Maintenance is easy. In fact, if the grill is emptied thoroughly, the ash catcher can be used to hold the rinse water if you are unable to clean it outside (you do have to empty it often). I have, in fact, cleaned this grill in my kitchen, with out much of a mess. It really hasn't been any more difficult then cleaning a regular oven.

Cooking is very even, the swing-outs on the grid make adding charcoal easy during indirect cooking. I purchased a set of rails to hold the charcoal to each side. I insert my drip pan in the middle, and then put more charcoal as needed in the grill without disturbing the food by opening up the swing-outs in the grate to add charcoal. This is a very handy feature. For direct cooking, you just place the charcoal over the bottom grid as per instructions.

The manual contains several useful recipies to get you familiar with this cooking device. I highly recommend reading it, and following its instructions. The Weber One-Touch Gold 18-1/2" is a worthwhile purchase if you are cooking for one or two people, and will more then pay for its self as compared to eating brats at the hot dog stand. Buy this grill, and you'll eat T-bones and baked potatoes for FAR less then at a steak house, for a very long time!

29 of 29 found the following review helpful:

A Brilliant Design  Jul 03, 2004

The classic Weber One-Touch charcoal grill is an example of excellent engineering and design. I recently purchased the 18 1/2" model and have found it to be very effective and easy to use.

The shape of the kettle and lid distributes heat evenly across the cooking surface. The heat can be easily controlled using the vents to allow more or less airflow. Easy to assemble. Cleanup is quick. The simplicity of the design means there is little that can break or go wrong with it.

Obviously the engineers at Weber put a lot of thought into how people will use the product and came up with a truly elegant design. Brilliant!

21 of 21 found the following review helpful:

This grill is fabulous!  Jul 20, 2005
By R. Prabhakara
I am no pro at grilling, but this grill makes it all so easy! It was easy to put together, easy to use, and easy to clean up. Everything I toss on it turns about perfectly grilled and absolutely yummy! There are cheaper charcoal grills out there, but if you're a petite woman, like me, who doesn't grill for a living, it is well worth the extra money for the little conveniences of this grill. I got the 18 1/2 inch grill, and it has plenty of room for preparing dinner for 4-6 adults. Since putting my grill together, I have cooked out every weekend.

8 of 8 found the following review helpful:

Perfect Bachelor Grill  May 15, 2009
By Shaun
This grill is a great performer. As a single guy who typically grills for one, the 18.5" surface provides enough room that I can cook several meals at once. There's plenty of room to do indirect grilling, and even indirect "beer can chicken" with the coals arranged in a circular fashion around a pie tin. If you're only cooking for one or two people, you don't need anything bigger.

The most innovative feature on this grill? The hinged side flaps on the grilling surface, which you can pull up with tongs to drop in more coals or wood. I use a lot of hickory, and when it comes to adding more smoke, being able to get directly at the coals without disturbing the food is a huge advantage. No more fumbling with insulated gloves trying to lift the whole grate up.

Assembly instructions really could have been better (actually there were no instructions, just one tiny drawing). I couldn't figure out how the ash collector connects to the rest of the components, there were metal tabs on mine which weren't depicted in the diagram, and bending them out of the way didn't help. So I left it off, I just empty the ashes onto the patio and rinse them into the yard. Not a huge inconvenience but it kept me from giving a 5-star review.

If you're the type who buys a $10 imported rust-magnet grill at Wally World each spring only to watch it rot all year long, break that cycle and get a Weber One-Touch.

5 of 5 found the following review helpful:

Awesome Grill  May 28, 2007
By D. Zboinski
If your gonna cook with charcoal this is the grill for you. High quality, won't rust like the imitations that are made in china. The kettle shape directs the heat and cooks perfectly. Made in USA!

See all 34 customer reviews on Amazon.com