Grills

Who has them and what do you have. I have some grill from lowes that I got 4 years ago replaced the burners once already. Looking for our next grill. Looking for recomendations. Have considered the Holland grill, the Big green egg, weber. Anyone have any of these or others?



Thanks in advance, Eric

I have a Weber I bought from Lowe's last summer. I was on my 3rd Char-Broil ... and each one had been rebuilt 2 or 3 times. With all the money I wasted on that junk, I could've bought 2 Webers!

The Weber is miles ahead of those cheap Sears & Wal-Mart units that rot out in a year. Parts are much heavier, & better quality. No drip angle to rot out. The best part is the multi-spark ignitor. Instead of pushing in a noisy "snap" ignitor, you gently press a button ... and as long as you hold it in, it keeps sparking about 3 times per second. It's battery operated -- a AA battery is inside the button itself. MUCH better ... and it actually works! I can't tell you how often I had to dismantle those Char-Broil grills to try to get the ignitor to work again.

Exterior is pretty tough too .... as I found out after stabbing the throttle to pass this douche that was doing 20 mph in a 35 .... and the grill wasn't strapped down correctly. Only a small dent.

I forget the website but i was reading up on those pellet grills. They are very pricey, use a food grade wood pellet and can do everything from smoking to cooking. If i had a extra grand laying around, i might think of getting one. We have a Lowes end of season special gas grill, going on 4 years, if it makes it through this year. Also bought one of those red electric smokers on clearance, wife loves it. For this year a new in the box propane smoker. Little more adjustable than the electric one.

One name, Weber. They aren't cheap but you get what you pay for.

If you look at a Weber you'll notice some very important things. The first and probably most important is the heavy cast body and lid. Inside above the burners is angled plates, this protects the burners form stuff falling and better distributes the heat. Both of these attributes provide a better grilling "experience". When you get into the more expensive models they have 3 burners and the grates are either SS or cast. If you buy a Weber and take reasonably good care of it you don't need to buy another grill. Even the burners will last a considerably long time. My brother purchased one new about 5 years ago, even the ignition still works great.....

We've gone the other direction in a Weber charcoal grill. For me ya just can't beat the taste of charcoal, chunk wood variety, not that instant light crap. Bought my father in law a Big Green Egg for Christmas past. Can't wait to try the food cooked in that baby.

The BGE cookers aren't cheap but the savings in charcoal make up the difference. Then again a good LP grill isn't inexpensive either last time I looked.

I was always under the impression that it took too long to get charcoal ready. Bought one of those charcoal furnace thingies and touch it off with a paper towel and some cooking oil. By the time the hamburg patties are formed and half a drink is gone, the charcoal is ready. When done cooking close off the vents top and bottom and still have charcoal for the next time.

Smitty and Richard, are the webers as goods as they used to be? SInce lowes stated selling them I have been scared. I have seen it with john deere tractors and others that now sell at lowes. I have always liked the webers, know people that have had them for years very well built. just a little nervous now.

Mozz, I have seen those treager pellet grills very nice. My uncle saw one in action at rough and tumble steam/hit and miss enginge show. He said it was awesome and the food coming off it was great. So I wouldn't rule one of them out.

Cabinover, Let me know what your father thinks of the BGE. I have talked to a few people that have them and said the will make the most juicy food of any grill and you have great control of the temp. SInce it is enclosed ceramic you can grill in a blizzard . Like you said though the charcoal thing always seemed like a pain, but those charcoal starters do work well.


Anyone else, anyone have a holland or know anyone that does?



Eric

The biggest difference I see is in using regular lump charcoal. It has no petroleum to help it get started, just charred wood. Therefore you don't have to wait for all the nasties to burn off and the stuff to get grey, you can cook on partially unburnt charcoal with no adverse effects. It also adds a little bit of smoke flavor to your food.

I'd bet the difference between LP and charcoal heatup is no more than 5 minutes longer with charcoal. And the last time I checked LP fillups were like $12-16.00 depending on where you went. That's crazy for a couple gallons that always seem to run out in the middle of cooking that roast.

All the instructions say to use "Food Grade" pellet fuel in the pellet grills but do we use food grade charcoal ?

Think about that? I suppose some pellet manufactures may use recycled product and some of that may be less clean than others - Is charcoal made from all virgin base material ?

I will still have a ton and a half or Fuel Grade pellets left after this season and I hope to strike some sort of drug deal with my dealer - exchanging Baby Boiler ( a Traeger ) for a Traeger pellet grill

Food grade pellets aren't any cheaper than propane - but you do get the smell of the various flavors they come in.

Coalfire wrote:Smitty and Richard, are the webers as goods as they used to be? SInce lowes stated selling them I have been scared. I have seen it with john deere tractors and others that now sell at lowes. I have always liked the webers, know people that have had them for years very well built. just a little nervous now.

The only one I can really compare too is one my cousin bought about 15 years ago. Seems to be the same... If you look at any of them side by side you can see how well built the webers are. That cast body stands out.

Sting wrote:All the instructions say to use "Food Grade" pellet fuel in the pellet grills but do we use food grade charcoal ?

I'd imagine the concern is what is happening during the processing, storage etc. If you're going to burn for heat you're really not worried about oils and other chemicals that might make there way into the pellets. If a big glob of grease falls in it who cares? Probably wouldn't taste so good on a burger.

I have owned a Holland piped to Natural gas for about 10 years now, they replaced the steel top for an aluminum one and it is still like new. These grills take a little longer to season, but work well. My neighbor has a Big Green egg, the food taste much better, but its less convienient than the Holland.

Bk

Just replaced my 14yr old weber with another one yesterday from home depot, free assembly included. Never had to replace a single part on the old one but it was time for a new one. My motto is if you don't buy a weber don't buy a grill!

Rich

Wasn't it Henry Ford that invented charcoal?
I have the cheapest $100 no-name brand propane grill I could find at HD
When I was fixing this place up and living with no bathroom and no kitchen, that grill supplemented my camp stove I was using!
I have been too cheap to get another bottle of propane, the first one lasted over a year.
Another spring cleaning task, revive the grill....I haven't used it in months.

cabinover wrote:We've gone the other direction in a Weber charcoal grill. For me ya just can't beat the taste of charcoal, chunk wood variety, not that instant light crap. Bought my father in law a Big Green Egg for Christmas past. Can't wait to try the food cooked in that baby.

The BGE cookers aren't cheap but the savings in charcoal make up the difference. Then again a good LP grill isn't inexpensive either last time I looked.

I was always under the impression that it took too long to get charcoal ready. Bought one of those charcoal furnace thingies and touch it off with a paper towel and some cooking oil. By the time the hamburg patties are formed and half a drink is gone, the charcoal is ready. When done cooking close off the vents top and bottom and still have charcoal for the next time.

BINGO! I have a Weber Performer with the gas ignition. It uses the fat 1 lb. disposable bottles. The older version used 5 lb. refilable bottles. I like the looks of the older version, but it had a stainless steel work surface/charcoal bin cover that scratched up quickly and looked bad then.

I only use natural lump charcoal and most of the time just leave the charcoal baskets in the grill as it makes for quicker lighting and less consumption when grilling smaller amounts. It really does heat up almost as fast as gas.

I also have a "BBQ Baffle" which used to be available on bbqbaffle.com, but I see they aren't around anymore. It was inexpensive and worked fabulously to turn your kettle into a smoker. I've made outstanding ribs, brisket, and butt on my grill. It's not as "set and forget" as a dedicated smoker, but works well.

I'll never own a gas grill.....but if I did, it would be a Weber. Best bang for the buck. There are some spectacular grills out there, but $$$$$$$.

I have a Jenn-Air gas grill. They were sold by Lowe's a couple of years ago. Nice unit, cooks well, all stainless steel, solid brass gas outlets that will never burn up or rust. Should last me till I'm dead any way.....