The Weber Spirit II 210 and 310 are amazing grills that came out in 2018 and, I suspect, will be discontinued in 2023. Let me walk you through the important aspects of these two grills and share the results of over 35,000 user reviews. As of November, 2022 both of these grills are screaming bargains.
What are the Differences Between the Spirit and Spirit II Grills?
Both of the 210 grills have the exact same cooking area (360 sq in primary + 90 secondary), heat output (26,500 BTU/hr) and porcelain enameled cast iron grates. Despite their similarities the Spirit II grills are a serious upgrade from the standard Spirit grills.
Here are some of the important differences between the Spirit and Spirit II grills:
Open Cart vs Closed Cabinet
The Spirit II grills have an open cart design as opposed to the closed cabinet on the standard Spirit grills. At first glance this is simply a cosmetic design change but in reality the change is much more important.
The new cart design on the Spirit II moves the location of the propane tank to the side of the grill. The original Spirit grills have the propane tank located in the cabinet underneath the grill. One of the most common complaints about the original Spirit grills is that installing and removing propane tanks is a pain. Some older customers said that having to kneel down and get into the cabinet to change a tank was literally causing them pain in their knees.
Collapsible Side Tables
One reason that some people buy a two burner grill is because they do not have much space. Weber tries to help these people out by making the side tables collapsible.
On the original Spirit both the right and left side table can be collapsed to create a grill with a width of 29.5 inches.
On the Spirit II only the left side table can be collapsed to create a grill with a width of 38 inches.
The reason that the right side table on the Spirit II is not designed to collapse is that it is built with a slot for holding the digital iGrill3 temperature sensor (sold separately). I am not a fan of the iGrill3 system but, if you are into gadgets, this is a feature you should be aware of.
GS4 Grilling System
GS4 stands for “Grilling System 4” and was a series of four upgrades originally designed for the Weber Genesis II grills. The upgrades included a new Flavorizer bar design that let you see the flames better, a new grease drain design, a longer lasting ignition system and upgraded burner tubes.
When the Spirit II grills were released Weber added three of the GS4 upgrades but did not include the newly designed burners. Of the three upgrades that do come with the GS4 the most important is the more reliable ignition system.
Reliability and Warranty
The warranty on the Spirit II 210 covers every single component for 10 years. The blows the warranty from the original E 210 out of the water.
The warranty for the original E 210 grill covers the following:
- Burner Tubes: 10 years
- Lid Assembly: 10 years
- Cooking Grate: 5 years
- Flavorizer Bars: 3 years
- All Other: 2 years
What is amazing is that the Flavorizer bars and cooking grate are identical between the two models and those are the usually the first components to burn out. The exact same parts are covered for twice as long as the Spirit II model!
Wheel Design
The original Spirit grills are mounted on four small caster wheels, two of which are locking. The Spirit II have two large wheels on the right side of the grill and leg mounts on the right.
I find it much easier to roll the Spirit II grills around, especially over a surface like a back deck where there are lots of uneven surfaces from the spaces between boards.
Three Burner Models (310)
Pretty much all of the differences between the two burner Spirit II 210 and the original Spirit E 210 transfer over into the three burner equivalent, the 310.
The only notable difference is that neither the original E 310 or Spirit II 310 have collapsible side tables. See this article on the Weber Spirit 310 vs 315 for current information.
Specifications and Reviews of the II Series
Let’s take a look at the base numbers for these two grills and then did into customer reviews.
Weber Spirit II E 210 Specifications
- Burners: Two Primary Burners
- Primary Grilling Area: 360 square inches
- Grate: Porcelain enameled cast iron
- Warming Rack Area: 90 square inches
- Heating Capacity: 26,500 BTU/hr
- Dimensions:Â 44.5″H X 48″W X 27″D
- Weight: 103 pounds
Weber Spirit II E 310 Specifications
- Burners: Three Primary Burners
- Primary Grilling Area: 424 square inches
- Warming Rack Area: 105 square inches
- Cooking Grate: Porcelain enameled cast iron
- Heating Capacity: 30,000 BTU/hr
- Dimensions:Â 44.5″H X 52″W X 27″D
- Weight: 114 pounds
Here is the promotion video from Weber for these grills. It only takes two minutes to watch and gives you a close up look at all of the features.
Customer Reviews
I compiled all of the customer reviews for the Spirit II 210 and Spirit II 310 from the following sources:
- Weber Grill Website
- Amazon
- Home Depot Website
The sheer number of reviews, over 37,000, is staggering. Considering that most people do not leave reviews for purchases, Weber must of sold hundreds of thousands of these grills to have received that many reviews. With a data set of that size I have plenty of confidence that the story they tell can be trusted.
There were 19,824 reviews for the Spirit II 210 and 17,953 reviews for the Spirit II 310. Here is what the data looks like.
Both grills receive an overwhelmingly positive response from their owners.
| Spirit II 210 | Spirit II 310 | |
| 5 Star | 80.18% | 77.95% |
| 4 Star | 13.51% | 14.73% |
| 3 Star | 3.21% | 3.59% |
| 2 Star | 1.29% | 1.59% |
| 1 Star | 1.81% | 2.15% |
When you combine the 5 Star and 4 Star reviews you find that approximately 94% of users really like their 210 while 93% really like their 310 grills.
The few complaints were from people who received damaged grills, grills that heated unevenly and grills where people had a hard time getting them up to temperature. In almost every review I read Weber took the time to respond and reach out to the customer.
Why I Think The Spirit II Grills Are Screaming Bargains
It is my belief that Weber is going to discontinue the Spirit II grills and is in the process of clearing them out of inventory.
Let me explain.
The Spirit II grills have the same GS4 system and 10 year warranty of the more expensive Weber Genesis grills. Given that the Spirit grills are usually about 40% less expensive than a Genesis there was little reason for people to shell out the big bucks for a Genesis when the Spirit II grills have just about equivalent performance (see Weber Spirit vs Genesis for more information). This had to be hurting Weber’s bottom line.
Another clue that these grills are going away is color choice. When the Spirit II grills came out in 2018 they were available in an amazing array of colors such as Crimson, Ivory and Sapphire. Those colors, which were widely popular, are no longer available and you can only buy one of these grills in Black.
The biggest clue that the Spirit II is being discontinued is the price. As of November, 2022 the MSRP listed for the Spirit grills on Weber’s website were as follows:
- Spirit II 210: $399
- Original Spirit E 210: $499
The upgraded two burner Spirit II is $100 less expensive than the older model.
- Spirit II 310: $549
- Original Spirit E 310: $599
The upgraded three burner Spirit II is $50 less expensive than the older model.
Any time you can buy an upgraded product for less than the original product I call that one heck of a bargain.
I hope you found this review helpful on your grill buying journey! If you are still interested in the Spirit grills after reading this then there is another model that you owe it to yourself to look at, the Weber Spirit SP 335.
