OT Gas Grills

[Jen841]

I used to be really up on grills (worked in grill Customer Service as a summer job during college.) Now I know nothing! Thinking of getting a Weber. Our 6 year old Charbroil died due to high winds and age. Any feedback? Deals? Advise?

Thanks!

[mudder17]

LOL, we're in a similar situation. We're eyeing a Weber we saw at Home Depot, but mostly because I have $150 in gift cards coming for HD. The best time of year to get grills is probably at the beginning of winter, though, so we've missed that already. We could try to wait until next year, but our other one is definitely cooking unevenly at this point. One thing you might want to check on is that the heating elements (or whatever it is that you call those things that spread the heat) are fairly hardy. One of the problems with our current grill is that those things rusted out. Anyway, I'm going to watch this thread in hopes of getting some hints and suggestions. :)

Eileen

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[bostonsmama]

We were able to get quite the steal last year at the end of season, but by then it was a stress headache trying to find ANY retailer who still had grills in stock. It was nearly divine intervention that we found the exact grill we wanted at 60% off in the back stock room of an out-of-town Kmart. We had called 22 other HD's, Sears, kmarts and BJs to no avail, so I really don't recommend waiting til the end of season like we did. LOL!

Weber makes great grills, although the good models are quite spendy. I believe the one Consumer Reports gushed on was somewhere around $450-800 (Weber Silver Genesis), which is 2-4 times the price of comparable models. We chose a CR Best Buy and top pic, the Fiesta Optima Pro. I believe it is sold at Home Deport, Sears, Kmart, BJs, Tru-Value, and select grocery stores like Publix and Kroger--although at the latter 2 I've never seen them. We have the 45055B: http://www.fiestagasgrills.com/grills/optima/04.html

It has great eveness of cooking, lots of features, a fantastic warranty-life on casting, 5yrs burner/grates-- and we really enjoyed cooking all fall (from Oct to Dec and just recently this week when it warmed up). The side burner is especially handy for boiling corn on the cob or heating up the marinating liquid to re-brush onto food. We esp like the side burner for deep frying so the greasy mess & fire hazard stays outside. Anyways, that's my rec.

[galvjen]

We have a basic Vermont Castings from a local fireplace/outdoor kitchen store. The brass burner has a 25 year warranty. The grate is very durable and also has a decent warranty. This is summer #4 and it still works like new -- even cooking -- hot enough to cook steak and cool enough to not burn fish. We're very pleased with it.

[geochick]

We were in the market for a new gas grill last summer. After TONS of research, we ended up with a Weber. We found so much good press about Weber that we ended up with a Weber charcoal grill too. We're definitely Weber fans (boo Charbroil!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! - our Charbroil before that lasted a whole 4 months - it couldn't be fixed because they decided not to make that part anymore and Universal parts don't fit Charbroil - what a waste of several hundred dollars).

Here's a good review for you:
http://www.consumersearch.com/www/sports_and_leisure/gas-grill-reviews/index.html

[thomma]

Love our Weber! It's 5 years old and in excellent condition. We had to replace a few parts last summer. We ordered the parts through Weber. They were easy to deal with and replacing the parts was a piece of cake. (at least that's what dh said! :) )

Kim
ds&dd 5/03

[Jen841]

Thank you! Now to find a good deal. I was calling hardware stores a month + ago and they told me they don't really go on sale and never on clearance.

[geochick]

Check Amazon. We found a deal on ours last year...even w/ shipping.

[DebbieJ]

We have a Weber Genesis Silver that is going great after 6+ years of heavy use. We used to live in CA and grilled 4-5 times a week. All we've done in that time is replaced the grates and flavorizer bars, which you can find replacement parts for. :)

I just saw in my Ace Hardware circular that Weber has a new line--not sure if it's the Genesis redesigned or what, but they looked nice.

You can't go wrong with a Weber. They also have great recipes on their website.

~ deb
DS born at home 12/03
Breastfeeding After Reduction is possible! www.bfar.org

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[zuzu]

Another vote for Weber. Ours has lasted well, and cooks beautifully. We bought it this time of year so weren't able to get it on sale, but did use a % off coupon at The Great Indoors. We had a smaller gas Weber before that that we had used for eight or nine years that was still in great condition; we just wanted one with a larger cooking area.

[mudder17]

I just wanted to post that we did finally find a grill that we liked. We actually wanted to get the $600 Weber at Home Depot (with our gift cards), but it turns out that model has a recall on it. Apparently there is something wrong with the gas line and while they will replace the part for free, Home Depot wouldn't sell it to us. They also had a $400 Weber, but it wasn't in stock. We called around and they had the $400 Weber in stock at another place, so we went there and it turns out they had last year's Weber Genesis on clearance for $200!!! So we bought that one and a cover and instead of paying $500 (+ gift cards) for a grill and cover, we got last year's Weber Genesis plus cover for around $100. :)

I guess it goes to show that you should call around the various stores to see if they have anything on clearance since obviously what is on clearance will vary from store to store. Thanks to those of you who chimed in on the grills.


Eileen

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[Jen841]

Good for you! I may make some calls tonight. Do you by chance have the model number of what you found? My chance in the Philly area?

Thanks,
Jen