Armed Polite Society
Main Forums => The Roundtable => Topic started by: Hutch on July 03, 2011, 01:43:25 PM
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Friends, my "Char-Broil Commercial" (yeah, right) gas grill, bought from Lowe's ~ 5 - 6 years ago, and used once or twice a week in all seasons, is about spent. The raceways or galleys or whatever you call the piping for the gas inside the grill are rusting/leaking, and they appear to be of a piece with the framework, which is to say, not an FRU.
I bought this one at Lowe's thinking it would be useful far longer than it turned out to be. My grill location is outdoors (duh) but under a generous roof overhang. I don't cover it. I routinely cook meats with a salty marinade. I don't really like the lava rock or ceramic biscuit design, but could be convinced. I can spend a fair amount of money on this (prefer to keep it to 3 digits, but have some leeway). I'm tempted to start buying cheapest damned 2-burner grill I can find and throw it away every year or two. I think it'd cost less in the long run, because I've spending 4x - 5x the minimum price, but only got 4 or 5 good years out of it. I'd like to hear y'all's opinion/suggestions.
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Not a gas grill....quick thread drift....but I bought a "Big Green Egg." Absolutely geeky, yuppy, expensive suburban product, but it really is worth every penny I spent.
Take a look at it.
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Nope. Sorry. Gas grill.
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Where are you?
I've got an old Weber that someone gave me before they died. The cart frame is falling apart but AFAIK the grill is fine. I tried to give it away once but they left it behind at our place.
We just never got into the habit of grilling so I never bothered with fixing the frame.
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I have one of the lower price point Weber gas grills (Genesis?). The coated grill surface and coated "flaverizers" eventually rusted out. The burner is 8 years old, no issues. I replaced the rusted out grilling surface with the stainless replacements. When the flavorizers rusted out I did the same, replaced with stainless.
If you can swing getting a Weber that comes stock with stainless do that, if not the nice thing about this grill is parts are readily available.
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That's funny... well, not really funny... but I was looking at that same grill on the lowe's website to replace the one that was destroyed in our shed fire....
And started seeing the same pattern in the reviews as what you're describing...
So I looked at SWMBO and said, "Back to the drawing board!!!!"
We're now considering building our own brick charcoal and gas grills.....
We'll see....
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weber uses steel plates instead of rocks. all i have for gas cookery. :laugh:
oh, and there's a competitor (http://www.primogrill.com) to BGE that makes a really big oval modal if anyone was holding off because of the size. :facepalm: oh, and some really nice looking tile modals (http://www.kamado.com/) to. wanted one a long time, but ain't no way. :laugh:
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Best of both worlds. A buddy has this one and loves it.
http://www.homedepot.com/Outdoors-Grills-Grill-Accessories-Propane-Grills/h_d1/N-5yc1vZbxah/R-202664595/h_d2/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053
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I have a 20+ year old Weber Genesis. Rusted out grill and bars was replaced with stainless steel. I occasionally have to take the flame rods out and clean out spider webs and so forth. An occasional bolt falls out of the cart. Work surface was some kind of soft wood. Replaced with plastic lumber and all is well. It has needed maintenance over the years but it still does a fine job.
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Another Weber Genesis here. One thing I started this year was only using 2/3 of it for food and putting a tray with mesquite chips and water between the flavorizer bars and the grill on the other 1/3rd.
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Heretics All!
This is the only proper fuel for outdoor cooking
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A pox on your propane!
=D
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unless you're cutting your own wood, ready made charcoal (http://www.nakedwhiz.com/lumpindexpage.htm?bag) will save you a fortune. ;) and it's more consistent. =D still need some wood of course, just less.
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My parents, who always swore they would never use a charcoal grill, recently bought an egg knockoff after seeing their relative's. It's amazing, but it's a little different. It's easy to get the food juicy because it's almost an oven/steaming effect. However it's hard to sear the food if you happen to want that.
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unless you're cutting your own wood, ready made charcoal (http://www.nakedwhiz.com/lumpindexpage.htm?bag) will save you a fortune. ;) and it's more consistent. =D still need some wood of course, just less.
Doesn't everyone have 3-4 acres of hardwood available to harvest for cooking ???
=D =D
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I've owned one of the larger gas grills before, but I think this will be my next one....
http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1v/R-202222545/h_d2/ProductDisplay?storeId=10051&keyword=Paul+jr.&jspStoreDir=hdus&Nu=P_PARENT_ID&selectedCatgry=SEARCH+ALL&navFlow=3&catalogId=10053&langId=-1&ddkey=Search (http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1v/R-202222545/h_d2/ProductDisplay?storeId=10051&keyword=Paul+jr.&jspStoreDir=hdus&Nu=P_PARENT_ID&selectedCatgry=SEARCH+ALL&navFlow=3&catalogId=10053&langId=-1&ddkey=Search)
....easier to move around and carry places....and the interchangeable grill/griddle plates make fajita-making a breeze.....
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Replace it with another Charbroil.
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Ducane, will outlast the cockroaches. I've had mine over ten years and use it six to eight times a month all year long. It still cooks like new.
If I had the time and wood that would be what I'd be using, second choice is the Ducane.
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Doesn't everyone have 3-4 acres of hardwood available to harvest for cooking ???
=D =D
lol, no. and if i did i would still be using charcoal for the base fuel. same stuff, just easier to carry use and cheaper. =) if you didn't click the link you should, this ain't coal oil and wood scraps (http://www.kingsford.com/products/details/kingsford-original-charcoal/). :laugh: that "stuff" is for indirect cooking. =|
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Weber is probably your best bet.
Look, charcoal is fine if you know you are going to be grilling and have the time to devote to it. But when I come home from 8 or 12 hours of hard, long work, and I want couple of burgers or a steak, I want it NOW and not waiting forever for a charcoal grill to get up to proper temp, etc. Gas grill? I'm ready to cook in 5 mins and it still tastes pretty good.
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Avenger has the right of it. A gas grill is a kitchen tool. Grilling over charcoal is an event, and a labor of love and beer. Not interchangable.
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I have a Weber Spirit gas grill, and a classic Weber One-Touch silver charcoal grill that has been in the family since 1989. Gas is for high heat and fast cooks, charcoal is for low and slow. Both are very much worth what you pay.
I had two Char Broil grills before I jumped to the Weber. The difference is night and day. And, I don't have stainless grates, I have cast iron, and I wouldn't trade them for the world. yeah, they take a little work to maintain, but the way they cook makes them worth the work. As for the flavor bars, i don't mind having to replace them every three or four years. A lot cheaper than buying a new Char Broil that often.
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ironically you can only hit the real high heat with charcoal. as in for black and blue steaks
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Doesn't everyone have 3-4 acres of hardwood available to harvest for cooking ???
=D =D
When I return from Kuwait next year maybe I will hit you up for a truckload or two. =D
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ironically you can only hit the real high heat with charcoal. as in for black and blue steaks
My Weber Spirit, with all three burners on high, gets up to around 800 degrees in about 15 minutes. My wife likes her steaks charred on the outside and red on the inside (warm at most). Throw a steak on about 3-4 minutes per side, and she's a happy lady.
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lol, no. and if i did i would still be using charcoal for the base fuel. same stuff, just easier to carry use and cheaper. =) if you didn't click the link you should, this ain't coal oil and wood scraps (http://www.kingsford.com/products/details/kingsford-original-charcoal/). :laugh: that "stuff" is for indirect cooking. =|
no coal oil in Kingsford. http://old.cbbqa.org/wood/Kingsford.html
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lol, no. and if i did i would still be using charcoal for the base fuel. same stuff, just easier to carry use and cheaper. if you didn't click the link you should, this ain't coal oil and wood scraps. that "stuff" is for indirect cooking.
no coal oil in Kingsford. http://old.cbbqa.org/wood/Kingsford.html
Nothing wrong with the old kingsford briquettes.
I've tried the charcoal scraps type charcoal, its a bit more difficult to get good consistancy (heat) than the briquettes.
For Gas, I have a Weber. Its not anywhere near as good as cooking over charcoal, but for a gas grill its very nice. I haved it on my patio and cook year round on it- sometimes I have to shovel it out in the winter.
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that's right, Kingsford (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RjFNAKugkv0) uses anthracite coal (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthracite) aka mineral carbon. :angel: sorry about that. =( the stuff is great for cooking in a dutch oven, etc. and ok for "grilling" a hamburger and some hotdogs.(the Anthony joke is to low, even for me :laugh:) but to me, it's just not hot enough. ;) and for longer cooking times, i start tasting coal in the food. if you like that, it doesn't bother me, just don't invite me over for supper. =D
the other stuff has some drawbacks, but then every thing does. gas is to wet, wood can be to wet, and is expensive, heavy to haul to the cooking site, and slow to get into action, electric can be to dry, to wet, and has a tendency to cut out right when you needed it. lump pops, takes some experience/technique or time to get going, can be costly, doesn't like getting wet, can spontaneously burst into flames(if you're storing rail cars full and it gets wet) etc.
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Weber hibachi I bought from Target is still in use 9 years later. Perfect for two, any more and it would be hard pressed to keep up. Drawback: It uses those little bitty LPG (or whatever it is) canisters.
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Weber hibachi I bought from Target is still in use 9 years later. Perfect for two, any more and it would be hard pressed to keep up. Drawback: It uses those little bitty LPG (or whatever it is) canisters.
I've got a grill that uses those. There are both adapter hoses for the big tanks available and adapters available to fill the small cylinders.
I take a small grill to work with me often to grill my lunch and that's how I keep my fuel economical.
(and yes, it's totally awesome that I'm grilling up hot, fresh burgers or a steak in the time that it takes my coworkers to run to town and grab some lame fast food burgers)