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I purchased a Ducane Affinity 3400 May of 2007. Previously I had owned a Weber for the 13 years. I loved my Weber but after my divorce I could not justify purchasing the Weber Genesis as badly as I wanted it. My initial thought was that since Weber now owns Ducane it would have Weber like quality and features. The Affinity seemed to have options similar to the Genesis so I thought it might make a good purchase. I ordered it on-line before they became available locally to have it in time for the grilling season. Well after a year of using this grill I have determined that it cannot and should not be associated with the Weber name; this is nothing more than a fancy Char Broil.

What I found wrong with this grill:

1) Bad flare-ups. You cannot turn your back on your food. You have to constantly watch because the grill flares up badly and burns your food. Much like a Char Broil. This is because of the three large wide heat deflectors catch and hold food grease and debris causing uncontrolled fires. Weber grills have several heat deflectors that are steep and narrow not allowing the grease to collect. Cooking food on this grill has become a real chore.

2) Hard to clean. A Ducane rep will tell you to clean the heat deflectors regularly to prevent flare-ups. On most grills the cooking grates can easily be picked up and slid on top of the adjacent grate to access the heat deflectors on one side at a time. This can even be done carefully on a hot grill if you forget beforehand. No so on this Ducane. The front of the grates are in a U-channel and have to be lifted from the back of the grill and removed with both hands. This design makes the process of cleaning the heat deflectors more difficult than it needs to be and messy that can only be done on a cold grill.

3) The igniter takes a battery! This grill does not have the cross-over ignition like a Weber. So when you press the igniter button you are sending a spark to five igniters. To accomplish this you need to have a battery. If I would of known that the igniter took a battery I would of not purchased the grill!

4) In addition to the igniter taking a battery the igniter button itself does not work very well. You have to wiggle and wiggle it to get it to spark the igniters. A poor design!

5) It has only been one year and the Stenciling on the front of the grill is coming off. By next year there probably will not be hardly any wording left. It is going to be a pain when the burner knobs HI and LOW markings will be gone along with all the other descriptive/safety information. Replacing this front panel is going to be a real pain! Then it will probably need to be replaced on a regular basis.

6) The front of the unit has a double wall stainless steel door. This is a very nice door. But when you open the door you are looking out the back of the grill. This is because there is no back on the lower compartment of the grill. Why bother opening the real nice door or even having a door when you can just reach around the back of the grill into the compartment. Another very poor design!!

7) Assembly. If you ever assembled a Weber you were totally impressed by how easily it went together with only a few tools. The engineering of the Weber grill in this area is amazing. In fact, it probably only takes 15 minutes to assemble a Weber. I know this because I have convinced four friends to purchase a Weber and helped them assemble them. Well again, just because Weber has there name behind it don’t be fooled. This is no Weber! You are going to get a good size bag of bolts and a booklet of instructions. Be prepared to spend an hour or two.

On the positive side:

The cover has Velcro straps to hold it on which is a nice design.

Personally, I regret purchasing this grill and can’t wait to replace it. It is embarrassing to use when I have friends over. I wish I had it to do over again.

If I didn’t previously own a Weber or if another company had purchased Ducane I probably would not be as disappointed as I am with this product.

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