In the market for a gas grill

I'll bet some Chevrolets have similar specs to some Mercedes. Personally, I'd go with Weber-- there's a reason why they have such a good reputation.

I'm also looking at a new grill, preferably all stainless. My short list is Weber and Napoleon.

I wouldn't under-estimate Kitchen Aid.

I haven't looked at grills, but we just bought all of our appliances for the kitchen, and Kitchen-Aid was on par with much higher-end brands, in every way, and offered savings.

G-Man, "specs" are one thing, but look at things like the build quality. That's what really made KA stand out to me.

The appliances were sturdy, and had the "feel" of Viking, Sub-Zero, Thermador, etc. When I would handle the GE/Whirlpool/Maytag ones, you could feel a considerable step down. In some cases, I even preferred the feel of the KA to the Viking stuff.

Oh, and with respect to grills, I'm a big believer that storage and maintenance or the most important part.

I beat up my grills.

We use them a lot, I mean 3 - 6 days / week, and I rarely clean them.

I don't buy the cheapo grill, but I find that if you're really putting your grill through the ringer, it won't last more than 3 or 4 years. Doesn't matter if you spent $400 or $800. Burners burn, grease corrodes, shit just falls apart if you really use it.

yea i never clean mine either

tho my old (10+ year ) charbroil still works, except the grate was discontinued, so i'm stuck with looking to get a new one.

Check you inbox buddy.

quote:

Originally posted by Seaquam:
I'll bet some Chevrolets have similar specs to some Mercedes. Personally, I'd go with Weber-- there's a reason why they have such a good reputation.

+1 g-man.
Have had my modest Weber Silver Genesis for 10 years. Little to no maintenance and is rock solid reliable.

quote:

Originally posted by Wine doc:

quote:

Originally posted by Seaquam:
I'll bet some Chevrolets have similar specs to some Mercedes. Personally, I'd go with Weber-- there's a reason why they have such a good reputation.

+1 g-man.
Have had my modest Weber Silver Genesis for 10 years. Little to no maintenance and is rock solid reliable.

i was reading the kitchen aid utilizes the same graded rolled steel that weber utilizes in their construction though.

for 200$/cheaper if it offers similar perfromance build quality why not?

though i've never heard anyone use a ktichenaid before so am wondering.



--Snipes will check when ig et home. thanks!

I was pretty happy with the Home Depot brand CharmGlow gas grill. Relative to some other brands, it was inexpensive. In Seattle, keeping it outside (even under a cover) meant that it was going to break down and corrode quicker than in some other places. It worked well but, alas, it's almost dead after about 8 years.

I would avoid the ceramic-coated cast iron cooking surfaces, mostly because you can't use a wire grill brush to clean.

I've had a vermont castings grill that I've done very little to, cleaned beginning of year, brushed off rest of the time and never brought it in out of the elements. It's lasted 12+ years so far and it's still great.

quote:

Originally posted by BRR:

I would avoid the ceramic-coated cast iron cooking surfaces, mostly because you can't use a wire grill brush to clean.

Yes to this. We have a Kenmore 4 burner - I really like it although the starter crapped out last month.

quote:

Originally posted by BRR:
I was pretty happy with the Home Depot brand CharmGlow gas grill. Relative to some other brands, it was inexpensive. In Seattle, keeping it outside (even under a cover) meant that it was going to break down and corrode quicker than in some other places. It worked well but, alas, it's almost dead after about 8 years.

I would avoid the ceramic-coated cast iron cooking surfaces, mostly because you can't use a wire grill brush to clean.

I've been rocking a Charmglow for about a decade, used heavily like Jorge mentioned and covered when not in use. My dad liked his so well that he bought two more, put them in a trailer and brought myself and brother-in-law each one.

The outside still looks great. The burners are about shot as well as the drip trays. It's time for either an overhaul or a new grill. Leaning towards something new.

Get a Weber with the all stainless burners & grates. Had a Silver Genesis for 10 years and a Genesis S 330 for the last three. Can't go wrong with them. Don't get the lower end stuff at Home Depot with ceramic coated grates and bars - get the S line, which will save you lots of time and money in maintenance and parts over the years.

quote:

Originally posted by vinole:
Get a Weber with the all stainless burners & grates. Had a Silver Genesis for 10 years and a Genesis S 330 for the last three. Can't go wrong with them. Don't get the lower end stuff at Home Depot with ceramic coated grates and bars - get the S line, which will save you lots of time and money in maintenance and parts over the years.

+1

There are definitely two schools of thought on this. In fact, just this past weekend, I was in Home Depot buying a Weber One Touch Gold (love it already) and heard the Grill Department Manager telling another customer, "The trend in grills today is to price some of them low enough that replacement parts become obsolete. Use them until they're worn out and buy a new one." That's kind of the way I see my gas grill. Then again, I've never had a really top-end one either.

BRR, my point was stainless parts don't need to be replaced and are good for a decade with average use.

quote:

Originally posted by BRR:
There are definitely two schools of thought on this. In fact, just this past weekend, I was in Home Depot buying a Weber One Touch Gold (love it already) and heard the Grill Department Manager telling another customer, "The trend in grills today is to price some of them low enough that replacement parts become obsolete. Use them until they're worn out and buy a new one." That's kind of the way I see my gas grill. Then again, I've never had a really top-end one either.

there was a really funny review with pictures on homedepot with a charbroil unit where the flames started coming out of the knobs.

talk about uneven heating =)

quote:

Originally posted by BRR:
There are definitely two schools of thought on this. In fact, just this past weekend, I was in Home Depot buying a Weber One Touch Gold (love it already) and heard the Grill Department Manager telling another customer, "The trend in grills today is to price some of them low enough that replacement parts become obsolete. Use them until they're worn out and buy a new one." That's kind of the way I see my gas grill. Then again, I've never had a really top-end one either.

That's the school of thought that I subscribe to.

Like you, though, I've never sprung for a high-end grill.

I figure mine will last 3 - 4 years and start to crap out. At $300 - $400 I figure it's easy to replace instead of splurging for a $800 - $1000 grill that might last 6 - 8

That happened to me. Two of my knobs melted.

+1 on the fact that grills, no matter what kind, only last but a few years whether stainless or not. I have found that while the structure of a stainless will hold up, its inner parts (valves/burners/ash bed/igniters) go fast. And replacement parts are so expensive that yeah, you might as well just buy a new one.

quote:

Originally posted by vinole:
BRR, my point was stainless parts don't need to be replaced and are good for a decade with average use.

Understood, vinole. My post wasn't in response to yours at all. In fact, I agree with you 100%!