Need a new propane grill

[catmandu1999]

So the fairly good deal four burner Char-broil with limited lifetime burner replacement (ie you get one) is close to dead. Went on the Interwebs to find a forum to ask what should I get now, and dang if Google didn't send me here, a place I am already a member!

I grill year-round, even in freezing weather, with propane (throw the hair dryer next to the tank to keep it flowing). Mostly boneless skinless chicken breasts, fish, steaks, and burgers for no more than four people. I know, I know, I should really up my game, but it is hard enough to find time to brew given everything else going on in my life.

Recently I have gotten into doing steaks via the sous vide method for convenience, which really requires a good sear on the grill at the highest heat I can get to finish the process. So I am looking for something not too big that can blast a bunch of BTU's for a short time over one square foot. That is my primary objective right now.

We are in the 'downsizing' mode of life, so probably only need something that can get me through four years or so. Less than $500 would be nice.

Suggestions?

 

[b-boy]

one word - 'Weber'.

 

[bfish]

yup Weber

 

[NSMikeD]

I own 6 different weber grills/smokers, but I've done the math and it's cheaper to buy a loaded cheap chinese 4 burner with a side burner from Home Depot every 5 years (term of the warranty).

That being said, Webers are works of art, have the best customer service and are made in the USA



Regardless of what you buy, the best investment will be the cover.

 

[Homercidal]

I've owned the same Charbroil grill for I don't know how many years. I've replaced the burners several times. The burner cover at least twice. I've had to pull the pan together with a steel clamp assembly to take the bow out of it so the grates didn't drop down in on one side. The grates are now pretty rusty.

Worst part was the burners themselves. They were a LONG U shape running in from the side. Pretty unusual and for some reason always had a hot area on the right side. I always had to deal with that.

Last year I priced Weber and ended up making due one more year. This year I intended to buy Weber, but man, that price! Luckily I found a Brinkmann Grand Gourmet on the side of the road by my sister's house. Looked to be in good shape, so I took it home. Only have to replace the burners, gas crossovers, and install a steel plate in the back where it's rusted away. Probably less than $50 to get it back to working order. And it's stainless, so it still looks pretty decent on the outside.

Don't be a ******* like me. Go buy a Weber and take care of it. Or buy a cheapo model and start replacing parts in a few years. if you go ElCheapo, at least try to find a decent stainless one that doesn't look too bad when the insides rot away!

 

[NickTheGreat]

I'd definitely go Weber. Mine is 6 years old now and looks like new, except for the grease! :

Mine is the Genesis line with the sear burner and side burner (unnecessary) and was over $700. IIRC. But I would have probably had at least 3 cheapo ones in the meantime.

I'd really check out Craigslist for a spell. Used Webers are always there. You'll probably need to replace the flavorizer bars on top of the burners, which are fairly cheap. Worst case, the grates, which are not cheap.

 

[JONNYROTTEN]

Another Weber vote here. Mines been going for like 10 years. I called with a question and in the same phone call I got a new lid and burners for free....Amazing customer service and a quality product. Plus Home Depot sells all sorts of replacement parts that makes things so easy

 

[BrewSomeMore]

Weber. Cooks evenly and will last many many years. No hassle.

 

[CGVT]

I have a Weber Q-1200. It uses the little propane tanks, but you can get a hose to use the large tanks too.

It is great for what you describe and is easy to move around so you could put it in your garage in the winter (open the door) to get out of the elements.

 

[JONNYROTTEN]

A side note with the Weber.
Mine is an older Genisis I believe. They used to be American made and solid heavy metal. Now there made in China.
Apparently you need to buy there higher end grill to get the same metal (quality) as the old standard grill and the standard grill is now the same quality as there lower end "silver" something brand.
The new lid they gave me is much lighter than the lid it replaced. I confirmed it by weighing both lids.

Just like everything else quality is being replaced by China junk

 

[TimmyWit]

I'm happy with my Weber as well. But, don't mess with that for your sous vide steak. You gotta try the "afterburner method"

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KwYieHXMZUo[/ame]

In short, you put it on a grate over a charcoal chimney to finish it. I like to go 20 seconds, rotate 90 degrees, 20 seconds, flip, 20 seconds, rotate 90 degrees, 20 seconds, done. Best steak you'll ever have!

 

[TheDudeLebowski]

I've had a Weber for over 10 years. I bought a cover and used it the first two years. It's been unprotected and covered in feet of snow and there were some years I almost used it everyday during the winter. Not even worrying to brush off the snow. Just light it up and melt. Three years ago a huge ice dam fell off the roof and landed on the Weber. The grill had absolutely not a hint of damage. The deck it was sitting on was destroyed. The bottom shelf is starting to rust out but I found it well worth the money. I think the only thing I had to replace on it was the regulator. That's the durability. The quality on the cooking has been superb.

 

[b-boy]

My old weber lasted close to 20 years. I never had to replace a part. The only problem I had was the starter. I put it by the curb, and someone picked it up. It's probably still being used.

My new Weber is about 5 years old. It was picked up during a heavy wind storm and thrown across my driveway. The cover acted like a sail. It did 2 full flips and landed on it's face. I thought it was a goner. I had to replace the control knobs, and it has a small dent on one of the doors, but it still works like a champ.

 

[Homercidal]

I looked at my Charbroil sideways once and had to replace the handle. The 1" dowel I made to put there lasted longer than the original...

 

[catmandu1999]

Alrighty then. I will watch the Craigslist for a Weber. Right now there is a Summit for $300 listed, but two hours away, so I will hold tight.

In the meantime, Dad has requested Lamb Chops and Tenderloin steaks for Easter dinner when he visits, so I will try the afterburner method. Picked up a Weber chimney for $9 and a cast iron grate for $10 from Wally World today. :rockin:

Almost 20 years from my last REAL afterburner lighting, God I am getting old!

 

[NSMikeD]

if you have the chimney, go all charcoal The Weber 22" one touch grill will last forever and runs $150. I find that I can get the one touch with the chimney starter ready to grill in the time it takes to get a propane ready. Using lump, like Royal Oak, will cut the ashes by more that half.

Plus, I highly recommend the two temperature zone for meats (charcoal on one side of the grill) . Look up the reverse sear. Pretty much the same concept of sous vide - cook the meat evenly low and slow over the cool side, and then finish hot and fast over the coals.

This is important for the lamp chops - they are loaded with fat and better to render some of that off on the cool side before moving to the coals which will flair up and produce off flavors otherwie.

I could go on and on about the pros of the weber charcoal. But at $150 - you are cooking while you shop of a bargain used weber propane (which don't go on sale that often since most folks hold on to them for life.)

My Summit Series C (the four burner stainless steel weber) gathered dust for years after I picked up my weber charcoal.

Meanwhile, I'd breakdown the One touch and put it in the back of the SUV to the beach or camping. LOL - in parks where campfires had to be contained, we'd take off the legs and use the base as a fire pit.

 

[betarhoalphadelta]

I know you said propane, and that's probably largely from ease of use and cleanup. That said, getting a good propane grill that can sear sous vide is hard... A large propane grill (suitable for most cooking) will have trouble getting really good heat for searing.

I'd recommend a few options:

1) Afterburner method already described. This is charcoal (messy), but it'll be cheap and easy compared to other charcoal grills. And it'll sear darn well.
2) A small woodfired searing grill with a fan like the Cook-Air. Fuel usage will be minimal and if you're just looking for a really hot searing station, it'll do the trick. The fan gives you enough airflow to get it HOT HOT HOT.
3) A propane-fired tool like a searzall.

If you wanted a "one grill does all" thing, I'd recommend a kamado. But the ease of use of lump charcoal suffers compared to propane, and unless you go with a metal kamado like the Akorn, you're way beyond your $500 price range.

But it seems to me that your optimal solution given your constraints are a gasser for all your normal cooking, and then a dedicated searing solution, whichever of the above 3 methods you prefer.

 

[hio3791]

Weber. I have 3 Webers and I love each one.

My propane one is 14yrs old and still going strong. I use it year-round, in rain/snow/sun/deep freeze/whatever. Never failed me. I keep it covered but I give it a good scrub every spring and it still looks great. I have replaced the grates and flavorizer bars twice as they'll rust over time.

 

[Dcpcooks]

To get the best sear you will need high heat and easy transfer of energy. I use cast iron pans for my sear on anything sous vide at home and work. You can just put it on the grill.

 

[bolus14]

While agree that some of the "cheaper" Weber's are lower quality than years ago, they're still much better than the char-broil or store brands. And, yes you could buy 2 or 3 of the cheapo's over the next 8-10 yrs for the same cost as a Weber, the quality of the cooking isn't as good.

Weber's are works of art and if you know how to use them the food quality matches.

 

[Jim311]

It's definitely out of your price range but the Weber Genesis has a "sear zone" for just such situations. I paid way too much for mine but damn if I don't love it. I got the stainless version too for longevity. The charcoal method posted above works well too, nothing sears a steak quite like that!

 

[NickTheGreat]

It's definitely out of your price range but the Weber Genesis has a "sear zone" for just such situations. I paid way too much for mine but damn if I don't love it. I got the stainless version too for longevity. The charcoal method posted above works well too, nothing sears a steak quite like that!

Mine has that too, and I also paid too much for it, as I don't use it as much as I thought. It also forced me to buy the side burner which I never use.

But damn does it get hot!

 

[Jim311]

I kinda like the side burner, but I cook outdoors on the patio a whole lot. I warm up veggies or even make fries and stuff on the side burner. I wish it had more power though, it doesn't put out enough heat.


I kinda wonder if a banjo burner type patio stove wouldn't absolutely sear the crap out of a steak and do it for a lot less than most options for the OP.

 

[ACbrewer]

I don't know your time frame for purchasing.... but for anyone looking to buy, grills are generally least expensive in the fall. Which is info about 6 months out of date (either way)

 

[Hoppy2bmerry]

3 years ago I bought a $199 mostly stainless grill from homedepot with 4 burners a searing burner and a rotisserie burner. Very happy with it and they should be available around that price again soon. The ocean air wreaks havoc on most grills I've had in the past, so I'm not inclined to spend for a Weber for that reason. This grill is serving my needs just fine. To me It's a little like telling a photographer that their camera takes good images. A good cook can prepare good food with any reasonable equipment. A photographer's skill in composition is more important than the bells and whistles of the camera.

 

[Redtab78]

I have been using a side by side grill where one is gas, and the other side is charcoal for almost 5 years with absolutely 0 issues. Covered during the winter, mostly uncovered in the summer in rainey Washington state ....i think the brand is brinkmann, it was $299 at home depot, and it replaced a weber genesis that i paid almost $600 for.......never will buy a weber again after my experiance with that damn thing.

 

[jrgtr42]

We've got a Weber as well - in our case the Spirit 310. We also grill year round (including in a blizzard...) and have not had a problem.
Lower price point that the Genesis, we thought the trade offs were worth it. (not worth the increase)
No side burner, which is perfectly fine.
It does get plenty hot - just hit 2 burners at full tilt for 15 or 20 minutes and you're good to go.

 

[catmandu1999]

Success!

Sorta guessed at when to slap meat on the afterburner setup tonight. Lots of meat to sear with such a small surface area, but it worked. Dad bought the meat, so I did not get to prep / size it the way I would want, but it worked. IMHO, the lamb chops were the best, but the tenderloins did not suck. My son says, "Best sear yet on sous vide stuff!" and the leftover tenderloin will head back to college with my daughter to get thrown into eggs and onto sandwiches.

Thanks to all for the help, I'll figure out a propane solution someday.

Now, on to find a farmhouse ale recipe for a late summer event . . .

 

[drgonzo2k2]

Just tossing out another vote for the Weber. We've had the Weber Genesis E-330 for a few years now and absolutely love it.

Before that we'd just to go Home Depot whenever the last cheap-o grill we'd purchased finally crapped out and buy whatever cheap-o one happened to be on sale at the time. This was an experiment to see how long a "good grill" would last. So far we're extremely happy.

The sear zone is perfect for what you want to do with your steaks, and it also helps get things super hot to clean the grill as well. We also use the side burner all the time. I like to put a wok on it and cook up a mess of mushrooms, onions, and peppers for when we do fajitas.

 

[TimmyWit]

Success!

Sorta guessed at when to slap meat on the afterburner setup tonight. Lots of meat to sear with such a small surface area, but it worked. Dad bought the meat, so I did not get to prep / size it the way I would want, but it worked. IMHO, the lamb chops were the best, but the tenderloins did not suck. My son says, "Best sear yet on sous vide stuff!" and the leftover tenderloin will head back to college with my daughter to get thrown into eggs and onto sandwiches.

Thanks to all for the help, I'll figure out a propane solution someday.

Now, on to find a farmhouse ale recipe for a late summer event . . .

Glad to hear it worked out! Since you're downsizing, you might appreciate the versatility of a pellet grill if you ever decide you want to add a smoker to the mix. A few months ago I picked up a pellet grill to replace my old bullet smoker and now I'm finding that I use it for practically everything and my propane grill is getting less and less use. I can hold a pork butt overnight at 200F, smoke sausages without any fear of flare-ups, grill burgers at 400F. Just one more choice to consider since it sounds like you're going to stew on it for a while

 

[bkboiler]

bought a once used medium weber kettle coal grill for $40 on CL. the chimney afterburner method does make great steaks, i can attest!!
if u grill year round tho i can understand the need for propane....even in socal starting the coals in the winter is a pain...

 

[betarhoalphadelta]

Glad to hear it worked out! Since you're downsizing, you might appreciate the versatility of a pellet grill if you ever decide you want to add a smoker to the mix. A few months ago I picked up a pellet grill to replace my old bullet smoker and now I'm finding that I use it for practically everything and my propane grill is getting less and less use. I can hold a pork butt overnight at 200F, smoke sausages without any fear of flare-ups, grill burgers at 400F. Just one more choice to consider since it sounds like you're going to stew on it for a while

When I was in the grill buying arena 2 years ago, I was looking for a single "do it all" grill. My gasser was nearly dead, so I needed something that could cook absolutely anything and everything I wanted.

I was looking at both the kamado and the pellet grills. Both had their advantages, and both had their disadvantages. I liked the kamado for versatility, I liked the pellet for ease of use.

I ended up going with Kamado Joe Big Joe (and later a Joe Jr) because there's basically nothing you can't do with it. Smoke, grill, bake, sear, it'll do it all. And at the time, I figured "hey, I homebrew, I will clearly sacrifice ease of use for versatility."

I'm still very happy with the purchase(s). The Joe Jr makes for a great weeknight grill for something simple like burgers, fish, or as a searing station for sous vide. The Big Joe has plenty of capacity and it's awesome for smoking.

But I'm finding myself ever more wanting to add to the stable, because the hassle of dealing with charcoal *every* time I want to grill is getting to me. I was thinking of a gasser just for convenience, but I think a pellet grill might be just as convenient and a lot more versatile in itself. Given that I can get a Green Mountain Grill Daniel Boone model (the bigger one) for only $600, I think that might be on my shopping list this summer.

After I buy a Big JoeTisserie, of course

Edit: Scratch that, the Jim Bowie is the bigger GMG. Still not too expensive relative to other (weber) grills...

 

[TimmyWit]

When I was in the grill buying arena 2 years ago, I was looking for a single "do it all" grill. My gasser was nearly dead, so I needed something that could cook absolutely anything and everything I wanted.

I was looking at both the kamado and the pellet grills. Both had their advantages, and both had their disadvantages. I liked the kamado for versatility, I liked the pellet for ease of use.

I ended up going with Kamado Joe Big Joe (and later a Joe Jr) because there's basically nothing you can't do with it. Smoke, grill, bake, sear, it'll do it all. And at the time, I figured "hey, I homebrew, I will clearly sacrifice ease of use for versatility."

I'm still very happy with the purchase(s). The Joe Jr makes for a great weeknight grill for something simple like burgers, fish, or as a searing station for sous vide. The Big Joe has plenty of capacity and it's awesome for smoking.

But I'm finding myself ever more wanting to add to the stable, because the hassle of dealing with charcoal *every* time I want to grill is getting to me. I was thinking of a gasser just for convenience, but I think a pellet grill might be just as convenient and a lot more versatile in itself. Given that I can get a Green Mountain Grill Daniel Boone model (the bigger one) for only $600, I think that might be on my shopping list this summer.

After I buy a Big JoeTisserie, of course

Edit: Scratch that, the Jim Bowie is the bigger GMG. Still not too expensive relative to other (weber) grills...

I think you nailed it! I always thought I would replace my Weber bullet with a Kamodo. But, after digging into the pellet grills, I decided to go that route for the very reason you mentioned; ease of use. I ended up getting a Mak 1-Star. I'm really happy with it especially for overnight cooks like pulled pork. Being able to crank it up to 400 and do burgers with a heat shield catching the grease was an added bonus that I didn't even consider when I bought it. But, I don't think those amazing looking pizza's that come off of the Kamado are a possibility with the pellet grill.

 

[vanishingpint]

I have recently checked out the Char Griller double play. One side is gas and one side is charcoal. They seem pretty heavily built and you can add on a side fire chamber to make it a smoker. For 249 at Home Depot it looks like a solid unit. Since I do gas and charcoal about 50 50 it might be my next purchase. Also after burner is the only way to go with sous vide.

 

[NickTheGreat]

I have recently checked out the Char Griller double play. One side is gas and one side is charcoal. They seem pretty heavily built and you can add on a side fire chamber to make it a smoker. For 249 at Home Depot it looks like a solid unit. Since I do gas and charcoal about 50 50 it might be my next purchase. Also after burner is the only way to go with sous vide.

It's funny because I stumbled on a blog posting about that very case last night.

http://gizmodo.com/5923283/how-i-got-at-least-2000-worth-of-grill-for-540

Spoiler alert, he didn't end up going that direction.

 

[Hammy71]

I've had my Weber of about 5 years. Yes the price is scary....but I use my grills a lot. All year. The grill owes me nothing. Well worth the money and I can guarantee that it has actually saved me money since I was buying a cheap grill every two years. 5 years in and looks and works like new.

 

[mikeasu]

I ended up going with Kamado Joe Big Joe (and later a Joe Jr) because there's basically nothing you can't do with it. Smoke, grill, bake, sear, it'll do it all. And at the time, I figured "hey, I homebrew, I will clearly sacrifice ease of use for versatility."

I'm sold on the ceramic grills too - my in-laws from PA bought me a BGE as a housewarming present for moving us from AZ to MD, they have a BGE of their own. Never had a good way to suggest the Kamado instead. Regardless, love cooking with it, whether direct heat for steaks, or low and slow for pork or chicken. Still need to try a brisket though.

 

[HopGobbler]

I love my Chrarbroil Professional Series, best grill I've ever owned, got it at Lowes for around $400

 

[Jim311]

^ I had the same one for about 5 years. It was a good grill during that time but at the end the grates rusted out, it was on it's 2nd set of burners, one of the valves behind the knobs failed, and the floor of it was almost rusted through. Still, I paid 275 bucks for mine so it wasn't too terrible.

 

[applescrap]

Just got a 10 yo weber for 80 used. It is amazing. Get an old weber and save the money for steaks.