I haven't been around for a while but I check in every now and then to see what's new, mostly lurking. Business got busy, I got busy, free time decreased, blah, blah, blah. Now I'm semi-retired and have more time to devote to things that really matter 
.
My WSCGC had it's 7th birthday in May, since mine came home apparently Weber has re-named the grill(I'm still not sure it qualifies as a Kamado, YMMV) and made it less expensive(WHAT!) but at the expense of some features.You pays your money and takes your choice, as the old saying goes and I do think Weber kind of gouged the market when they introduced the grill but I payed the $1999 + sales tax price back then so who am I to complain?
According to my log file I used the grill for smoking quite often between 2016 and 2021 with good results. After that, it got used occasionally for burgers and steaks but a lot less than my PK. A few weeks ago, my daughter brought home a rack of ribs so I volunteered to show her how to smoke them instead of baking them in the oven. We went through removing the membrane, dry brining, rubs, loading the SNS and temp control and they turned out really well. A couple of weeks later I smoked two racks of chuck ribs using the SNS and they came out great, guess the old geezer hasn't lost his touch after all... I've got a couple racks of ribs in the fridge to smoke this weekend, we'll see.
OK, enough preamble, update on the grill:
The grill has held up remarkably well, some carbon buildup on the upper interior wall of the kettle and oxidation(rust) on the charcoal grates but the grates are still structurally sound. I can't comment on the cooking grate that Weber supplies, I'm not fond of the insert system Weber offers and replaced it with a BGE XL stainless grate early on. That's still in good shape, no oxidation or deformation. The outside finishes on the kettle and the table are pristine, the bottom shelf shows some rust where the charcoal basket rests and slides in and out but all the other enamel on the frame has held up well. The wire-mesh drawer still binds if you're not careful when you're moving it, as I noted in my initial review. IMHO, a proper drawer with drawer slides would have been more appropriate in a cooker at this price range. The plastic wheels have held up OK but the wheel covers are chipping around the edges. HAIYAA! WEBER WHY YOU PUT PLASTIC WHEELS AND HUBCAPS ON OVERPRICED $2,000 GRILL? HAIYAA! Uncle Rodger very disappointed and so am I.
All said and done I'm very happy with the grill, no regrets. Could it have been made better? Sure, in a couple of areas but that can be said about anything you buy today or yesterday or a hundred years ago. Hindsight is 20/20 but Weber managed to mostly nail it on this one.
If you want to see my initial impressions and review click down to the first page in this forum, from back in May, 2016
I'm interested to hear from other early adopters on how their grills have worked out for them.....
Best,
Bill
.My WSCGC had it's 7th birthday in May, since mine came home apparently Weber has re-named the grill(I'm still not sure it qualifies as a Kamado, YMMV) and made it less expensive(WHAT!) but at the expense of some features.You pays your money and takes your choice, as the old saying goes and I do think Weber kind of gouged the market when they introduced the grill but I payed the $1999 + sales tax price back then so who am I to complain?
According to my log file I used the grill for smoking quite often between 2016 and 2021 with good results. After that, it got used occasionally for burgers and steaks but a lot less than my PK. A few weeks ago, my daughter brought home a rack of ribs so I volunteered to show her how to smoke them instead of baking them in the oven. We went through removing the membrane, dry brining, rubs, loading the SNS and temp control and they turned out really well. A couple of weeks later I smoked two racks of chuck ribs using the SNS and they came out great, guess the old geezer hasn't lost his touch after all...
I've got a couple racks of ribs in the fridge to smoke this weekend, we'll see.OK, enough preamble, update on the grill:
The grill has held up remarkably well, some carbon buildup on the upper interior wall of the kettle and oxidation(rust) on the charcoal grates but the grates are still structurally sound. I can't comment on the cooking grate that Weber supplies, I'm not fond of the insert system Weber offers and replaced it with a BGE XL stainless grate early on. That's still in good shape, no oxidation or deformation. The outside finishes on the kettle and the table are pristine, the bottom shelf shows some rust where the charcoal basket rests and slides in and out but all the other enamel on the frame has held up well. The wire-mesh drawer still binds if you're not careful when you're moving it, as I noted in my initial review. IMHO, a proper drawer with drawer slides would have been more appropriate in a cooker at this price range. The plastic wheels have held up OK but the wheel covers are chipping around the edges. HAIYAA! WEBER WHY YOU PUT PLASTIC WHEELS AND HUBCAPS ON OVERPRICED $2,000 GRILL? HAIYAA! Uncle Rodger very disappointed and so am I.
All said and done I'm very happy with the grill, no regrets. Could it have been made better? Sure, in a couple of areas but that can be said about anything you buy today or yesterday or a hundred years ago. Hindsight is 20/20 but Weber managed to mostly nail it on this one.
If you want to see my initial impressions and review click down to the first page in this forum, from back in May, 2016
I'm interested to hear from other early adopters on how their grills have worked out for them.....
Best,
Bill
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