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This Weber Spirit grill (numerically spelled out as the Weber 46110001) is much more economical than say, a Genesis when you don’t plan on feeding a family the size of the Brady Bunch. 2-3 folks is more like it. Of course, this will vary with the average amount of food each person will be having.
The Weber Spirit E-310 was spoken of as “the best gas grill for most people” by Wirecutter, a NYT company, last month (March 2018), but you’ll still want to know the finer details before spending those Benjamins.
For the most part, Webers are price controlled. It doesn’t matter quite as much where you buy them, they’re all the same. Although, Home Depot has a version of this where the front door is a bit different. It’s kind of like a mesh design, and the cooking grates are a bit different.
(This is further reiterated by several commenters here regarding Home Depot using the mesh style for the door instead of the actual door.)
Considered their entry level class of gas grills, Weber’s Spirit Line was redesigned in 2013. The grill’s most significant alteration is how the burners are oriented. Weber finally caved in and incorporated what almost all other market grills feature- parallel burners and control knobs mounted on the side table. The 2-burner is usually 1/5 of the price cheaper.
Compared to the previous versions of the Spirit, the 2013 batch has newly added front knobs and stainless shelves that give it a nicer aesthetic.
The cast iron cooking grates are the least expected, which is seen in Weber grills topping out over 120 pounds. The 550 degrees the E-210 can reach isn’t much different than the E-310.
Differences
Compared to the Weber E-310, the E-210 has two steel burners instead of three, which is part of the reason it’s 100 bucks less. That, and the cooking area is 64 square inches more with the 46510001. Most of the time you won’t need that extra 5,500 BTU and cooking space.
What’s so good with the Spirits?
1.) The Flavorizer bars (unique to the Weber). These create a “flavorful” smoke from the drippings as the burners cook.
2.) Flare ups are a non issue with the Weber Spirit E-210 and E-310 (review found below).
3.) The assembly instructions have many steps to them, but they’re cleanly layed out and straightforward.
4.) Small footprint. For tighter spaces you’re working with, it’s a hair smaller at 50 inches wide.
Weber Spirit E-210- Perhaps the Best Freestanding Gas Grill in 2024
While the Weber Spirit E-210 was redesigned in 2013, satisfying the grill enthusiast who’s particularly working with little yard lot, it’s still giving a grilling experience within full sized proportions.
HIGHLIGHT: FOLD DOWN TABLES.
However, just like other grills in the newer Spirit line, Weber uses stainless steel of lower grades. The 430-series steel in the Spirit E-210 is accepted as being less resilient than higher end gas grills using 304-series steel in the burners. Yet compared to cast aluminum, the 430 steel in a Spirit E-210 is more resilient, with comparable properties of cast iron when it comes to heat retention.
The grill is small, doesn’t have all the extra features (smallest and most inexpensive of Weber’s line-up of full-sized offerings), so there’s a long preheat time. The knobs are no longer located on the right side table but on the front (a unique feature Weber is losing), with the control valves turned to the front (much influenced by the Genesis line).
While it isn’t a cheap grill by most people’s standards, this grills running price is reflected by Webers’ knowingly high reputation for service repair and part replacements if ever anything goes foul.
→Of the full sized grills by Weber, the Spirit E-210 is the most inexpensive and takes up the least amount of space.
Pros
- Good heat transfer
- Great heat retention
- Small footprint
- Less corrosion due to black porcelain enamel coating the firebox, frame, and dome
Cons
1.) For one thing, an E-210 will lighten your wallet by this much. That’s a pretty penny when compared to many of the other barbecue two-burners you’ll see online and in stores, because there are ones you can get that are made poorly for at least $150. But get this: the ones cheaper than the E-210 simply won’t outlast it. They’re cheaply built and designed to get more grills sold at the least expensive MSRP possible. They won’t hold up for more than a few years. (Weber has bold confidence in their hardware’s quality of build that owners of them are provided with a warranty arguably better than any other sub-$500 grill.)
2.) Longer preheat times. Other reviews point out that it takes a bit for the grill to get hot enough- less wait than a charcoal, but probably a little more time than the average grills lit by gas. This is because the grill’s capability of BTUs is only 26,500. However, the actual BTU numbers measured from a gas grill is open to debate in terms of cooking. These grills mostly cook through convection, with the grate’s retention of heat and the burner’s flame outputting some heat that radiates. Because the materials making the Spirit E-210 offer a high degree of insulation, it’ll beautifully perform.
3.) While the dome of the E-210 is mostly made from painted porcelain steel, it does have some cast aluminum-made end caps. At first this bummed me out a little, from a standpoint of build quality, but after digging deeper on the matter, I could tell that an increasing number of grills in the low to mid range are following the same trend. Overall it’s a non-issue, on the condition that the dome’s interior is designed well and airflow is allowed to make its way around the cooking grate and your meal. (Yes, it is.)
Leaning towards the Weber Spirit E-310?
In the 2016 issue of Cook’s Illustrated magazine for May/June, they tested and reviewed six gas grills $500 or less, and other than the Weber Spirit E-310, no grill was recommended highly. But get this, its BTU ratings was lower than most of the tested grills, yet the results it produced outdid grills with more BTU stats.
The article cited reasons, including its lid that’s tightly fit, a thick cast cookbox made of aluminium to retain heat, and the Flavorizer bars (exclusive to Weber) diffusing heat evenly. Also liked by the testers was its compact and sturdy design and the cleanup not being difficult.
In the E-310, the stainless steel shelves have hooks attached on either side of it. Going down into the cabinet, the first thing you notice is a scale hooked up to the propane that tells you how much gas is left in the tank, so you never have questions on your fuel level.
The cabinet is the same with the Genesis line. There’s clearance in the base of the cabinet. It allows the tank to move up and down as it’s going through the scale to prevent it from getting hung up.
What’s nice about the drip pan, unlike most grills you’ll see on the market, is that it has a removable catch pan (which is washable). It’s also a serviceable part. If it gets worn too far, you can have it replaced.
While this 3-burner grill from Spirit comes in a very basic setup, it’s a grill that’s built solid and grills just like it’s designed for. If you don’t need all the bells and whistles and the cooking space of a larger grill, then this will do.
Assembly
This reviewer on Amazon explains it much more in depth than I would in this review. He walks you through any of the ambiguous sections among the 28 sections in the E-320 installation documentation (basically the E-310 with the addition of the side burner).
The Grates
The grates in the E-310 are porcelain-coated cast iron. You can find grates that are just cast-iron or you can go the other way and get the thin porcelain-coated steel. You either want to get cast iron or porcelain-coated cast iron, preferably.
The Box- How the Burners are Mounted
If you look at any good grill, like the Weber, you have the Flavorizer bars. One thing to look for is how the burner tube within the box is mounted to the fire bowl. The Weber E-310 actually has castings and mounting points built into the fire bowl. It’s a single screw and a tapped hole, which holds the burner down. Instead of using a system like that in lower-end grills, they have sheet metal mounting points.
These burners in the Weber are stainless steel, and they aren’t going to last for a reasonable amount of time.
The Flavorizer Bars are porcelain-coated steel. They should last at least 3 or 4 years before you need to replace them. The other ones in some of the lower end assemblies are likely cooked with a high temp paint, and those are the ones that will commonly rust out in a couple years (if not a year or less).
Usually the E-310’s will set you back this much on Amazon.com. There are probably no other grills in this price range with a better build.
The redesign of the Spirit grills in 2013 brought a more versatile and larger grill than the 2-burner versions, and went without the side burner found in the E-320 (a burner some won’t need). You can look at it either way, it’s easy on floor space, but there’s the limited amount of room for preparing meals on, mostly because of the area on the right side table taken up by the control valves.
Pros
- Solid build
- Grates are coated to prevent food sticking
- Capable to serve most families
- Fire box has almost no holes where heat can escape
Cons
- Stainless steel are of lower grades
- A small space for cooking
- Made in China
With quality components making up the interior, you also have the lower graded steel in the side tables. The flare-ups are going to be less because of the grill’s grease management system, and a firebox design good for evenly heated grates (although it’s not uncommon for the left side to get a bit hotter in these grills).
The versatility of the Weber Spirit E-310 is limited overall, but even though the grill is basic you’re still getting a dependable warranty and the Weber name to keep the grill working many years, more than other grills will last.
Final Thoughts
Weber keeps the Spirit line of production in China, and stainless steel of a more inferior quality- lower grades in the front panel and side tables. With those aside, these two grills are a good investment if you don’t want to commit to a larger end Weber like the Genesis line, or you favor a full-size design over a makeup like the Q-series.
If you’ve got the space and the money, I would get the upgraded version of Spirit’s E-210 with 3 burners: the Spirit E-310.
The temperature of your grill is more controlled with additional burners, and regardless if you’re grilling outside or inside, temp control is essential to kick-butt cooking. The ability you get from two burners is having two zones set up. That’s fine and all, if you’re setting out for one meal to serve, but having that additional burner?
The zones you get from that is three, so those pair of burners are at a maximum blazing with the heat of one at medium, low on everything to cook your roast slowly, or have all three cranked to whip up burgers of an amount massive enough for a party in the backyard. On top of that, more space is needed in the firebox of a grill with three burners for the burner hardware to jam into. What that translates to: more space for grilling.
- Image by woodleywonderworks of Flickr