In 2018 we repeated these tests, with the then-new Weber Spirit II E-310 and our upgrade pick at the time, the Weber Genesis II E-310 . However, our picks are also sold in natural-gas versions, which are gaining in popularity. But they require that you have a natural-gas hookup on your deck or patio. If you have natural gas in your home but don’t have an outdoor connection, you’ll need to hire a technician to install one, and this may involve cutting into walls. And if you want to easily move your natural-gas grill into and out of storage, you’ll also need to buy a quick-disconnect system, which can add another $150 or so. The benefits of natural gas include not having to wrestle propane tanks on and off your grill, always-available fuel , and lower fuel costs .
And though stainless steel grates are more rust-resistant than cast-iron ones, it’s still a good idea to follow this cleaning advice to keep them in tip-top shape. Weber added two new models to its Spirit line of gas grills in 2020, but we ultimately chose not to test them. One of them, the Spirit S-315, is similar to the Spirit II E-310 with regard to the weber spirit 2 specs, and with a few cosmetic differences—and higher price tag. But other than those minor variations, it looks like the S-315 would perform about the same as our pick—and wouldn’t be worth the higher price. No matter the brand of grill, we don’t like to fully rely on built-in thermometers. They’re fine for getting a rough idea of how hot your grill is.
This grill boasts a high quality construction and ahs excellent build quality from top to bottom. The other reason is that I can prepare these spaces to take food off the grill as quickly as I put them on it. With hotdogs and hamburgers, spending even more than a minute longer than necsesary on the grill can throw off the taste and texture. The cart rides on four casters that will make moving your grill easy. Two of the casters are locking as well, making sure that your grill stays where you want it. The SX-315 has three stainless-steel burners with a total of 32,000 BTUs per hour.
The double doors feel substantial, and they swivel smoothly in their hinges. However, we’re bummed that Weber decided to move the propane tank hook and gauge from the char broil performance side to under the firebox inside the cart. We can only imagine the crawling and contorting one must do to hook a full tank of liquid propane in that small cabinet.
The temperature gauge is easy to use and is great for ensuring that you choose as precise of a setting as you desire. What I am impressed about here is the GS4 grilling system, of which, the infinity ignition system is a major function. Essentially, it ensures that the grill lights up faster and I have to say, this feature works like a charm. More often than not, the grill sprung to life without any issue at all.
However, this grill can still accommodate a whole cut-up chicken or six to eight burger patties at a time. And it performs on a par with the three-burner version, the Spirit II E-310. Like our top pick, the two-burner Spirit comes with a cast-aluminum firebox, an enameled steel lid and open cart, two side tables, and a 10-year warranty. char broil performance Next time you cook, brush the cold, soot-covered grills clean, wipe them with a wet paper towel or rag, and then proceed. That goes against the common advice to clean the grates while they’re hot. Salvaggio has found that cleaning hot grates more easily damages the porcelain coating on cast iron, allowing rust to form.
For instance, you can sear steak or fish on one side of the grill and cook vegetables on lower heat on the other. If you own a grill, you’ll have to perform these tasks at least a few times a year, so a grill that makes them a little easier is a welcome thing. While the burgers cooked, we kept an eye out for flare-ups—which can char the meat and create acrid smoke—and looked at the evenness of cooking across the grates. After about 10 minutes of cooking, we compared how well each grill had seared the burgers, and we looked for excessive charring or patties that were still unacceptably raw. Before wrapping up, let’s take a look at how the Weber Spirit II E 310 gas grill holds up against other models.
And you can cut the middle burner but still get even, radiant heat from the sides, for indirect cooking. I especially like the fact that the grill starts up with minimal fuss thanks to the GS4 grilling system. And, since you don’t have to stay on top of the temperatur or worry too much about maintaining the temp, you have a more relaxed time ahead of you. That being said, the feature that I am most fond of here is the propane scale.
Evenness performanceEvenness of heating over the grill’s surface at the highest and lowest setting using all main burners plus the evenness after a 10 minute preheat, using thermocouples. This indicates grill temperature when only one or two of the burners are on, to represent a cooking task where the food is placed between or alongside the direct flame. The only quibble Lesley had with the E-210 was its small size. She recalls one particular instance when she grilled fajitas for 25 guests for her partner’s birthday.
And all those elements are of the same great quality we’ve consistently seen on Weber grills. The Weber Spirit II E-310 provides the unrivaled combination of top-notch grilling performance, a versatile three-burner design, durability, and a relatively affordable price. It excelled at every test, producing the best sear on our burgers of any grill, and equaling or outdoing the others in our tests involving barbecue chicken and whole roasted chickens.