I am not gonna lie. I needed to evaluate this grill as a result of I like its vivid coloration. 

If purple is not your factor, the $599 Weber Spirit II E-310 fuel grill can also be obtainable in black, white and blue (The Spirit II is on the market on Amazon and at Home Depot for $499). It is costly, contemplating it has simply three primary burners and no aspect burner, however I cooked up some good ribs, burgers and complete chickens throughout my testing. (Good, not nice.)

Along with its first rate efficiency, the Spirit II has a few particular options — a propane tank scale and an non-obligatory integration with the $100 Weber iGrill three temperature probe. If the tank scale and iGrill three accent matter to you, the Spirit II may be price your cash. 

We additionally examined the $649 Broil King Baron S520, the $699 Char-Broil Commercial Double Header and the $299 Char-Broil Performance XL this time round. The Baron S520 is a five-burner grill that may maintain a ton of meals, however its highly effective BTUs would possibly intimidate a newbie. The Char-Broil Double Header is a stable grill for entertaining, because it’s technically two separate, two-burner grills in a single, however these small compartments do restrict is skill to cook dinner numerous the similar meals on the identical grill without delay.

The Char-Broil Efficiency XL was the actual winner right here. It affords nice grill efficiency, 5 primary burners and a bonus aspect burner — all for a lot much less cash. 

Notice: The unique Weber Spirit remains to be available for sale at Lowe’s for $449 — it appears to be like lots just like the Spirit II, but it surely does not have the iGrill three docking station or the open cart format (which affords extra cupboard space). The primary-gen Spirit grill can also be solely obtainable in black or stainless-steel.

However the primary distinction between them, in accordance with Weber, is the Spirit II’s new GS4 Excessive Efficiency Grilling System, which can also be obtainable on the $850 Weber Genesis II E-310 gas grill we reviewed final 12 months. The GS4 system features a new ignition system that is “ensured to ignite each time.” It labored eight occasions out of ten, but it surely did not all the time ignite after my first try. 

GS4 additionally options up to date, tapered burners designed to optimize warmth distribution (this labored fantastic), one thing known as “Flavorizer Bars” which are supposed to assist scale back flare-ups (they didn’t) and a brand new “grease administration system” that is alleged to make all the things simpler to scrub (it was roughly as straightforward to scrub as the other grills we’ve tested). 

For the reason that Spirit II can also be bought for $499 at many retail areas, I might recommend getting it over the Spirit in the event you’re bought on Weber.

Learn: What kind of grill should you buy?

Attending to know the Spirit II

Wanna understand how the Spirit II compares to different fuel grills? There is a chart for that: 

As you’ll be able to see, the Spirit II is an costly grill. Sure, it is technically inexpensive than the Broil King Baron S520 and the Char-Broil Business Double Header, but it surely has solely three burners in comparison with the Baron’s 5 burners and the Double Header’s 4 (two per primary grill compartment). 

Meaning the Baron excels at cooking giant portions, whereas the Double Header has two separate, primary grill compartments for optimum multitasking throughout entertaining. Stick a rooster on one aspect on oblique medium warmth and flip burgers on the opposite aspect utilizing excessive warmth. The Double Header additionally has a aspect burner if you wish to warmth up some BBQ sauce on the aspect whilst you make your primary course. The Spirit II is proscribed to at least one primary three-burner compartment; with 30,00zero BTUs of complete grilling energy — 10,00zero BTUs per burner. 

It additionally does not have a spot to cover the propane tank just like the Spirit II’s opponents. That is not essentially a deal-breaker, but it surely appears to be like much less streamlined since you’ll be able to simply see the tank versus hiding it behind a few doorways. At the very least within the case of the Spirit II, it is for an excellent trigger. This mannequin has a gasoline tank scale. Mount the propane tank to the size and little indicators on the aspect inform you how full it’s. 

The dimensions is not fancy; little purple traces let you understand the extent of your propane tank. It is undoubtedly useful in the event you do not wish to take care of the effort of hauling the tank to the shop understanding there’s an opportunity you continue to have some propane left over. I additionally like that the grill has indicators that allow you to know the place precisely to regulate the burner knobs for prime, medium and low warmth. 

The Spirit II has one thing confusingly known as “Flavorizer Bars.” Its consumer handbook explains that these bars are “angled good to catch drippings that smoke and sizzle, including that impossible to resist smoky taste everyone knows and like to your meals.” They’re additionally supposed to assist route drippings away from the burners towards the “grease administration system.” I will discuss this extra within the efficiency part under, however I am not satisfied the Favorizer Bars did something to assist my grill’s cooking efficiency — or to mitigate flare-ups. 

This mannequin is appropriate with Weber’s $100 iGrill 3 app-enabled temperature probe. For the reason that iGrill three prices an additional hundred bucks and is non-obligatory, I did not take a look at it with the Spirit II. In principle, you join it to the grill and might verify in on the temperature of your meals out of your cellphone. The opposite grills we examined do not supply any sensible equipment, which units the Weber aside.

The Spirit II is much like the $850 Weber Genesis II E-310. The Genesis II has a barely bigger cooking space, 4 wheels (in comparison with the Spirit II’s two) and 37,500 complete BTUs (in comparison with the Spirit II’s 30,00zero BTUs), however they’re comparable when it comes to efficiency, design, options and total ease of use.