Weber Q grills and comparing the Q3200 to the Q200


 
Jon Tofte

Jon Tofte

TVWBB 1-Star Olympian
In a couple past threads I posted about acquiring a redhead Q200 for a bargain $10 at our organization's thrift store. After a lot of elbow grease and a new adapter hose, this Q has proven to be great fun to cook on and has totally changed my impression of the Q line. I had never really paid attention to the Qs in the past, considering them to be just a major compromise for the sake of portability. I discovered I was very wrong, however, and that these are GREAT for grilling. They weren't designed for slow cook BBQ or things like a whole turkey, but for burgers, grilled chicken fillets and steaks they are wonderful. I love the cast iron and the almost non-existence of flair-ups.

Another wonderful thing about these grills is that they are perfect for the humid, salt-air environment I live in here in South Florida. Since the body & hood of the grill are all cast aluminum and the "frame" is an amazing type of plastic, there isn't much to rust out. The cast iron grates do take some care, but my experience to date is that if they are kept seasoned there is no problem. Hey, the one I got for $10 was obviously badly neglected and yet the grate was still totally fine.

The Q200/220/2000/2200 offers a good compromise in that it is still readily portable while having more grilling space than the smaller 100/1000 series. As many have observed on this forum, the 200/2000 series Qs do get criticism for their lower rating of BTU per square inch. My experience (and also the opinion of a number of other users here) is that these are very capable of producing great sears. It does take a little while for them to get up to full temp and for the cast iron to be completely hot. This is critical to cooking with the Q, but the time needed is reasonable in my opinion, and worth the wait. So, I can vouch for the the mid-size Q being an excellent grill.

Like some of the rest of you, though, I am always trolling Craigslist and OfferUp. (Side note: In our area at least it does seem that OfferUp is starting to have more and more Weber grills and that CL is declining.) Anyway, after months of drooling over the beautiful $399 Q3200 my Ace Hardware store has conveniently on display right by the checkout:eek:, I was intrigued to see this grill on OfferUp:

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Asking price was only $125. I have seen some of the older Q300s at similar prices, but this was the new 3200 model and looked just like the one I always pause to wish over at Ace:rolleyes:!

Another picture showed both burners working. I "offered" him $100 of my anticipated Christmas bonus, and he went for it! Upon arrival I found that the grill was exactly as described. It was even pretty clean (no crud), just plenty of darkening from use:

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The warming rack was missing, but I never use those. The seller's ad clearly stated that the igniter was no longer working. After getting it home I noted that one of the metal support rods for the side shelf was also missing.

I registered the grill with Weber and purchased a new igniter after attempting an unsuccessful fix of the old one. The Weber customer service rep threw in a replacement for the missing support rod for free;). After the parts arrived (very promptly, I might ad) I thoroughly cleaned up the insides of the grill, wire-brushed the still quite usable burners, and replaced the igniter. When I purchased it, the handle mounted light had no batteries. I found, however, that it actually works fine! Used a little plastic treatment to help make the trim look nice and black. Like most larger Qs, this one has the almond "titanium" color hood. I suppose I would rather have a red hood, but the original color is kind of nice and the finish is in way too good shape to warrant messing with it. Maybe in a few years when it starts looking tired I will opt for a color change.

I wouldn't call this a "restoration" exactly, but here are a few pictures:

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Grate is not rusty; I just sprayed on some Crisco Grill spray to season it.

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On the burger at the top(right) I tried out some coffee rub my brother-in-law gave me for Christmas...GOOD STUFF!
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A COMPARISON BETWEEN THE Q200 and the Q3200:

Having only grilled a couple burgers on the 3200, my experience is obviously very limited at this point. I will say that the larger Q DOES have more horsepower. While I wouldn't put too much confidence in the reading of the hood mounted thermometer, it is nice to have and shows that hitting 600 degrees on a mild day does not require a long time. I do like the idea of having some options with the 2-burner configuration; using them optimally will take some practice. I do my low and slow barbecuing on my Weber kettles and Green Egg. This grill will be my workhorse weekday grilling machine.

If I was able to travel and vacation a lot, the 200/2000 series would still be a better choice. Right now, my wife and I have a lot of responsibility taking care of her parents and with my 2+ jobs. So, opportunities to take a grill on a trip or even a day event are pretty limited. As a stay-in-one place grill, the Q3200 is definitely a better option. Since I use my gas grills almost exclusively for regular grilling, the limitations of the Q don't bother me at all. Given its superior construction materials for my locale, this is the perfect choice for me!

Having said that, I am still working on my dream custom Genesis "Skyline 4000" grill. It will be my show-off grill, and maybe someday will incorporate a rotisserie. More on that when I can finally make some progress worth sharing...

HAPPY & SAFE NEW YEAR TO YOU ALL!
 
Nice find! I am also hoping to find one of those at a bargain. I don't find the 220's lack of horsepower to be an issue either. The way the Q line works hood temps are not important anyway as they work more like a griddle than a "grill" relying more on contact heating than radiant heating so the hood temps are misleading at best. I find mine gives a FAR better sear on a steak at a 400 hood temp than my Summit does at full tilt or the Genesis I had or even my dad's Genesis at a full tilt 600+ on the hood thermo. Another thing about the type of grilling the Q line does is that it's VERY even. If you have to do a crap ton of burners it's nice that every burger at eevery corner and to the middle will cook the same. They're also very stingy on gas use.
 
Great review!! I own a 300, a 320, and a 200. I can attest that the Q300’s get hotter faster, but the 200 is no slouch and works well in the rv. I have used a rack and foil and cooked indirect with the Q’s and had great results so far. Only complaint is that the grates on the 300 series(mine are the original versions) are poor quality compared to the 200 grate. Perhaps its the higher heat achieved with the 300 that caused the deterioration of the grates. I no longer cook direct on those grates, but instead use GrillGrates or a cast iron griddle instead. All in all, Weber made a darned good product with the Q’s.
 
How Big is the Q3200?

One question that comes up about the Q300/320/3200 is what is the purpose of having a Q that is really not very transportable?

I have several answers:
  1. It has great grilling characteristics - even cooking across the whole surface, excellent searing and almost no flare-ups.
  2. Being made almost entirely of cast aluminum with a high-temperature resistant plastic "frame" it is much more resistant to humidity and salt air.
  3. With fold down side tables, it can be stored in a fairly small space.

Another question that is asked is how does the large Q compare to say a Spirit or even a smaller Genesis? Wouldn't someone be better off with one of those?

Well, if you are hoping to do a lot more than just straight grilling, than a full feature grill would probably be a better choice. Just beware of the vulnerability to rust and maybe not as even a grilling environment. If you are thinking you would get a lot more grilling space with one of these vs. a large Q, check out this interesting comparison photo I took:

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The above pictures shows the grates from my Q3200 set inside my Genesis 330-SE. As you can see, the full-size Genesis really doesn't buy you that much grilling space over the large Q. The smaller Spirit grills and even the 2-burner Genesis I would suspect have even LESS space!

This bolsters my conclusion that the large Q can be a perfect choice as a primarily grilling machine. I am going to sell off my Genesis while it can still be cleaned up nice enough to get some of my investment out of it. I don't need it anymore, and I need space for a REAL Genesis - a custom "Skyline 4000" that is currently more in parts and my imagination than reality:eek:. I WILL get to it eventually!
 
Larry, Keep your eyes open. I picked up a Q300 on CL last summer for $30 in Madison. It cleaned up grate and I flipped it. It just needed a little work on the igniter and the grate was good. I can't remember the exact price, but the buyer got a good deal too. He had bought a Q200 and was looking at the Q300 as well, but the wife talked him into the Q200. He called the next day and said they would be back to pick up the Q300 as well. :) I was really tempted to keep the Q300 as my main grill, but I am glad I didn't and redid my Redhead Genesis 1000 instead. I already have a Q100 for quick everyday grilling.
 
Jon, that is a great comparison of grilling surface. For simple grilling, the Q is a great machine...from the Q1xxx to Q3xxx series. However, I wouldn't trade my Genesis 1000 for a Q3xxx. Aside from the cooking surface, you have the extra height as well as many more option with much better indirect cooking, rotisserie, smoking, slow cooking, etc... And I have had a great time using all of these different techniques over the last summer that I could never do with my Q grills over the last ten plus years. But, I am not about to give up Q100 on the back deck either. For me and my wife and even a guest or two, it makes a quick burger, steak or Chicken Breast so quick and easy.
 
Bruce said:
Jon, that is a great comparison of grilling surface. For simple grilling, the Q is a great machine...from the Q1xxx to Q3xxx series. However, I wouldn't trade my Genesis 1000 for a Q3xxx. Aside from the cooking surface, you have the extra height as well as many more option with much better indirect cooking, rotisserie, smoking, slow cooking, etc... And I have had a great time using all of these different techniques over the last summer that I could never do with my Q grills over the last ten plus years. But, I am not about to give up Q100 on the back deck either. For me and my wife and even a guest or two, it makes a quick burger, steak or Chicken Breast so quick and easy.
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Bruce, you are right in all your observations. I wouldn’t be willing to sell my Genesis 300 if I didn’t have the classic Genesis-based Skyline grill in the pipeline. (Not to mention both a redhead and a maroon 1000 series Genesis I am also working on:cool:! For marital peace I will probably have to sell one or both of those!)

I just like the Q enough that I think it will suffice for my typical weekday fare. Add to that less worry about rust and easier cleanup, and I think it is a winner for me. You can be sure that if I can ever get my Skyline done It will get the nod for situations where it is better suited. And, of course, just for the fun of enjoying a classic Weber product - hopefully with my own personal touches!

Jon
 
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Update on using the Q 3200

I have had a chance to grill steak and pork chops on my lucky Q 3200 acquisition.:weberq:

A couple observations:
Much hotter than the Q 200 I have been using. That isn’t a bad thing nor an bad reflection on the 200 because it sears and grills very well in my opinion. It’s taking me a while to adjust my grilling strategy. No more wide open the entire cooking time:rolleyes:!

I really like how easy it is to keep the Q in clean operating condition. I watched an Australian YouTube about Q maintenance which recommends using a plastic putty scraper to scrape the bottom grease and droppings into the foil lined grease tray. Works like a charm, and I would have to say is probably a good plan for other grills as well. However, the simple design of the Q with no flavorizer bars needed makes this a lot easier than it would be on say a Genesis.

So far definitely enjoying learning this new grill!
 
Simplicity has always been a big benefit on all Weber grills. It seems they have gotten away from that a bit lately but from the kettle grills to the main stream gassers, they are all highly functional yet simple.

Cleaning the regular gas grills isn't much different with the older gas grills. Like you said, just remove a few flavorizer bars and scrape the stuff down through the bottom into the drip pan and that is about it. The newest gassers have heat deflectors now and that creates a bit more work, but still, I would rather clean a grill than a house oven.
 
Bruce said:
...but still, I would rather clean a grill than a house oven.
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I had a good laugh about that one. You may have seen an earlier post where I did a grill restoration for the cafeteria of our small local College. The wonderful ladies that run it seem to take great pride in keeping their kitchen ovens and ranges in well maintained and clean condition. But give them a gas grill and they seem to think it has a bottomless grease tray and a hidden self-cleaning feature:mad:!

I am hoping they better understand now and will do better with the nice Weber I did for them!
 
BTW someone on here was carrying on about how their Q2xx was not heating up enough. For the record (this is with my Q220 with factory hood thermo) I was using it about 3 nights ago (was a balmy but a little rainy 35 above) shorts and t-shirt weather for me. Anyway I had it in the garage out of any wind and ran it full bore for about 30 minutes to burn off some salmon remains. It topped off at 475. It is a perfectly functioning Q220 running on a 20lb tank. Bottom line they just don't get THAT hot. But, than, it really doesn't need to. At that registered temp it's too hot to leave anything on it. Even when I sear a steak with it I drop it down to medium output or instead of a "sear" I get a "black". Brown food tastes good black does not.
Long as I am on the soap box another point. While I may have my issues with Weber (lack of support, making things in China, etc) I will say that as it comes out of the box the Q products are as well designed and engineered and executed as ANYTHING they've ever done/made.
Case in point look at the OEM grates. First they're VERY heavy cast iron. As good a surface as you can get for cooking BAR NONE! Well I have heard copper beats it but I cannot afford copper LOL and copper cannot stand the heat of a grill as it conducts too quickly. The grate is also "designed in" to the proper function of the grill. Ever notice a v shaped raised area in the casting. Somewhat circular shaped on the smaller ones and circular with a bar down the middle on the 3XX series? That is what functions as the burner tent to keep a majority of drippings from directly hitting and clogging the burner.
Now we have these products i.e. grill grates. First made of aluminum. A very poor material for grill performance due to conducting heat away too quickly. This might work decently in say a saute pan but not for grilling performance. Add to the fact the product does not have a built in burner tent as does the oem cast iron grate(s). One of the reasons professional chefs use carbon steel, stainless steel and cast iron so much is because of how well they sear, and can hold larger amounts of heat releasing it more slowly. Aluminum has it's place though. I use bare anodized aluminum for some cooking (primarily a quick saute) because they heat up ast and release heat fast. I even take my heavy grade aluminum pans out to my grill(s) and use them on the grates when I want to saute something along side whatever I am cooking when I don't have a side burner handy.
Secondly they don't have built in burner protection. So you'll have (when the holes aren't clogged) drippings falling directly onto the burner and clogging it more rapidly than the OEM cast iron. And last on the Q anyway you have to work REALLY hard to get a bad flare up. If you cook anything approaching "normal" they will never flare up. Heck even most decent grills kept in good repair fall into this category.
Well off the rant :)
 
Jon Tofte said:
I had a good laugh about that one. You may have seen an earlier post where I did a grill restoration for the cafeteria of our small local College. The wonderful ladies that run it seem to take great pride in keeping their kitchen ovens and ranges in well maintained and clean condition. But give them a gas grill and they seem to think it has a bottomless grease tray and a hidden self-cleaning feature:mad:!

I am hoping they better understand now and will do better with the nice Weber I did for them!
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I have long ago learned that any time you "give" something to someone else, it become theirs. And while you many value it more than they do, you gave up the right to that item. Children taught me that.

I too have given away a grill that I rehabbed to a buddy. Luckily, he is good about maintenance. But, I have sold several grills that I rehabbed and they always ask "how long will the grates or the flavo bars or the burners last". I tell them, as long as you basic maintenance after each cook and then a couple good cleanings each year, they will last 5 times longer than if you don't do any maintenance. Then they ask for specifics, but as soon as I start to tell them, the zone out and just want to load up the grill and go. Happens every time.

This is why there are so many nice older Weber grills out there for us to grab for pennies.
 
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LMichaels said:
BTW someone on here was carrying on about how their Q2xx was not heating up enough. For the record (this is with my Q220 with factory hood thermo) I was using it about 3 nights ago (was a balmy but a little r.ainy 35 above) shorts and t-shirt weather for me. Anyway I had it in the garage out of any wind and ran it full bore for about 30 minutes to burn off some salmon remains. It topped off at 475. It is a perfectly functioning Q220 running on a 20lb tank. Bottom line they just don't get THAT hot. But, than, it really doesn't need to...

Long as I am on the soap box another point. While I may have my issues with Weber (lack of support, making things in China, etc) I will say that as it comes out of the box the Q products are as well designed and engineered and executed as ANYTHING they've ever done/made...

Now we have these products i.e. grill grates. First made of aluminum. A very poor material for grill performance due to conducting heat away too quickly. This might work decently in say a saute pan but not for grilling performance. Add to the fact the product does not have a built in burner tent as does the oem cast iron grate(s). One of the reasons professional chefs use carbon steel, stainless steel and cast iron so much is because of how well they sear, and can hold larger amounts of heat releasing it more slowly. Aluminum has it's place though. I use bare anodized aluminum for some cooking (primarily a quick saute) because they heat up ast and release heat fast. I even take my heavy grade aluminum pans out to my grill(s) and use them on the grates when I want to saute something along side whatever I am cooking when I don't have a side burner handy.
Secondly they don't have built in burner protection. So you'll have (when the holes aren't clogged) drippings falling directly onto the burner and clogging it more rapidly than the OEM cast iron. And last on the Q anyway you have to work REALLY hard to get a bad flare up. If you cook anything approaching "normal" they will never flare up. Heck even most decent grills kept in good repair fall into this category.

Well off the rant :)
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Larry, I definitely agree the Q200/2000 series grills have all the horsepower you need for searing, grilling, etc. I can highly recommend them. In fact, based on my experience so far, they are easier to cook on then the Q300/3200 which maybe has almost too much umphh. I am learning to back off on the heat a little more with the 3200 I recently picked up, similar to what you mention regarding your Q.

I have come to really respect these Q grills that I used to dismiss as a novelty compromise. I think I understand a little bit about how Weber let you down with your Summit, but I appreciate that you can give them credit for this line of grills where the designers did an outstanding job of making a grill so good people want to use it at home and not just as a tailgate/picnic substitute.

Regarding the GrillGrates product, I guess the jury is out for me right now. After my tax season I am going to try extra hard to do an objective side by side comparison. However, I believe you are absolutely correct that substituting these (or stainless rod grates) for the OEM cast iron ones on any Q grill is not a good idea for the design reasons you clearly laid out. I think many people who use GrillGrates on their Qs actually place them on TOP of their cast iron ones. This would at least prevent the grease dropping on the burners. Whether they are an improvement or detriment when used this way seems to depend on the opinion of the person using them. I hope I can do a video comparison that might shed a little more light by using more objective comparisons.
 
Bruce said:
I have long ago learned that any time you "give" something to someone else, it become theirs. And while you many value it more than they do, you gave up the right to that item. Children taught me that.

I too have given away a grill that I rehabbed to a buddy. Luckily, he is good about maintenance. But, I have sold several grills that I rehabbed and they always ask "how long will the grates or the flavo bars or the burners last". I tell them, as long as you basic maintenance after each cook and then a couple good cleanings each year, they will last 5 times longer than if you don't do any maintenance. Then they ask for specifics, but as soon as I start to tell them, the zone out and just want to load up the grill and go. Happens every time.

This is why there are so many nice older Weber grills out there for us to grab for pennies.
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Hey Bruce, I wasn't meaning to complain or begrudge the recipients of my donation. I just think it is so funny that these ladies would never let their kitchen equipment be neglected but assume grills can be used again and again with no maintenance:rolleyes:! They are wonderful ladies, so that is why I fixed up a better one for them this time. I was just by there the other day and the head cook's HUSBAND was out there using the Genesis 300 I donated. He at least knew he had to clean up after cooking a bunch of rounds of grilled chicken with BBQ sauce!
 
Jon, Yes, I wasn't criticizing you, but basically expounding on what you were saying. It is funny how they treat THEIR kitchen appliances so much better than the grill out side. I am glad you have them all fixed up. I gave one to my blind vietnam vet buddy. He was using a coal kettle and I just thought it would be so much more convenient for him to have a gasser. He loves it and grills out 5 times as often as he did with the coal burner. And he is very good about cleaning it. I will probably go over there every so often and do the less often full clean by scraping the box out and brushing the burners off and doing a good flavo bar and grate cleaning with a new drip pan. But at least he burns off the grates after a cook and then brushes them and re-oils the grates.
 
Definitely agree the q200/q2000 has enough horse power to sear. Lol I'm still not sure what exact model I have but I use my digital probe all the time and have gotten it up to 500. It's not instant but normally I turn the grill on then prepare my food and by the time I'm done it's plenty up to temp. Actually just cooked some chicken thighs for dinner.
 
Bruce said:
Jon, Yes, I wasn't criticizing you, but basically expounding on what you were saying. It is funny how they treat THEIR kitchen appliances so much better than the grill out side. I am glad you have them all fixed up. I gave one to my blind vietnam vet buddy. He was using a coal kettle and I just thought it would be so much more convenient for him to have a gasser. He loves it and grills out 5 times as often as he did with the coal burner. And he is very good about cleaning it. I will probably go over there every so often and do the less often full clean by scraping the box out and brushing the burners off and doing a good flavo bar and grate cleaning with a new drip pan. But at least he burns off the grates after a cook and then brushes them and re-oils the grates.
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Bruce, that is a very cool story and a great way to help someone while enjoying the satisfaction of seeing a grill get a new lease on life. I just wish I had a big budget of time and $ to do more like that. As it is my wife frequently reminds me of how many grill projects I have unfinished and how much time they take!
 
Jon. Yah, I rehab my grills and resell them. I am a disabled Vet myself, and it keeps me busy. I don't do it for the money, I do it for the "fun" of it. Sort of a hobby that pays for itself. Anyway, if you find the right donor grill for say $50 or less, you can usually completely restore it for well under $100. It is the grates, flavo bars and burners that usually drive up the cost. But if you can find one that just needs one of the three replaced, then the rest is all labor and a few cleaning supplies. And, if am giving the grill away, I would typically not do quite as thorough of a job of cleaning it out. I wouldn't completely clean the inside of the lid down to the pretty porcelain and I probably wouldn't fully wire wheel the inside of the cook box out. I do that on however on the grills that I rehab and flip along with repainting the frame, end caps on lid and the outside of the cook box.
 
Bruce, that sounds like a good strategy. I have yet to actually sell anything, but I hope to change that. The big unknown for me is if there is a market in my area for classic Weber grills that have been well restored. On some of my early charity renovations I went way overboard with too many new parts. It was a good learning experience and made the charity auctions more interesting, but the final bids they received made me realize that no matter how beautifully redone, most people expect to pay way less than they would for a new piece of Chinese-made, fake stainless junk at the big box store. South Florida has a lot of well off people, so maybe if I advertise well on OfferUp and CL I might find someone who would be willing to pay for an extra nice Genesis with stained wood slats and quality internals. I, think, though that most of my projects need to be done as you suggest making judicious choices about what to replace vs re-use to keep the price as low as possible.
 
Exactly Jon. I sell a Genesis Silver B or Genesis 1000 for about $200. The price goes up if I have to put in brand new grates or bars or burners. I also charge more for unique things like Red or other colored lids. A grill with the extra burner would of course cost more.

I sell most of my grills off Craigslist and I also post on Facebook and get responses there as well. I just found OfferUp but I have realized there is little participation in my area right now. Find a good grill for a decent price, fix it up, clean it up and then add what you think a decent profit for your time and effort is and post it up. See what happens. Much of the time, you will get low ball offers, but I stand pretty firm. Sometimes I offer a free empty 20lb LP tank. I have about 10 laying around. They come with the grills quite often.

If your grill sells quick, you know you have a good thing going. Maybe up the price on the next one until you start finding the price point that works best for you. Of course you will have to adjust for Spirit vs Genesis and two burner vs three burner. I had 4 fully rehabbed grills backed up and ready to go at one point last summer. Within a week, three sold and the last one went in another week or so.

The other piece of advice I would share with you is to find some good online parts sites to get your parts. Most of the time, even with shipping, you can save some cash over local sources. Don't be afraid to go with aftermarket sources either. Weber makes very good parts, but not great and they charge a lot. For instance, I replaced the burners on my personal Genesis 1000 with $13 burners off of Amazon. They work great. Cooking greats can be had much cheaper than OEM Weber as well.

Oh, and get ready, grilling season is just around the corner. Especially for you. People just dump their old grills instead of fixing them or even cleaning them and buy new ones in the spring. Then they almost give away their old one and that is where you come in.
 
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