Last Updated on April 20, 2020

Before starting this research for buying a food smoker, my idea of barbecue grills was simple: a solid grate over a metal box filled with coal, set on two bricks in the backyard. Now that I’m into barbecue smokers and I already love Weber Smokey Mountain Cookers, I wanted to see what other Weber stuff is available, apart from the 721001 SMC and its bigger brother. This is how I got to propane gas grills and to the Weber 386002 Q 100 Grill which looks so cute that I can hardly resist buying one.

I told you I love charcoal because it gives the food a flavor unequaled by electricity or gas. However, if I think about all that mess and about how hard it is to start a coal fire when weather conditions are not optimal, I begin to appreciate methods than can save me time and nerves. Just pushing a button to ignite a fire sounds very appealing.

When it is better to go for gas instead of electric or charcoal grills

• If propane gas is cheaper than electricity, go for it. Here where I live, electricity is definitely more expensive than propane gas, be it from the city supply or from individual tanks. People here cook with gas. Some people use it for heating as well.
• If you don’t want to mess with coal bags, loading and cleaning the grill, go for gas. It’s so much cleaner! Besides, lighting a charcoal grill is more difficult than lighting a propane one, which only needs a switch turn to get ignited. For instance, the Weber 386002 Q 100 Portable Grill I’m going to talk about in this review features a push-button for ignition.
• If you want a grill to use both indoors and outdoors easily, forget charcoal. In humid climate, you’d better forget electric grills as well, because you might get yourself injured in case of a short-circuit.

Why I like the Weber 386002 Q 100 Portable Grill

This tabletop grill is cute and small, yet it has a 189 square inch cooking area, enough for about 6 hamburgers or 4-6 steaks. It features an adjustable burner valve with a high-quality regulator, allowing effective temperature control.

The tough cast aluminum body and lid look solid, as well as the glass-reinforced nylon frame. The fact that Weber gives 5-year warranty is a sign they trust the quality of this product.

The stainless steel burner has a heating power of 8500 BTU per hour, which is just fine for the area that needs to be heated and considering that the cast iron grate is heat conductive. I’d say preheating for about 10 minutes is best for getting it really hot. Even so, because there is only one burner and it is not very powerful, it helps you save on propane gas. A 5 lbs rank would be enough for a whole season if you use it once or twice per week. This is what one of the users stated in his review on Amazon.

What I see as the main advantage of this Weber grill is the porcelain-enameled heavy cast iron grate. Most cheap grills have those flimsy wire grates which cause the food to stick and burn and which are a real pain to clean.
Another cool feature is the possibility of attaching a regular size propane tank. You need to buy an adapter hose for that, but you can find it without any problem on Amazon. This is a money-saver: when you want to take your grill to camping spots, you use the small tank, but when you use it at home you attach it to the big gas tank because refilling that one is cheaper.

Weber 386002 Q 100 Portable Grill Features

• Tabletop gas grill, made from cast aluminum
• Porcelain-enameled cast iron cooking grate
• Drip ducts for reducing flare-ups and for easing cleaning
• Infinitely adjustable valve with high-quality regulator
• Flavorizer system integrated into the cooking grate
• Removable catch-pan
• Push-button ignition system
• Large weather-resistant lid handle
• Cooking area: 189 square inch
• Dimensions: 16 inch x 27 inch x 23 1/2 inch (with the lid open)
• Compact and portable, this is the ideal grill for carrying in an RV or trailer
• Operates on standard 14.1 or 16.4 ounce propane cylinders (not included)
• Weber Q Cookbook included as bonus

Can almost 200 people be wrong about this little portable grill?

The number of reviews on Amazon is an indicator for me about how reliable a product is. This portable Weber grill has more than 180 reviews, 156 of them giving the grill five stars. I tend to trust large numbers of people, especially when they give details on what they like about a product, what they would improve and what they would change to make it better. This is how I get to know if a product will suit my needs or not.

Here are only a few quotes that make me want the Weber 386002 Q 100 Portable Grill:

Excellent quality grill, cooks food great like a larger grill, doesn’t use a ton of gas, cooks quick… Perfect for a tailgate!

This grill is built to last and beats all the cheap sheet metal grills in quality and cooking results.

Bought the grill to carry in a trailer. Very nice size to fit in a compartment. At first site I thought I bought a grill that was too small but it has plenty of room to cook on. Easily fit four open hotdog buns and 5 hotdogs.

The Weber grill is perfect for outings with a small group of 4-6.

Heat is distributed evenly and the food is delicious!! I would highly recommend this grill.

It works great, has true Weber quality and I really like the heavy grate. I would not hesitate to buy this grill again and if your situation warrants a smaller grill this is the answer. It is not anything like the cheap grills for around $50. You get what you pay for.

If you want to read more reviews or buy the Weber 386002 Q 100 Portable Grill, go to Amazon.