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The Weber Q3200 is a great intermediate grill, offering both limited portability and decent cooking space. It is, of course, the new and updated version of the ever popular Q320 grill. Fortunately, Weber has kept all the good stuff and this grill still delivers fantastic performance and reliability.
Let’s have a look.
Contents
Weber Q3200 Review – What Do You Get?
The Q3200 features 2 stainless steel burners, delivering a total of 21,700 BTU per hour. The burners are well spaced to provide and even grilling experience. The total cooking area is 393 sq inches (translating to about 18 hamburgers on the grill at once), which can be expanded to 468 sq inches with the use of the included warming rack.
A nice touch is the included Grill-Out handle light fixed at the front of the lid. This means there’s no need to fiddle with a torch when you’re grilling at night away from other light sources. The handle light illuminates the whole cooking area. How long is will stand up under the constant exposure to heat is another question altogether.
The burner controls are excellent, allowing you to easily adjust between direct or indirect grilling.
The cooking grates are Weber’s standard porcelain-enameled cast-iron units. These grates provide excellent heat retention and durability, while making cleanup much easier.
Fully loaded Weber Q3200 with lid mounted light.
You still get the same electronic ignition of the old model, as well as the thermometer on the lid and the collapsible side tables. Weber has, however, removed the tools hooks that used to be present on the side tables on the old model. Not sure why, but it’s not too big a deal. The side tables are fairly sturdy and will easily accommodate your stack of hamburgers before you put them on the grill.
Performance
The Weber Q3200 has lost none of the excellent performance of the previous model. The temperature control allows you to slow cook chicken or ribs for just about as long as you desire, even hours on end. Turn up the heat, and you can get a great sear on those steaks to get them just right. The grill does an excellent job of building up heat under the lid. The two burners reduce preheating time considerably in comparison to the single burner models (Q1200 & Q2200).
It’s fair to say that a larger warming rack would have been nice, especially for slow cooking. You can, of course, purchase another separately to allow you to get more food a little higher off the grates to simmer in peace until the end of days. It’s a non-issue though, really.
The Q3200 obviously is less portable than the smaller models. It also uses a 20 lb propane tank instead of the small 14/16 oz. cylinders. The fact that you get the cart attached makes the price difference between this and the smaller models more negligible as well, since you have to purchase the cart separately for the latter.
Verdict
The Weber Q3200 is still one of my favorite grills. Build quality is excellent, heat distribution near perfect and the fine heat controls allows you to slow cook or sear as your heart desires. With more cooking space than its smaller siblings in the Q range, this is a better family and party grill, although you sacrifice portability.
The only concern is the price coming in just $100 shy of the larger Weber Spirit grills. However, if you don’t need anything that big and still want a grill that’s fairly easy to move around, the Q3200 remains a fine investment that should give you many years of excellent service.
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Video Overview
From unpacking and assembly to grilling burgers, this video walks you through the whole Weber Q3200 experience.
Weber Q3200 Review Continued: Questions and Answers
Q: How is the grill shipped?
In one box, with minimal assembly required.
Q: Is the adapter hose for the 20 lb propane tank included?
Yes
Q: Is there a stainless steel grate option available?
To the best of my knowledge, no. Weber doesn’t yet offer a stainless steel grate option.
Q: Is the drip pan included?
Yes, you get at least one drip pan in the box, but you may wish to purchase a pack of 10 separately.
Q: Can the grill be removed from the cart and used as a table top grill?
Yes and no. It was not intended for that purpose, but you can remove the grill from the cart with some disassembly, although the two were designed to form a unit. It was not intended for using apart from the cart, and you’d be better advised to buy the Q2200 + cart if you want a table top grill with the option of a cart.
Q: Can the grill use natural gas?
The Q3200 comes in both a propane and natural gas version. You can get the natural gas version on Amazon.
