The Weber Q gas grills are great table top grills and are pretty nice looking as well. Many of the Q grills look extremely similar and trying to figure out the differences between them can be confusing.
This article will:
- Show you the differences between the Q1200 and Q2200.
- Help you understand which would be the better grill for you.
- Tell you why I purchased the Weber Q1200 along with my single regret.
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By the way, there are absolutely zero affiliate links on this page. I have no financial interest in whether you purchase either of these grills. I am just trying to share the same unbiased information that I would share with my friends.
Let’s get started!
What the Q1200 and Q2200 Have in Common
Before we dive into the differences, lets look at what these two grills have in common.
These grills have a single burner that heats the circumference of a heavy, cast iron cooking grate. They have a cast aluminum body that will never rust and are equipped with a built in lid thermometer and side tables.
The grills are covered by a five year warranty for almost everything except the electronic ignition system and regulator which are covered for two years.
Both the Q1200 and Q2200 are designed for use as a table top grill but can be mounted on a separately sold cart.
The Main Differences Between the Q1200 and Q2200
The primary technical specifications for the two grills are given in the table below but in the end the primary differences are size and cost.
| Q1200 | Q2200 | |
| BTU/hr | 8,500 | 12,000 |
| Dimensions | 15.5″H X 40.9″W X 16.5″D | 15.5″H X 51.4″W X 19.5″D |
| Grill Area, sq in | 189 | 280 |
| BTU/sq in | 45 | 43 |
| 1 lb Burn Time, hrs | 2.5 | 1.8 |
| MSRP | $259 | $358 |
The Q2200 offers 48% more grilling area than the Q1200 and costs about $100 more.
At first glance the Q2200 looks like a more powerful grill as the burner is rated for 12,000 BTU/hr compared to 8,500 BTU/hr for the Q1200. However, once you spread those BTUs across the larger cooking grate the two grills come out just about the same at 45 and 43 BTUs per square inch of cooking space.
Another difference between these grills is that the Q1200 is available in an assortment of beautiful colors.Â
The Q2200 is only available in Titanium unless you are a Costco member and then you can buy one in black.
The availability of great colors for the Q1200 makes a difference because, in reality, you are going to spend more time looking at your grill than actually using it. You might as well get a grill that looks pretty!Â
Which One Should You Buy?
Both of these grills get great reviews. I grabbed the customer reviews from Weber’s website and plotted the reviews for the Q1200 and Q2200 side by side below (data current February, 2021).
When you combine the 5 and 4 star reviews these grills both have about a 90% owner satisfaction rating.
Why The Q2200 is Better than the Q1200
The primary reason to buy the Q2200 over the Q1200 is if you want a larger grill.
My Q1200 will easily handle 10 Johnsonville brats or four large pork chops. I am typically grilling for 2-3 people and the Q1200 fits the bill perfectly. However, if I was going to throw a Super Bowl party then the Q1200 would no longer meet my needs and I would break out my massive Z Grills 1000 pellet grill.
If you want to grill for a crowd or have a large family to feed then the Q2200 is the grill for you. Of course, if cooking for a crowd is your thing then you might want to take a step up and check out the Weber Q3200.
 I Made a Mistake and Bought the Q1200 Instead of the Q220o
I bought a Q1200 instead of the larger Q2200 because of the propane usage.
The burner on the Q2200 needs to use 12,000 BTU/hr to achieve the same results as the burner on the Q1200 which uses 8,500 BTU/hr. This means the Q2200 uses 41% more propane than the Q1200.
The increased propane usage is required to heat the much larger cast iron grate on the Q2200 to grilling temperatures.
If you are running your grill from a disposable one pound propane bottle that means you will get two 30 minutes cooks per bottle with the Q2200 and three 30 minute cooks with the Q1200. These values assume that you are letting the grill pre-heat at High for 15 minutes and are cooking on High for the full 30 minutes.
If you are taking this grill camping or down to the beach then having a grill that uses less propane is a big benefit.
Of course, I have no plans to go camping with this grill and have it cart mounted on my back deck. I have also bought the adapter hose that lets me run the grill off of a standard 20 pound propane tank.
My logic still holds for my cart mounted grill as one of my least favorite chores in the world is heading down to the store and dealing with a propane tank exchange. With my Q1200 I can get months of cooks in without having to swap tanks.
I just couldn’t justify the hassle of using 41% more propane on a Q2200 to cook the same four pork chops that my Q1200 handles just fine.
My only regret about my Weber Q is that I didn’t get the orange one!
 Update July, 2021:
I have decided that the Q1200 is just a little too small for my needs. Here is the video review that I did for the grill right before I gave it to a friend.
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