For the 2020 grilling season Weber is bringing back a classic grill, the Weber Spirit E 330, and introducing an upgraded version, the Weber Spirit SP 335. Both of these grills offer amazing performance and are much better values than their slightly larger Genesis counterparts.
The big question is whether the upgrades on the Spirit SP 335 make it worth the higher price tag than the Spirit E330.
Spirit E 330 and SP 335 Specifications and Dimensions
Let’s look at the features these grills have in common:
- Grilling Area: 424 inches of primary cooking area with an additional 105 inches available in the form of a warming rack
- Primary Burners: Three stainless steel burners rated for a combined 32,000 BTU/hr
- Heating Power: (32,000 BTU/hour) / (424 square inches) = 75 BTU per hour per square inch
- Side Burner: 12,000 BTU/hr
- Sear Station Burner: 7,500 BTU/hr
- Dimensions: 45.5″H X 52″W X 24″D
- Warranty: 10 years (lid, cookbox, burner tubes), 5 years (grate), 2 years (all other parts)
These are both full sized three burner grills that come with side burners and Sear Stations. The grills have plenty of searing power, even heat distribution and produce minimal flare ups due to the incorporation of flavorizer bars. The warranty is extensive which reflects the fact that these two grills, which are at the top of the Spirit line, are built to last.
Differences Between The Spirit SP 335 and E 330
There are a lot of cosmetic differences between these grills but only one functional difference that actually matters. The primary cosmetic differences include:
- Stainless steel lid and cabinet door on the SP 335
- Stainless steel Flavorizer bars on the SP 335
- Metal burner control knobs on the SP 335
- Fewer tool hooks on the SP 335
Some people really want a stainless steel grill and these cosmetic differences are reason enough for them to purchase the SP 335 instead of the E 330.
The biggest functional difference between these two grills is the cooking grate. The E 330 has an excellent grate made from porcelain enameled cast iron. The SP 335 has an even better grate made from 7mm stainless steel rods. The stainless steel rod grate is easier to clean and gives better grill marks than the cast iron grate.
Reviews
The Spirit SP 335 is a brand new grill and as teh time of this writing there are no customer reviews available. On Weber’s website, the Spirit E 330 has over 130 reviews with 90% being 5 or 4 stars and only 2% being 1 or 2 stars.
The customer reviews for the E 330 on Amazon are extremely similar to those posted on Weber’s website.
While the percentage of One and Two star reviews are low they do share common themes. There were concerns about parts arriving damaged, difficult of assembly and excessive rusting of the frame and cabinet.
What Makes the 330 and 335 Great
The defining characteristic of the Spirit grills is high performance grilling. When you grill on a Spirit you are going to have very even heating across the grates and will have very few flare-ups. If you are used to grilling on cheap gas grills then grilling on a Spirit will be a game changer for you.
Here is a video that lets you see the Spirit E 330 up close.
Both of these grills come with a Sear Station burner which lets you get a portion of the grill super hot for putting grill marks on steaks. The 330 and 335 are the only Spirit grills with Sear Stations and side burners.
What I Don’t Like
The absolute only thing that I don’t like about these grills is the warranty.
While the warranty on these Spirit grills is far superior to what is offered by other brands such as Char Broil, DynaGlo and NexGrill it is shorter than the 10 year coverage for all components that you get with a Weber Genesis. More importantly, the warranty is shorter than the 10 year coverage for all components that Weber offered on the Spirit II series grills in 2018 and 2019.
Weber intentionally rolled back the warranty coverage on the Spirit grills for 2020 which I suspect reflects lower build quality.
Compared To Other Weber Three Burner Gas Grills
Weber has a lot of three burner gas grill options so you have a few other choices to consider.
- Spirit E 310: Same size as the Spirit 330 but without the Sear Station and side burner
- Spirit S 315: Stainless steel grill. Same size as the Spirit 330 but without the Sear Station and side burner
- Genesis E 310: 20% larger grilling surface than the Spirit 330 but without Sear Station and side burner
- Genesis E 330: 20% larger grilling surface than the Spirit 330 and includes Sear Station and side burner
In my opinion the Spirit 330 and 335 offer the best balance between cost, size and features and would be an excellent addition to any backyard.
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