the charcoal bin.

 

[Bill_B]

What John B said and I also don't use the propane, I use a propane torch to light my lump coal, only takes a few minutes.

 

[Noe]

John when cooking space is always an issue, go get the 26.75 weber kettle plenty of room.

 

[TroyRedington]

i use the touch'n'go starting most of the time.

I sometimes use the weed burner if i'm in a massive hurry... but most of the time i'm not.

it's definitely worth it

 

[Kent Perry]

I'll sound like a heretic on the TVWBB board, but since I got my Performer, I haven't used the WSM. (Please don't let my wife know).

I use the touch n go. I'll let it run for about five minutes, turn it off and dump the coals about five or ten minutes later.

 

[c bay]

I would vote for the performer as well, just an all around great model. Love mine to death.

 

[George Curtis]

how involved s yer bil in cooking? if hes learning and not sure, i would say get the gold or even the silver. nothing like getting the best and then it sits.

 

[JSMcdowell]

I agree with George's comment, does he grill a lot ? Does he love to grill ? If either are true, get the performer.

The height, table, and lid holder are great. Also, having 4 wheels and the locking casters make moving it around very easy when you have a bunch of stuff stored on/underneath. I have to keep mine in the garage, so moving it out with everying at once is great.

I'm with Kent, I light my chimney w/ the touch n go for a few minutes, then kill it and let the chimney do the rest. I usually use that time for prep work, never too much in a rush.

 

[Angel Bocanegra]

I would go performer just because of the convenient features it has compared to the platinum. One thing I dont like about the platinum is that it has the top vent directly on the center top of the lid. I like it on the side that way I can create a better draft flow from fire on one side and vent opposite the fire. But this is just my theory.

 

[Brian Moriarty]

To answer your main question regarding the lid holder, IMO, Yes, the slide away holder restricts access to the grill and it can and will scratch and chip the lid. For me the charcoal igniter is something I could take or leave since I use a weed burner on my BGE's and WSM's anyway, but it might discourage your BIL from using MatchLight or starter fluid...

 

[Gary McD]

I probably use my Performer more than the rest of the guys and gals on this site. I always use the propane start, and I have never had a problem with the lid being scratched by the Slide Aside.