recommendations for "entry level" gas grills...

the_bird said:

Looks nice, but there are no Academys around here, and last I checked they didn't ship. The charcoal's not all that important to me, anyway; I've got a classic Weber charcoal grill that I love (except the wheel keeps falling off ), even though I rarely have time to use it.

"Best I can afford" is too hard to define. I could spend $1,000 on a grill and not have to feed my family hot dogs, but I don't want to. There are too many other things I'd rather spend the $750 or $800 difference on!

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but do you want to go out and buy a new one 2-3 years from now? Better off spending 500 on a Weber or other top rated unit . Tells you something that the Weber is the top pick under 500 as well as the 500 - 1500 range. And second in the 1500-4000 range on About.com

Yeah I remember reading about your adversity to Charcoal, but you got ot admit having the option is always nice as to the smoking question (not to mention SFB) Lowes does carry Chargrillers), if your worried about smoke flavor wrap some chunks in foil and pop open the side that the fire is on, and then you'll get smoke in about 2 minutes, of course for this step make sure the grill is not turned on

No adversity to charcoal. Just not something I have time to do most nights. I'm looking for something more to replace the kitchen stove two or three nights a week, make cooking a little more enjoyable for a change, be able to get out the wok and whip up some stir-frys, be able to cook things a little bit more "interestingly" that you can with just an electric stove.

What I'm finding... is that I'm really bored with cooking. That makes me lazy, and that means that I cook a lot more crap than I should. I'm looking for a propane grill, in part so that I'll use the damn thing!

Slightly OT:

Owners of stainless grills: Are they as much of a PITA to keep clean as they would seem to be? I'm thinking about an upgrade sometime in the next year or so, and it seems like half or more of what's out there is now stainless bling. I want to grill on my grill, not obsess over cleaning it. So how are they working out? [/OT]

jds said:

Slightly OT:

Owners of stainless grills: Are they as much of a PITA to keep clean as they would seem to be? I'm thinking about an upgrade sometime in the next year or so, and it seems like half or more of what's out there is now stainless bling. I want to grill on my grill, not obsess over cleaning it. So how are they working out? [/OT]

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I'm a mess with my stainless grill. I don't clean it as well/often as I should (It's very seasoned!). When I do a big cleaning, it takes a bit to do, but I think it's worth it.

janzik said:

I'm a mess with my stainless grill. I don't clean it as well/often as I should (It's very seasoned!). When I do a big cleaning, it takes a bit to do, but I think it's worth it.

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Agreed. When I remember to use the cover, it's great, but since I use it 3-4 nights a week, I seldom put the cover on.

I have a charbroil and love it for what it is. I bought a cover for it when I got it years ago, but ended up throwing it away because I never remembered to put it back on after the grill had cooled. Still in decent shape and I've only replaced the burner and drip cover once, and the front handle once.

A Weber would be a better quality item, but I highly recommend the electronic ignition on any grill you buy. I retro fitted one on my friend's grill when I rebuilt his (cheap Walmart grill) and he LOVES it.

Also, thanks for the wood chip idea guys, never thought of doing that, but I will def try and beer can chicken too!

Bird- Check the True Value flyer this week. Some of the grills mentioned in ths thread are on sale.
Consumer Reports just did a review on grills. I'll see if I can dig it up.

Thanks for the heads-up, Glib. I'll check out the flyer when I get home.

So, I'm confused now.

Glib, you'll be happy to hear that I've eliminated the Home Depot grills from consideration. The purdy $300 Charmglow porcelain model gets crappy reviews (bad construction, very uneven heating), and the other models in that price range felt too chintzy for me.

My question, though; should I be looking for a three- or four-burner model? I was ASSUMING the later, but what I'm reading seems to indicate that the three-burner models give more flexibility

Anyone familiar with Ducane?

That's the last grill you'll ever buy.

She's a beaut...

the_bird said:

Anyone familiar with Ducane?

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They are Weber's line of less expensive, imported grills. They get excellent reviews, and the few I've seen in person appear to be built quite well.

I've done a LOT of grill research lately, and ended up ordering the natural gas version of this model by Blue Ember. Great reviews, great build quality, and lots of nice features. I love the sturdiness, especially the castings where the lid pivots...on most grills, that section is made from thin sheet metal.

Blue Ember FG50069

Anyone use the Weber Spirit E-210? Sounds well-madel I just hesitate because it sounds like the main burners only kick out 26k BTUs. Is that going to frustrate me?

BlindLemonLars said:

They are Weber's line of less expensive, imported grills. They get excellent reviews, and the few I've seen in person appear to be built quite well.

I've done a LOT of grill research lately, and ended up ordering the natural gas version of this model by Blue Ember. Great reviews, great build quality, and lots of nice features. I love the sturdiness, especially the castings where the lid pivots...on most grills, that section is made from thin sheet metal.

Blue Ember FG50069

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Liar - you bought it for the bottle opener...sly dog....

AN_TKE said:

Liar - you bought it for the bottle opener...sly dog....

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Well...I did say it has "nice features." The ones I quite like are the rear infrared rotisserie burner, the built-in cast iron smoker box and even the lid light. I also like that the thermometer is calibrated in degrees, not just colored "hot - warm - cold" zones.

I settled on the Blue Ember after driving around one weekend, laying hands on every grill I get my hands on. It was the only full-feature, mid-price range grill I could find that didn't feel flimsy. Honestly, most of the stuff at Lowes and Home Depot feels SO cheap...the tops shake when you open them, the control knobs are sloppy, and thin sheet metal is used in load bearing areas. The only negative review I found was from a guy who said it was no good for "grilling in snow or rain." WTF??!??

Unfortunately Home Depot doesn't stock the NG version, so I had to order it and pay $60 shipping. It should be here by next weekend. I turned on my long neglected patio gas stub and installed a new ball valve & quick connect fitting, so I should be good to go.

Well, I went ahead and bought the Ducane Affinity 3200. The local Aubuchon Hardware had a couple in stock, $350. A bit more than I was hoping to spend - but as I said originally, the budget could expand if I was confortable it was REALLY going to be worth it. Every single review I read of this model (and the 3100 I was looking at first) says the same thing; solid, straigtforward, works great, no frills, will last a long time, great service from Weber if needed. Sounded exactly like what I was looking for.

I tell you, I was stoked when I pulled up to the store (which, YES, I should shop at more often) and immediately recognized that they had a Ducane grill on display...

the_bird said:

Well, I went ahead and bought the Ducane Affinity 3200.

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I think you made a good call! Ducane was definitely on my short list of brands, they seem like a good balance of features, quality and price. Apparently customer service is excellent as well, as with Weber.

So what are you cooking up for the inaugural grilling session?

Grills 98% together, but DAMN it's hot today!

It's just The Bean and I today, so we'll hit the store this afternoon. Prolly a nice steak for me, and "Chicken With A Handle" (drumsticks) for her.

Ok, time for pics of the inaugural steak and chick on Bird's new grill. Get-R-Done!

I need a new grill. Been using my charbroil I got from my dad for 2 years. and he had it for 4 before I got it. It's getting rusty. All the wood is starting to weather. I love it though. 2 burners makes it difficult to get nice down and slow. But, I find if I use 3rd rack I get some flexibility out of it. Meh, maybe it'll keep going through this season then I'll think about one next year. 350 isn't a bad price for a nice grill with everything you want.

I've got the Charbroil grill Bobby posted. It's a great grill; held up for about 3 years now with no signs of rust, etc. Get a good quality cover, keep it out of the elements, and do routine maintenance; it'll last 10 years.

In my experience, it's hard to get this grill REALLY hot when I want to do steaks. It has those fat type of round "bar" grates, made of stainless....which makes a thick grill mark. One VERY important thing to note about gas grills, though......they invariably have hot and cold spots. This particular grill is real hot on the back row, and not hot enough on the front. This will really define how effectively you can use the grill. You will probably run into this problem with all grills. FWIW, Ducane is made by Weber

Lastly, the cast iron smoker box works great. It'll take a while to get it heated enough to begin smoking, though.....BM suggested the foil pouch, which is probably quicker....you only need that one burst of smoke to get the flavor...so why wait?

ScubaSteve said:

One VERY important thing to note about gas grills, though......they invariably have hot and cold spots. You will probably run into this problem with all grills.

Lastly, the cast iron smoker box works great. It'll take a while to get it heated enough to begin smoking, though.....

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I think gas grills have moved backwards in this regard...the early models used a bed of lava rocks over the burner to even out the heat. At some point (and probably for cost savings) the rocks were replaced with sheet metal "tents" to diffuse the heat. They claim it's an improvement, but I have my doubts.

My inexpensive Char-Broil was purchased in 2001, and came with the sheet metal "flavorizer" bars. I hated it, the heat was incredibly uneven and every steak I cooked had well-done spots and rare spots. To get anything to cook evenly, I had to keep it moving constantly.

A few years later, I was cleaning the grill out and noticed the firebox had ledges in the casting to support a rock grate...probably a vestigial leftover from an earlier design. I tossed the heat tent assembly, bought an appropriately sized rock grate and lined it with those pyramid shaped ceramic briquettes. What a difference! It takes a few minutes longer to heat up, but now the heat is quite even...not perfect, but quite manageable. I've been very happy with the grill ever since.

Once a year, I toss those briquettes into a bucket full of oxyclean for an over night soak, rinse thoroughly, and return them to the grill. Half an hour or so on high, and they are clean, completely dry and ready to go.

My smoker box is actually made of steel, and cost $1.50 on Amazon several years ago. It heats up fast, and puts out copious amounts of smoke in just a few minutes. When I'm through (I dump the spent chips) which are now hardwood charcoal, into my bucket of lump.

I'll have to re-read the instructions; I'm pretty sure that they strongly recommended against using lava rocks, but maybe that's just because there isn't a way to support them.

Just cooked up some chicken for The Bean and I last night, I'll grab some steaks for tonight now that The Wife is back home. No pictures, she had the camera. Not sure if I made this clear, this is my first foray into using a propane grill, so I'm still getting the lay of the land, so to speak - figuring out how to manage temperatures and whatnot. In any case, even slightly over-cooked chicken tastes 8000x better cooked over a grill than cooked in the oven!

swmbo asking me what kind of grill I want for Christmas. I told her I'd rather have a brew structure but if she insists on buying me/us a grill. I'm pretty sure I want either the Weber Spirit 310 or the Weber Genesis 310, It's a $50-$100 difference depending on where you buy it. What other companies stand up to weber's quality? I swore I'd never buy anything other than weber again but figured I better look into comparable grills.