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To add to another reason and thank you Bremer for reminding me, is the heat distribution. The new Napoleons (P500 vs P450) have the straight tube burners vs. the U burners. This helps with the heat distribution issue that Napoleon was known to have as per the salesperson. He said with the 450s it wasn't end of the world type issue because these BBQs were still amazing on performance.

The ignitor now is a 'JET Ignition system' vs the old electronic one - so another added bonus. I'm so leaning towards the Napoleon...now just got to convince the boss lady.

Drag it to NIT's street.

That’s good to know. I would have still considered a Weber if I thought the heat was more even.

The JetFire is on the model I have now. It works amazing. One click and I’m lit 98% of the time. It’s the first BBQ I’ve ever owned where the igniter still works after the first year.

Hi Bremer, if you don't mind me asking - what Napoleon model do you have?

Hi B&T402 - with your P450 2009 model do you happen to experience the heat distribution issues? Example where food in the front of the grill take longer to cook than the items in the back? Just curious.

I’ll have to check.

I bought it at Canadian tire, it’s a 3 burner plus an infa-red and it’s got some “famous” dudes name on it. I think it was only sold through Canadian tire at the time. I’ll have a look tonight and post back.

Just did a major revamp of my yard last Fall so definitely doing the clean up of my Weber on the one crappy side between houses.

To B&T402, your right about apples & apples. Back then Napoleon made the China supply chain decision in order to put a less expensive BBQ on the market although it was still around $700 at that time. Glad I only had a close call and bailed before I ran into other issues.

Anyone have to change the ingniter on their Webers? How much was it? Did you have to change the whole system (button to igniter) or just the part under the BBQ?

AB

I'll go out on a limb and guess that item would not have given you the trouble you predicted. I would say the biggest factor there was ass-tard delivery staff. Those wheels were never designed (Chinese or other) for side-shear forces, so to use that episode as a barometer / predictor of future performance? Nah. Mine came in huge cartons, delivered by Sikorsky helicopter and assembled on-site.



Same observation as PP there. I think it has really become a bit of a contrived talking point, based on long-solved problems. Weber is not 100% even, nobody is, and I'm sure they know it!

Beer-can Chicken is something you may get into, and I always remember my Dad invigilating the grill to spin the bird around, or foil the top, due to hot-cold spots, this was the 90's!! It became a habit of mine to worry likewise, I have never had any significant issue, the grill behaves like an oven for heat evenness (except in brisk steady winds, which is a bit of a monkey-wrench!) The BBQ Scientists have solved these issues, don't worry much about it.



As a name, it's is not pronounced as "Webber". Because we paid such strict attention to our grade 4 teachers when they taught us to interpret doubled letters, we know it's wrong to pronounce "Baby" as "Babby, or "Twinings" (tea) as "Twinnings". So the "Webber" barbecue people have been lying to us, the bastards!

Actually a German speaker would take it a step further and pronounce the W as a V, with a long "a" sound on the e -- "VAY-ber". ZOUNDS! We can thank/blame the Yanks for this, and call it progress I guess?

As regards the electronic ignition on my bbq, I have lit this thing several hundred times, with a 0% failure rate. I have yet to even replace the battery that came with it - some military-grade AA item, the likes of which the consuming public is not able to buy.

Again, thanks for getting me thinking about summer grilling. I love it

_________________
This one thing probably never goes away
I think this one thing is always supposed to stay
This one thing doesn't have to go away

Love our Weber. When the gas guy installed our hook-up, he mentioned that I shouldn't be surprised if the electronic ignition calls it quits after a few months. I was surprised to uncover the BBQ a couple weekends ago. after not cooking on it all winter. and it fired up on the first press. Only thing I am disappointed with is the expensive cover Weber brand cover, which I was told by a few people is better than the no-name covers at the hardware store. It has a bunch of cracks through out it after only one winter.

Same with the OEM Napoleon cover here. I've been through two of these, lasting less than 2 years before total failure. Then I bought a $30 cheapie, which went to tatters in 8 months, so it's off to the store again. (CTC wants $90, BBQ Galore about $115, are these the same?). I think direct pounding Summer sun does more damage than Winter weather.

Funny thing, my in-law's cheezy rubbery cover they got from the Super Centre for $16 has lasted more than 3 years without disintegrating. It's one of those "stacked firewood" prints, looks ridiculous. The biggest wear issue is sun-faded dyes - browns have turned pink! One drawback using them is they tend to be difficult to get on, because they are so rubbery, they don't slide over the steel very easily.

We'll be on-average for temperatures this coming week, people. Let's get grilling again.

_________________
This one thing probably never goes away
I think this one thing is always supposed to stay
This one thing doesn't have to go away

Yeah this cover was definitely around $80 or so. It was fine all summer, we didn't have any issues until the winter. Makes me want to see if there is any warranty. I hate sh*t that breaks. If I was going to be a total consumable I would have just bought the cheapo cover. Interesting about the Super Center one.

When did Trojan start making BBQ covers?

^^ *rimshot*

I came this close || to cracking that one.

_________________
This one thing probably never goes away
I think this one thing is always supposed to stay
This one thing doesn't have to go away

Just a final comment B&T402 on my "escape" from Napoleon to Weber. Remember this was the Chinese made model, not the made in Canada model that everyone is so happy with. Who knows what other corners were cut for the sake of economy. My gut instincts are usually good!

Anyway, after waiting all week for the break in this cold snap I'm looking forward to grilling in +degrees for a change. I expect the neighborhood will be awash in sweet mouth watering smoke by this week end.

Fix your quote tag