Weber put Sear in the name of this grill. Then it described the cooking grates twice, two different ways, on one page.
The Searwood XL 600, model 1500121, sells flame arriving straight at the food. Weber’s own copy says no large sheet diffuser blocks it. A badge beside the price calls the grates cast-iron. The specification panel below calls them plated steel cooking grates.
Both lines belong to Weber. Neither corrects the other. That leaves a narrower question than whether this cooker sears. How much of the sear story survives Weber’s own specification table?
972 sq inTotal cooking area, over two grates
45.75 x 50.50 x 23.00 inFootprint with the lid down
342 of 972 sq inSits on the upper grate, off the flame
13.75 inExtra headroom before the lid will open
First Impressions of the Weber Searwood XL 600
It arrives looking like a barrel bolted onto a workbench. The hopper and its lit controller sit out on the right. Underneath, a wide black shelf bridges the two legs. One side table, three tool hooks, and that is the whole workspace.
At 157.80 pounds, nothing about the first hour involves carrying. Weber sells a booked Angi build for a flat $99 on grills $399 and up. Nothing on the page says how long building it yourself takes.
The included list is short and oddly specific. Stainless steel Flavorizer bars. A porcelain-enameled lid. An 8-foot grounded cord, which decides where the grill can stand more than the wheels do.
Then the first burn does the talking. SmokeBoost pins the cooker at 180°F and lets smoke soak in. Pellet smoke at that setting smells sweeter than it tastes, which is the usual honest surprise. Push the same dial to 600°F afterwards and the character changes completely.
Key Features of the Weber Searwood XL 600
Weber has named a lot on this grill. Most of those names are about flame reaching food. The list below is what the money buys before any accessory is added.
- DirectFlame cooking: Weber describes no large sheet diffuser between fire and grate. That is the mechanism behind the sear marks and browning it claims.
- Full grate sear zone: The feature card is headed Sear on Every Inch. Hold that claim against the 630 and 342 square inch split below.
- Rapid React PID controller: Getting to a set point takes 15 minutes or less, Weber says. Lab air at 77°F and premium hardwood pellet fuel sit behind the asterisk.
- SmokeBoost setting: It holds the cooker at 180°F, which is also the floor of the published range. Smoke gets time to land before heat takes over.
- Manual mode: Fuel and fan run at a steady rate instead of chasing a number. That is for griddling, or any cook with the lid up.
- Built-in fuel gauge: The grill reports its own pellet level and sends a notification when that level drops. Most auger-fed cookers make you open the hopper and guess.
- Two meat probes and Weber Connect: Both probes are in the box. Wi-Fi and Bluetooth carry live cook graphs and readiness alerts to a phone.
- Stainless steel Flavorizer bars: These sit in the fire path and are named in the included list. No other part in there has a published metal.
- Cast-iron or plated steel cooking grates: The badge says one, the specification panel says the other. Weber prints both and resolves neither.
- Rotisserie and griddle insert: Both are sold separately, and the page prices neither. The griddle is described as pre-seasoned carbon steel.
- Weber Crafted compatibility: The frame kit is $49.99, part number 7678. A pizza stone, griddle, grilling basket or dual sided sear then drops in at $99.99 each.
- Premium grill cover: It is $94.99 and it is not in the box. Nothing about a 157.80 pound cabinet suggests it gets wheeled into a shed.
Start with the range, because it is the strongest thing here. Weber publishes 180° to 600°F on a single dial. An auger-fed cooker that reaches both ends is doing more than most. Bark at the bottom, crust at the top, one cabinet.
The reason Weber gives for the top end is worth taking seriously. Removing the large sheet diffuser puts flame nearer the food. That is how browning and crisping happen, and Weber says so plainly.
Then the specification panel undercuts the headline. Sear on Every Inch sits above a table that splits 972 square inches into two. The bottom grate is 630 square inches. The other 342 sit on a shelf above, where flame does not reach.
On a searing surface the metal is not a detail. A heavy iron bar keeps heat when cold meat lands on it. Plated steel lets go of it sooner. Weber names both metals for the same part, then leaves it there.
Build, handling and durability
The cabinet feels like the expensive part, and the figures support that. It weighs 157.80 pounds, wears a porcelain-enameled lid, and carries stainless bars in the fire path. Weber publishes no gauge for any panel, so the materials are named without being measured.
Siting is where the numbers bite. With the lid down the cabinet measures 45.75 by 50.50 by 23.00 inches. The lid then wants 13.75 inches more height and 5.50 more depth to swing. Low eaves and tight alcoves rule it out before the fuel does.
The warranty maps where Weber expects trouble, and the cook box carries 5 years. Electrical components carry 3. So do the grates, burn pot, heat diffuser and heat deflector. Everything with fire or current in it sits on the shorter term.
Running costs, upkeep and value
At the time of writing Weber shows $1,299 struck through and $1,199 asked, a $100 cut. For that, two probes, a fuel gauge, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth are all included. On plenty of pellet cookers the second probe alone is a separate purchase.
Add-ons are where the real spending starts. The premium cover is $94.99 and the folding front table is $99.99, part number 3400109. Buying both adds $194.98 to a grill that ships with one side table. A folding side table is $74.99, a floor mat $49.99, a cutting board $39.99.
Fuel is the other running line. Five pellet flavors carry Weber’s own label, each at $19.99. Nothing published says how fast the 20 lb hopper drains. Plan on finding that out yourself, over the first couple of cooks.
Upkeep is the quiet strength. The grease and ash system pulls out from the front rather than from underneath. On a cabinet this heavy, reaching under it is exactly the chore people skip.
Two smaller things sit on the same page. Delivery costs nothing once the basket passes $99. Weber also prints California warnings naming wood dust, nickel and chromium compounds. Those come with burning wood, and are worth reading once.
Possible Weber Searwood XL 600 Complaints
- The page cannot agree on the grate metal: A cast-iron badge sits near the price and a plated steel row sits in the specifications. On a grill sold on searing, that is the part a buyer most wants right. You feel it the first time a cold ribeye hits the bars. Ask before ordering, because Weber’s page will not tell you.
- The parts that burn carry the shorter cover: Three years covers the burn pot, heat diffuser, heat deflector and grates. So do the electrical components that run the auger and fan. The longer 5 year term applies to the shell instead. Those inner parts are what a pellet cooker actually consumes.
