Buying propane grill...

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Elizabeth_C34
Elizabeth_C34 Posts: 6,376 Member
in Chit-Chat
Hi all!

My husband and I have our 2 year anniversary coming, and we'd like to get a big propane grill for our patio as a joint gift to each other, something we will both really enjoy.

I love to cook, and I have a very nice Weber charcoal grill and a smoker (arriving TOMORROW!!), but we were wondering if any of you guys have some good input on what is a good or bad propane grill. We want at least 6 burners, and it has to be durable to heavy use, easy to clean and maintain, and cooks evenly.

Budget is $400.

Thanks in advance!

Replies

  • Elizabeth_C34
    Elizabeth_C34 Posts: 6,376 Member
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    bump?
  • saxmaniac
    saxmaniac Posts: 1,133 Member
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    6 burners for $400? There's a lot of cheap grills out there these days that stink.

    For $400 I'd go for the Weber Spirit. But it's not that much to step up to the 3-burner Genesis... the cast-iron grates make a huge difference.
  • ImpishScoundrel
    ImpishScoundrel Posts: 49
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    Being a hardcore long time griller, I always look for cast bronze burners for durability and longevity. Propane is caustic and eats just about everything else.
  • Elizabeth_C34
    Elizabeth_C34 Posts: 6,376 Member
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    Being a hardcore long time griller, I always look for cast bronze burners for durability and longevity. Propane is caustic and eats just about everything else.

    This is what I needed to know. I just want to know what is a good quality reliable grill and what components it needs to satisfy those requirements.

    I'm okay with stretching the budget a bit to get a better grill.
  • LuckyLeprechaun
    LuckyLeprechaun Posts: 6,296 Member
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    Even with heavy use (nearly daily) it takes about 2-3 years before the propane eats thru the metal. When it does, we just get a new grill insert replacement from Home Depot.
  • Briski1411
    Briski1411 Posts: 296 Member
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    Charcoal will give you more flavor and you can always add things like hickory to charcoal to change the flavor. If your truly hard core you will enjoy ussing your Charcoal grill/smoker better. However if you are cramped for time and it's just a few of you the gas grill will work great.

    Gas grills are extremely convient. They heat up fast and cook pretty good to plus they are easy to clean. 6 burners sounds like a pretty big one mine only has 4 burners and it is plenty big for a fimly of 4. But this is America and bigger is better as a general rule. Just be aware it might take longer to heat up and ofcourse it will use more gas.
  • Elizabeth_C34
    Elizabeth_C34 Posts: 6,376 Member
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    Charcoal will give you more flavor and you can always add things like hickory to charcoal to change the flavor. If your truly hard core you will enjoy ussing your Charcoal grill/smoker better. However if you are cramped for time and it's just a few of you the gas grill will work great.

    Gas grills are extremely convient. They heat up fast and cook pretty good to plus they are easy to clean. 6 burners sounds like a pretty big one mine only has 4 burners and it is plenty big for a fimly of 4. But this is America and bigger is better as a general rule. Just be aware it might take longer to heat up and ofcourse it will use more gas.

    Thanks!

    I have a charcoal grill now, and the reason I want 6 burners is because we sometimes have big parties at the house, and I cannot grill enough on a small grill for everyone. It would be nice to have the ability to put out a lot of food on the grill.
  • ImpishScoundrel
    ImpishScoundrel Posts: 49
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    This one doesn't look too bad, especially considering it's from Wallymart:

    http://www.walmart.com/ip/Uniflame-48-000-BTU-4-Burner-Stainless-Steel-Gas-Grill-LP/5280784

    After doing a bit of looking, cast bronze is getting really hard to find. Cast brass is just as good though.

    This is what I use right now:

    http://www.gandermountain.com/modperl/product/details.cgi?pdesc=Smoke-Hollow-Tri-Mate-Model-47180T-Gas/Charcoal-Grill/Smoker&i=438114&aID=505C2D&merchID=4006

    Granted, it has the stainless burners, which I abhor, but I primarily use the smoker on the right side. Which, by the way, I absolutely adore. Nothing better than a nice pork butt or beef brisket slow smoked for 12 hours.
  • Elizabeth_C34
    Elizabeth_C34 Posts: 6,376 Member
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    This one doesn't look too bad, especially considering it's from Wallymart:

    http://www.walmart.com/ip/Uniflame-48-000-BTU-4-Burner-Stainless-Steel-Gas-Grill-LP/5280784

    After doing a bit of looking, cast bronze is getting really hard to find. Cast brass is just as good though.

    This is what I use right now:

    http://www.gandermountain.com/modperl/product/details.cgi?pdesc=Smoke-Hollow-Tri-Mate-Model-47180T-Gas/Charcoal-Grill/Smoker&i=438114&aID=505C2D&merchID=4006

    Granted, it has the stainless burners, which I abhor, but I primarily use the smoker on the right side. Which, by the way, I absolutely adore. Nothing better than a nice pork butt or beef brisket slow smoked for 12 hours.

    Thank you so much! I'll take a look at these.

    My smoker is arriving tomorrow, and I fully plan on throwing something in there this weekend. Haven't decided what yet. Thinking about ribs!
  • saxmaniac
    saxmaniac Posts: 1,133 Member
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    I have a charcoal grill now, and the reason I want 6 burners is because we sometimes have big parties at the house, and I cannot grill enough on a small grill for everyone. It would be nice to have the ability to put out a lot of food on the grill.

    Might want to go more by total grilling area, not burner count. Our 3-burner has a big enough area to feed parties upwards of 30 people.
  • Elizabeth_C34
    Elizabeth_C34 Posts: 6,376 Member
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    I have a charcoal grill now, and the reason I want 6 burners is because we sometimes have big parties at the house, and I cannot grill enough on a small grill for everyone. It would be nice to have the ability to put out a lot of food on the grill.

    Might want to go more by total grilling area, not burner count. Our 3-burner has a big enough area to feed parties upwards of 30 people.

    That would work also.
  • misanthropist319
    misanthropist319 Posts: 151
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    I prefer a grill that is hooked up to the natural gas line that also supplies the house. It's what I grew up with and now that I have a propane grill, I really miss it. We bought our grill in 2009 and it still works fine. The ignitor button doesn't work but we just use a lighter instead. Our grill has three burners plus an additional burner on the side (for a pot) and I think it was only 200-ish. We've used it for parties and never had any complaints from people waiting for food; it cooks a lot at once. I grill year round, rain or shine. Practically any meat we eat at my house is grilled.
  • saxmaniac
    saxmaniac Posts: 1,133 Member
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    That would work also.

    I have a Genesis E-310, 507 sq on bottom, 130 on the warming rack. That's about as small as I'd go if you have guests regularly. Anything bigger would take over our deck, and probably be overkill for family dinners.
  • Elizabeth_C34
    Elizabeth_C34 Posts: 6,376 Member
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    My husband and I went out to Home Depot last night looking at some of the Weber grills. We decided to get the Weber Genesis (3 burner). We're going to pick it up tonight. I think it will be plenty big for entertaining our parties, especially combined with the smoker and my Weber charcoal grill. We ended up spending more than our original budget, but I think it was worth it to get a quality grill. 6 burner might be too much, and will certainly destroy our budget if we get the quality we really want.

    I really appreciate all the help I got in this thread. I didn't know to get cast iron grates and burners so that knowledge alone was extremely helpful.

    Thanks again!
  • saxmaniac
    saxmaniac Posts: 1,133 Member
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    You are gonna love it.

    The grates take a small bit of maintenance to avoid rust, but it's totally worth it. Season the grates by coating both sides with vegetable oil, and run at a very high temperature until it is glossy black. You may need 2 coats at first.

    When they get nasty, pop them into your oven, run a cleaning cycle. They'll come out looking brand new, and start over with seasoning them.

    The gas grill is our workhorse. Now I want a smoker...
  • Elizabeth_C34
    Elizabeth_C34 Posts: 6,376 Member
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    Thanks!

    I will do that.

    My smoker arrives today. I got some cedar planks so I'm thinking of smoking some salmon this weekend. I need to throw a party so I can use my new grill and smoker at the same time. LOL
  • ScottyNoHotty
    ScottyNoHotty Posts: 1,954 Member
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    Call down to Strickland and talk to Hank.....
  • Elizabeth_C34
    Elizabeth_C34 Posts: 6,376 Member
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    Call down to Strickland and talk to Hank.....

    funny-celebrity-pictures-pimpin-and-propane.jpg

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