YOUR FAVORITE HIGH END & LOW END GAS GRILLS

SURVEY TIME:

What's your favorite moderate-priced gas grill ($200-$400)?

Favorite high end gas grill (price no object)?

Tales of glory with your gas grill? Horror stories?

Let me know.

Thanks!

SR

I have two gas grills. Masterbuilt 7-1 grill, uses propane or charcoal. I haven't used it since I bought the other.

I also have a CharGriller Duo with Side Firebox. The sideburner on the gas side posed a problem. The connection next to the the control knobs opened up somehow and allowed gas to leak. I had to replace the burned out section.

Lookingat the CharGriller Kamado.

Other than that, I haven't had many problems I didn't initiate.

I just got rid of 2 large gas grills. I had not used them in three years and
They were taking too much space.
As far as low end, I had an extra outdoor stove that I turned into a gas grill. I added a Camp Chef grill box on one side and a griddle on the second burner.

This thing is so versatile, I could do breakfast lunch and dinner on it
Grill side for meat and griddle side for veggies

Gas grills........REALLY Go charcoal or stay home!
Hal

I bought a 6 burner Kenmore Elite gas grill back in 2003 when I first discovered your BBQU TV show. It was a solid mid-level grill. It was noticeably better than the low end grills, but lacked some of the features and ruggedness of the high end Weber's of time. Since then the price of steel and particularly stainless steel has shot through the roof and grill manufacturing has been outsourced to China.My grill was actually made for Sears in China but it was a decent quality, above average. I intended to replace it after 5 years or so. Every year I'd look at potential replacements for my grill and every year it got harder and harder to find one. There no longer seems to be a solid mid level grill. The mid-priced grill seem to be the cheapies with more useless bells and whistles attached to them. The metal is thinner and the quality of the stainless steel is poor and rusts quickly. 6 burner grills are becoming 5 burner and 4 burners are now 3 to cut costs. I wouldn't even consider the current Kenmore Elite line, whereas I'd love a new version of my old grill.

I will be interested to see what results you come up with. Two years ago I bought new burners, flame takers and grates for my then 7 year old grill. I actually like this quality level of grill, but sadly it seems to be a thing of the past. I'd love to get another 7 years ut of it. I have been looking at the 6 burner Weber Summit series, but they have gone way up in price and are also starting to suffer in quality. It will be a very tough choice when I have to replace my current grill.

Jim

Thanks to all who took the time to reply. SR

Steven I have a 3 burner Vermont castings gas grill.
No side burner, no bells , no whistles.
My fam bought for fathers day 7 years ago.
The best grates made, the grill is very well built, the cart a little cheap.
At seven I've replaced the porcelain coated flame tamers with Stainless & the ignitor.
I think it'll go several more years.
Even though the company went under the new owners have upgraded the grill & I'd buy another , if I need too.

I have horror story dating back almost 8 years now...

We were in another city for a relative's wedding and we were sharing a condo with my in-laws, and the condo came with free access to a gas grill. One night I grilled either steaks or pork chops and when they were done I turned the burners to high and closed the lid, because with my dad's old gas grill that was necessary to clean the grates. We all sat down to dinner and about halfway through the meal I suddenly remembered that the burners were still on (since I don't own a gas grill I don't have the operating habits of a regular user) so I went outside to check. Smoke was pouring from the grill and when I opened the lid I had a roaring fire from the combination of gas and melted fat, so I turned the burners off, put the lid down, and hoped that I hadn't ruined it. Fortunately nothing bad seemed to have happened and another person from the condo complex came by shortly later to use it, so I told him it was all warmed up and ready to go.

Brad

My favorite gas grill is a Holland Epic. I'm now on my second Holland, and I love it for convenience and quality.

Have a LARGE UDS for smoking and for whole hogs, but throw a lot of stuff on the Holland for a quick cook.

SO.IL Q KING wrote:

Gas grills........REALLY Go charcoal or stay home!
Hal

Sorry but disagree.

I would rather use a gas grill any day over pan frying a burger, hotdog, brat, etc....

Many times I only have a little time to cook before we have other things going on, so the gas grill is ready in 3 min and cooking, takes 15-20 min to get the coals going on charcoal grill, my burgers are just about done.

Would I rather use charcoal, YOU BET but sometime grilling is more important than doing the fast food burger to save time with charcoal.

I have a 1991 Sunbeam gas grill that I love, granted they no longer make them but this thing is heavy-duty. It has sidewalls and bottom that is something like 1/3" thick case (was the heaviest grill back when I bought it.

11 years later and 4 burners, 3 grates and glass window replacement later it still works great. I even smoke on it with it;'s case-iron smoker-box insert.

Are we talking new grills? If so, I'd suggest the Weber Q 220 for moderately priced grills. It's small enough to pack up and take tailgating/picnicing, but large enough to be an everyday griller at the house. I have a older model Baby-Q with wings (which I'd have suggested had it met the price ranges) that is perfect for 2 and a newborn.

I can't speak to grills costing more than $1K, but the bang for the buck grills have been the Vermont Casting (are they still made) and the Weber Genesis series.

If we'er talking about any gril, I'd still go for a Craigslist used pre-2008 Weber genesis. They can be had for around $100, and with another $100 put in, you've got a grill that'll last 20+ years.

I just bought a Weber Summit, I've only used it once. The box is large for partys, I love it so far, the heavy stainless steel grates are very nice. I also have a Weber Genesis, it's been flawless in performance, and yes, I like charcol at times, so I have a Weber 22 1/2 kettle. This is my second one, got the first one 30 years ago for our first anniversary. It still worked and looked great when my wife gave it to her sister, without asking me..LOL. I have a chr griller smoker, I've had for a couple years and absolutley love smoking, This site has been a great source for learning to smoke. Thanks to all for your wealth of knowledge, Ron

Steven wrote:

Thanks to all who took the time to reply. SR

Sorry - I'm a bit late as things have been pretty crazy here. And even though I'm a die-hard charcoal (and Char Griller) fan, I still like the convenience of a good gas grill too.

Favorite low-end gas grill: The perfectly-functional Weber Genesis E-330 my neighbor found on the curb for free just after Christmas. I've got him keeping an eye out for one for me too.

Favorite high end gas grill I intend to buy someday: Until just 2 minutes ago this would have been a Weber Summit S-670. Now it's the Weber Summit Grill Center with Left Hand Social Area.
http://www.weber.com/explore/grills/summit-series/summit-grill-center-with-social-area-stainless-steel-1

Favorite high-end gas grill I'm never going to be able to afford: Definitely NOT one of those $35,000 vanity grills like a Lynx or a Viking built-in. It's the Crown Verity Towable TG-4 - I've actually been fortunate enough to cook on one of these a few times.
http://www.crownverity.com/products/grills-griddles/towable-grills-1