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Grills

MakiSupaStar

MakiSupaStar

The Lowdown Diggler
Apr 12, 2006
25,881
317
Huntington Beach, CA
www.myspace.com
#1
So my main barbecue gave up the ghost this summer. It's been about a month now and I'm really missing the grill. I also lost my little hibachi this last camping trip I took as well. It just pretty much disintegrated. So I'm grill-less. So I need some advice for getting rid of the old one, and I need some advise on brands/models to check out as a replacement. I'm looking for a gas grill. Yeah, I know, it's not optimal in the opinion of the purists, but I've found I don't grill as much with them, but with my gas grill, I grill 2-3 nights a week year round. Also, has anyone built their own? I'm considering constructing one in my backyard.
 
#8
All I have been able to gather is that the money you spend counts when it comes to grills. My parents have had a makers brand (Sams Club) grill for the past 9 years. It has worked for the most part really well, but it needs to be cleaned and the holes on the burners re drilled every year. Kinda sucks, but it keeps going.

Dont get something with a **** ton of bells and whistles if you know your only gonna use them once in a blue moon. They wont make up for the difference in price, and the usually only half do the job anyways. A straight up good lighting grill with a good thermometer works the best.
 
#9
I will tell you the trick to grilling more often with Charcoal, the charcoal chimney.

All you have to do is put the charcoal in and crumple two full sheets of newspaper in the bottom. These things are the best application of physics ;)

They only take a few minutes to get the coals going and your food never has the chance of tasting like lighter fluid as none is used. I don't have a backyard at my apartment so I only wind up grilling once a week at my girlfriends, but as soon as I have a backyard I will definitely grill a couple times a week.
 
#10
If you're going gas, I'd recommend a Weber... they do some great grills. The Genesis are the pretty standard line... mine's going on ten years but will be replaced soon purely due to weather.

I'd recommend Stainless Steel over Porcelain any day though.
 
#11
I appreciate the coal purist sentiments. I've been there. For years, it's all I grilled with, but as I got busier with life and such, I found myself not grilling very often. After I switched to gas, I found myself grilling much more frequently. So for that reason alone, I'm not in the market for a coal grill.

I'll start looking into some webbers today.

Anyone have any recommendations on how to get rid of an old dirty barbecue?
 
#12
I bought a Kenmore a number of years ago and am very happy with it.

Just buy a decent brand with a good heat rating and good grilles (thick) that wont rust or need replacing. I didn't find much difference between "heating plates" or "brickets" With either it does need to be cleaned which should be part of it's regular maintenance.

I also recommend buying an assembled one. The better ones can be easy, but still time consuming.
 
#14
I have this one...http://www.weber.com/explore/grills/spirit-series/spirit-e-310

I've had it for about 3 years now, and use it frequently. So far, I have had zero issues.

As far as getting rid of the old one, try leaving it on your curb and see if it disappears. In my 'hood, anything metal will be picked up by the local scrap scavengers very quickly. Alternately, your trash company might pick it up if you call/email them. Our trash company will do 2 free large item pick-ups per year.
 
#15
Dude, build one of these around a stainless BBQ body. I agree, skip the porcelain coated jobbies and stay stainless.

I have a nice Char-Broil "Infra-red" model that is a few yars old now, and still looks new (save for the graphics that have worn off) but the body and frame and grilling surfaces have held up VERY well.

The before mentioned Weber Genesis holds up VERY well.

Thing you need to consider with some generic / big box store house brands is the "universal-ness" of the fittings, like for burner elements and stuff. It's never the box that wears out, it's the frame and the flame elements. I bought a "Charm Glow" Home Depot house-brand grill that lasted 6 years before the elements finally rotted completely, and when I went to replace them, you could not find an element rebuild kit that would suitably fit the form factor of the box, due to the original orientation of the burners...and if I ordered a set (since of course they were discontinued) it would have cost almost as much as the grill to replace 2 huge elements vs. the regular 3. Hence the Char-Broil.
 
#17
Kamado dude! I've been living out of my big green egg for the last week. It's ready to go about ten or fifteen minutes after lighting it, and it does EVERYTHING! I really want to try chocolate chip cookies on it. The eggheads on the interwebz say they're the bomb!
 
#18
It's not cheap, but the Turbo line by BBQ's Galore will last for YEARS if taken care of. I have the basic 3-burner and it's a workhorse!

We have it built into a small cinder block and tiled-over grill stand. Tank underneath with a simple wooden door for access.
 
#19
I purchased an inexpensive gas grill I really like by Char-Broil. I paid $249 for it at an end of the year grill sale a few years ago. I had to assemble it but everything else like it was $400-$500. I spent 2 hours and a few beers putting it together one weekend.

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