IN 2013 WEBER DECIDED TO DISCONTINUE THE DUCANE LINE.
The Affinity 4100 is one of Ducane’s mid-size gas grills. Ducane grills have been around many years sold with the slogan, “buy your last grill first”. As one opens and closes and fiddles with knobs, it’s easy to believe the Ducane reputation for basic, functional and durable grills remains intact. “Serviceable” is a word that comes to mind.
Weber bought Ducane in 2004 to “offer value to people who aren’t in the price range of the Spirit line”. Production immediately shifted from North Carolina to China where Weber’s entry level Spirit grills are made.
All Affinity models have black porcelain-enameled steel bodies with cast aluminum sides and stainless steel control panels and side tables. The 4100 has four stainless steel burners that line up left to right with control knobs up front the way we like them, battery powered electric ignition, grease catch pan, two locking casters and two swivel casters. And of course the obligatory cheap built-in lid thermometers which you will want to ignore and use a more accurate digital thermometer.
Cooking grates are stainless steel rods. Instead of a small grate, the removable warming rack is different than most, which are standard wire racks. On the Ducanes they are porcelain-enamel coated steel trays with slits cut through them. The heat distribution plates are very large, covering most of the area beneath the cooking grates and it’s easy to see why Weber chose not to refer to them as “flavorizer bars” as they do on the Weber line. One user griped online claiming the heat distribution plates are too close to the cooking grate and so large they catch all the drippings thus exacerbating flare-ups. That might be a problem, but in general, the closer to the cooking surface, the hotter the surface and the better searing.
The assembly manuals are of the IKEA variety: All illustrations, almost no words. These are basic, no-frills, BBQ grills backed by Weber’s good name and their stellar customer support.
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