I put together my brand new in the box EP-330 yesterday. I bought it two weeks ago when Ace had their Memorial day sale but I haven't had time to mess with it until yesterday. Had a bunch of chores to do in the morning so got started on the grill much later then I had planned (~3pm). It took me about 2-3 hours to fully assemble. Probably could have gone much faster but I was in no hurry and took my time to make sure it was done right (one of the reasons I didn't want the store to put it together for me).
Kind of a weird note but I must say, I was really impressed with the packaging. There must have been more than a few hours put into the design of that alone! Everything was there and nothing was damaged. Peeling off off the plastic on all of the SS stuff got a little tedious but it worked well at protecting everything during shipment and storage.
Everything went together almost perfectly. Another testament to Weber's quality engineering. I've built and assembled a lot of things over the years and can tell you that's not always (or even usually) the case. Some people may not like the assembly instructions because its mostly pictorial but I'm a visual guy anyway so that wasn't an issue for me. The only issue I did have is with the side burner (which is funny because it came a box labeled "tested"). The ignitor isn't working and the flame pattern isn't right either. I'll mess with that later today.
I've seen more then one person comment that in their opinion, Weber's quality has gone down over the years? If we are talking about their kettle grills then "they" may have a point in some areas but IMO their gas grills, especially the Genesis line is the best they've ever made. Not that the old ones are bad in any way but I'll take one of the current models over any of the older ones any day. Again, just my personal opinion. The 2 big things for me is the burning arrangement (Front to back is the only way to go IMO) and I really like the enclosed base with the tank inside with a fuel gauge.
As for its inaugural cook... nothing too special, just a Ribeye and some dogs. Because I was running late, I didn't have time to prepare the steak ahead of time like I would have liked to. It was 1.25" thick which means I could have either gone either direct heat or indirect/reverse sear? Considering my grill has the "Sear Station" I choose the later. This was my first indirect cook/reverse sear and it came out pretty good IMO. It could have used an extra minute or 2 and a little more sear but it was very tender and moist. I really like a heavy seared crust so I may bring out the cast iron skillet next time? It won't look as pretty but the seared crust will be awesome!
Anyway, thanks for letting my ramble on about my new grill
Kind of a weird note but I must say, I was really impressed with the packaging. There must have been more than a few hours put into the design of that alone! Everything was there and nothing was damaged. Peeling off off the plastic on all of the SS stuff got a little tedious but it worked well at protecting everything during shipment and storage.
Everything went together almost perfectly. Another testament to Weber's quality engineering. I've built and assembled a lot of things over the years and can tell you that's not always (or even usually) the case. Some people may not like the assembly instructions because its mostly pictorial but I'm a visual guy anyway so that wasn't an issue for me. The only issue I did have is with the side burner (which is funny because it came a box labeled "tested"). The ignitor isn't working and the flame pattern isn't right either. I'll mess with that later today.
I've seen more then one person comment that in their opinion, Weber's quality has gone down over the years? If we are talking about their kettle grills then "they" may have a point in some areas but IMO their gas grills, especially the Genesis line is the best they've ever made. Not that the old ones are bad in any way but I'll take one of the current models over any of the older ones any day. Again, just my personal opinion. The 2 big things for me is the burning arrangement (Front to back is the only way to go IMO) and I really like the enclosed base with the tank inside with a fuel gauge.
As for its inaugural cook... nothing too special, just a Ribeye and some dogs. Because I was running late, I didn't have time to prepare the steak ahead of time like I would have liked to. It was 1.25" thick which means I could have either gone either direct heat or indirect/reverse sear? Considering my grill has the "Sear Station" I choose the later. This was my first indirect cook/reverse sear and it came out pretty good IMO. It could have used an extra minute or 2 and a little more sear but it was very tender and moist. I really like a heavy seared crust so I may bring out the cast iron skillet next time? It won't look as pretty but the seared crust will be awesome!
Anyway, thanks for letting my ramble on about my new grill
