it's a sizzler

I bought my grill at Home Depot over a year ago, so I've got some history. I use it weekly, often several times/week (real men only grill?!), and have been very satisfied. I live in a high rise condo building, and only propane or electric grills are allowed on our terraces. I eschewed propane because it's a hassle to refill the tanks.

I am utterly incompetent, but a friend assembled my grill in about 30 minutes. It looks sharp, and the footprint is very small--important for an urban-sized terrace. The grill heats up pretty quickly--maybe 10-12 minutes until the thermometer hits 700 degrees. The cooking surface has some quirks, as do all grills, but I find that it cooks my food (mostly salmon, burgers, chicken, vegetables) evenly.

The downside of that small footprint is a small grilling surface. Four burgers and some asparagus will cover it, so forget about feeding 20 people all at once. Of course this is a known trade-off, so not a criticism so much as a red flag for large families.

I don't even unplug mine anymore, and despite torrential downpours, have had no problems. The outside (mine is blue) cleans easily with Windex. I am on my third cheap Weber cover (it doesn't come with one, which is a big strike), as they keep getting blown off. I went a couple of months w/no cover, and the temp control has started to rust as a result. Otherwise, the outside has held up well.

The grill surface is hard to keep clean, but then again, so are most grills. My clever dog managed to undo the drip catcher (sort of akin to a tin cup attached with part of a clothes hanger) and--yuck--ate out all the accumulated grease. I can't re-affix it now, so that's a pretty cheap element to this grill.

I've been happy with mine. And for this price (around $165 at Home Depot a year ago), if it lasts two or three seasons, I'm happy to just buy a new one when it wears out.