Alot are cheap in cost and dont last. Weber is good, there are of course better but you pay. Consumer Reports rated quite a few of them, go online. For good quality units find a store that carries higher end units only. Price is a big factor in quality,
Any of the better brands will have a good setup. I have a VC series Vermont Castings with SS burner tubes and SS flavorizer bars. Holding up well after about five trouble free years.
Much of the grates is personal preference. I have a heavy cast iron with porcelain coating. plain CI is prone to rust.
Go to a propane dealer or a store that specializes in outdoor furniture for the better brands to choose from. Make a list of what is important to you. Rotisserie with infrared burner? Wood chip box? Side burner?
We like our three burner Weber. Important features to me include fuel guage (by weight, or line guage) thermometer, flavorizer bars (keep the drippings off the burners), resistance to corrosion (we are on the coast). St Steel will not cook better but s.s. key parts last much longer. Had I to do it over, I would buy St steel flav. bars and st steel body, plus heavy cast iron grill (cooks more evenly) vs current stamped-sheetiron porcelained grill.
So ... I'm looking at all the nice new shiny gas grills (LP, that is) out there ... and wow, there's a *lot* of choices. Been a long time since I've bought one of these things.
Let's see .....
Burners: Stainless Steel vs. Cast Iron vs. Brass vs. Aluminum (I think) ..... what's better, and why?
Splash Shields / Flavorizer Bars: Some of the burners have them, some don't. Why? Does it really matter?
Cooking Grates: Stainless Steel vs. Porcelain over something vs. Enamel over something What's better, and why?
Lava Rocks and other ceramic / cement briquettes seem to have gone the way of the dodo bird. Is the "new" model just cooking directly over the burner?
Firebox? What do you look for?
Thanks ... Phil
Wellll..... about five years ago I needed an LP gas grill for a weekend party I was hosting at a friend's beach house. My plan was to 'donate' the grill to my friend after the party was over.
I considered buying a high-end grill with stainless steel, etc., but after thinking about how rough the salt air was on anything metal I decided on a lower priced cast aluminum grill with porcelain cooking racks. I recall it was a Char-Broil that I bought at HD. My expectation was that my friend would throw it away after a year, maybe two at most.
We had a party last night at his house and the grill is still going strong. He has to light it with a match because the ignitor quit a couple of years ago, but with two sets of new cooking grills over five years, it was a bargain at about $250. It still gets used about once a week, and he cleans it out a couple of times a year with engine degreaser and a wire brush.
Hope this helps.
If you want to cook chickens on a rotissarie be sure to get the back burner. I can put a bird on and forget it. You get a golden brown bird back in an hour or so with no fires. Roll it in lemon pepper spice first and you got ya something. You can also do a great job on hot dogs brats etc if you get a rotissarie basket. I can put a pack in there, turn it on and 20 minutes later they come out just like the ones on the roiller grill at the 7-11. Put a smoke pack over a burner on the side for extra flavor.
-Frank
I'd also recommend getting a natural gas grill if you have gas heat. Once the line is run, you never have to fool around with LP tanks again.
of course, if you want to move it, you're out of luck. (or have a large expense)
I've thought about NatG for the grill... and decided against it.
I do love my LP grill... no muss, no fuss. I've run through ~120 lbs of gas on my current one. It was bought in July of 1998. We use it year round. (though, ironically... we're out of gas at the moment. ;) I do need to replace the vapor plate at some point. but the ignitor still works. (usually. ;)
Absolutely ditto on the natural gas. By fool around with LP tanks I assume you include having to puchase the new style, safer, blah, blah, tanks whenever the vendors need a shot of green in their wallets.
I wouldn't own an LP barbeque ever again. If I need to transport a barbeque somewhere for an event then it's charcoal, mesquite or grape stump wood.
The one I bought can burn charcoal or gas grill. its pretty nice but I have seen some at costco that were stainless so they wont rust out.
the important thing is to have more than 2 burners
4 would be very nice. it allows you to turn off the middle burners so you can cook with indirect heat. its good for cooking large roasts and turkeys without them burningHomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.