# Insane in the propane -- help me buy a gas grill.
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/insane-in-the-propane-help-me-buy-a-gas-grill/408473
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion
**Created:** [June 18, 2007, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/insane-in-the-propane-help-me-buy-a-gas-grill/408473 "2007-06-18T15:51:49Z")
**Posts on this page:** 17
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Emilio\_Lizardo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Emilio_Lizardo)
#### Post date: [June 18, 2007, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/insane-in-the-propane-help-me-buy-a-gas-grill/408473/1 "2007-06-18T15:51:49Z")
Due to a combination of contrariness, Ludditism, and just plain stubbornness I have always been a charcoal guy when it comes to grilling. However, my kids are getting older, I’m hosting more get-togethers, and I have a South African living with me who misses her braai. So I’m going to break down and buy a propane grill. That being said, I have no idea what features to look for. I’d like to spend less than $400. How many BTU do I need? Is a side burner really usefull? Do you like your grill? Should I just run a way screaming and declare myself a vegetarian?
---
### Author:  [@Phlosphr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phlosphr)
#### Post date: [June 18, 2007, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/insane-in-the-propane-help-me-buy-a-gas-grill/408473/2 "2007-06-18T16:04:36Z")
As a man who takes grilling very seriously, I think you need to visit the best grilling website in the universe.
In plain English, [Buy a Weber](http://www.weber.com/bbq/)
They have models in your price range.
---
### Author:  [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)
#### Post date: [June 18, 2007, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/insane-in-the-propane-help-me-buy-a-gas-grill/408473/3 "2007-06-18T16:14:28Z")
While Weber has a better site, Char-Broil is more than an acceptable substitute (just broke in my new four-burner behemoth this weekend). I preferred the Char-Broil over the similar Weber because of burner arrangement. As you face the grill, the Weber’s burners went side-to-side, which I found much more difficult for isolating hot and warm zones. The Char-Broil are front to back, much easier IMO to work with cuts of meat that need slower cooking. Also, my Char-Broil has cast-iron grates, where the Weber (my previous grill) had porcelain-coated cast iron. Both perfectly acceptable, and IMO both better than stainless steel grates. Char-Broil makes a line for Lowes called the Commercial Series - that’s where we got ours. When I opened it up to put it together and found the main unit dented, Lowes came right out with a new unit and put it together. Plus, they left the grates on the original behind, so know I have a spare set of grates.
Really, you can’t go wrong with either brand, or a Kenmore grill. Don’t forget the invites once you start cooking!
ETA: For me, the side burner is useful for reducing marinades or sauces to be used on the grilled items. Not necessary, but can be helpful.
---
### Author:  [@Phlosphr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phlosphr)
#### Post date: [June 18, 2007, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/insane-in-the-propane-help-me-buy-a-gas-grill/408473/4 "2007-06-18T16:26:50Z")
**D-Odds** has a well respected point about the use of cast iron grates. I ordered mine special, I didn’t want the porceline…They are simply better than the stainless [yeah right] grates from _ **The Other Brand** _. I have nothing at all against Char-Broil units, they are a fine grilling machine as well. I am just set in my ways with the weber.
I also find the side burner good for Corn or lobsters or stew’s in the autumn…
---
### Author:  [@phungi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phungi)
#### Post date: [June 18, 2007, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/insane-in-the-propane-help-me-buy-a-gas-grill/408473/5 "2007-06-18T16:30:08Z")
Agreed: Buy a Weber.
I thought it was CRAZY to spend $400-500 on a grille… that was 10 years ago. My Weber still lights every time I push the ignition button, and it still cooks as good as the day I purchased it. I replaced the flavor bars 1x in 10 years and the grates are still clean and in good shape. Perhaps the best purchase I made when I bought my house…
---
### Author:  [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)
#### Post date: [June 18, 2007, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/insane-in-the-propane-help-me-buy-a-gas-grill/408473/6 "2007-06-18T16:58:55Z")
As for BTUs, get the maximum in your budget. That will help you get the beautifully seared but rare interior on your steaks. Pay more attention to main cooking area than total cooking area, if you are comparing models. Total will include things like the warming rack or side burner. Buy the rotisserie to go with it. Grills are great for roasts.
---
### Author:  [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)
#### Post date: [June 18, 2007, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/insane-in-the-propane-help-me-buy-a-gas-grill/408473/7 "2007-06-18T18:06:42Z")
My vote would be stick to charcoal, but if you must go gas, get a Weber.
---
### Author:  [@Lamar\_Mundane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamar_Mundane)
#### Post date: [June 18, 2007, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/insane-in-the-propane-help-me-buy-a-gas-grill/408473/8 "2007-06-18T19:59:39Z")
[QUOTE=Rick]
My vote would be stick to charcoal, but if you must go gas, get a Weber.
[/QUOTE]
Charcoal is overrated. Besides being expensive, it’s basically an artificial product - shredded wood and coal reconstituted with binders and accelerants and other ingredients to make sure it burns evenly, etc. You get a much cleaner heat with propane. To get the smoky wood flavor, buy some mesquite chips and soak them for a while, then put them in a foil pouch and set it on the back of the grill.
I have a Weber and love it, but as long as the grill is sturdy, I dont think there is too much of a difference between brands.
---
### Author:  [@Like\_Fry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Like_Fry)
#### Post date: [June 18, 2007, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/insane-in-the-propane-help-me-buy-a-gas-grill/408473/9 "2007-06-18T20:40:24Z")
I must also add, though it has kind of been stated already. No matter what grill you get, make sure the grate for grilling is thick, like the cast iron ones, but thicker is better.
Fry
---
### Author:  [@DWMarch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DWMarch)
#### Post date: [June 19, 2007, 10:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/insane-in-the-propane-help-me-buy-a-gas-grill/408473/10 "2007-06-19T10:25:38Z")
I have nothing to add to the discussion except to say best thread title ever!
---
### Author:  [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)
#### Post date: [June 19, 2007, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/insane-in-the-propane-help-me-buy-a-gas-grill/408473/11 "2007-06-19T12:17:41Z")
[QUOTE=Lamar Mundane]
Charcoal is overrated. Besides being expensive, it’s basically an artificial product - shredded wood and coal reconstituted with binders and accelerants and other ingredients to make sure it burns evenly, etc. You get a much cleaner heat with propane. To get the smoky wood flavor, buy some mesquite chips and soak them for a while, then put them in a foil pouch and set it on the back of the grill.
I have a Weber and love it, but as long as the grill is sturdy, I dont think there is too much of a difference between brands.
[/QUOTE]
No I said [charcoal](http://www.nakedwhiz.com/lumpdatabase/lumpbag58.htm#contents) not briquettes.
I would also note that people that cook on gas spend lots of time and effort to try and get their food to taste like it was cooked over charcoal. People that cook over charcoal do not spend any time trying to make it taste like it was cooked over gas.
This should tell you something.
---
### Author:  [@DoctorJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DoctorJ)
#### Post date: [June 19, 2007, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/insane-in-the-propane-help-me-buy-a-gas-grill/408473/12 "2007-06-19T12:57:37Z")
I am on my sixth season with a Weber Genesis, the two-burner model that I don’t think they make anymore. We use it 4-5x a week from March through October, and occasionally in the winter. It could use new grates, and it’s starting to develop some hot and cold spots, but it still cooks like a dream.
The Weber Genesis models won the _Cook’s Illustrated_ test, along with a Jenn-Air grill that was much more expensive. That was four years ago, though.
---
### Author:  [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)
#### Post date: [June 19, 2007, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/insane-in-the-propane-help-me-buy-a-gas-grill/408473/13 "2007-06-19T13:22:09Z")
Check the Sears and K-Mart flyers in your Sunday supplements for Kenmore grills. For under $200 (I think the one I bought earlier this year was $169.99) you can get one with the side burner that you can use for regular stove-top cooking. (I doubt I’ll use that in the course of normal grilling, but it might come in handy in the next major power outage.) If you don’t want the side burner, you should be able to get a respectable Kenmore grill in the $120-150 range.
[QUOTE=Rick]
No I said [charcoal](http://www.nakedwhiz.com/lumpdatabase/lumpbag58.htm#contents) not briquettes.
[/quote]
I think you’re too late on that one. ‘Charcoal’ long ago came to mean ‘charcoal briquettes’ to most people, at least in the U.S.
> [@](#):
>
> I would also note that people that cook on gas spend lots of time and effort to try and get their food to taste like it was cooked over charcoal.
I guess some do. Up until my mid-40s, I only grilled over charcoal. Ever since, I’ve used a gas grill. AFAICT, the taste is just as good, and the cleanup’s _way_ easier.
---
### Author:  [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)
#### Post date: [June 19, 2007, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/insane-in-the-propane-help-me-buy-a-gas-grill/408473/14 "2007-06-19T14:16:50Z")
I had a porcelain coated grate and after a couple years the little breaks in the porcelain added up to rust and more degrading. The cast iron will likely last much longer than the rest of the grill.
---
### Author:  [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)
#### Post date: [June 19, 2007, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/insane-in-the-propane-help-me-buy-a-gas-grill/408473/15 "2007-06-19T14:22:30Z")
[QUOTE=Harmonious Discord]
I had a porcelain coated grate and after a couple years the little breaks in the porcelain added up to rust and more degrading. The cast iron will likely last much longer than the rest of the grill.
[/QUOTE]
On my old Weber, I had to replace the porcelain-coated grate twice, or about every 3 years. My newer, bigger Char-Broil is cast iron. In two uses since getting it, it already gives better char marks, but we’ll have to see how longevity is.
---
### Author:  [@Like\_Fry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Like_Fry)
#### Post date: [June 19, 2007, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/insane-in-the-propane-help-me-buy-a-gas-grill/408473/16 "2007-06-19T16:42:08Z")
On a side note, I see a number of folks have mentioned Kenmore as well as weber and charbroil. If you do a little research, you can find a kenmore made by charbroil or weber. Also, if you have a sears parts/repair center nearby they should still have coupon booklets available (ask), these tended to have 10% off coupons within(I fairly sure as I worked at one for 4 years, but, I am not 100% as I havent been in one in 3 years).
Just thought I could help someone save some money.
Fry
---
### Author:  [@krisolov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/krisolov)
#### Post date: [June 19, 2007, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/insane-in-the-propane-help-me-buy-a-gas-grill/408473/17 "2007-06-19T23:57:56Z")
I picked up a low end grill at one of those chain barbecue stores about 5 years ago. Cast iron grills and a cast iron griddle plate, 3 burners in an arrangement that I can easily regulate the heat from one side of the grill to the other for about $350 or so. I have only recently had to replace the iron burner elements, and that’s because I don’t take particularly good care of the grill. The piezo sparker to ignite the gas still works also.
I think you can find some value at those specialty stores if you know what’s important. I think cast iron grills, good heat management across the grill (for smoking, indirect cooking) and availability of spare parts are all things to consider. I use my grill a lot, and I expect parts like burner elements, drip trays and lava rock trays to need to be replaced every 3-4 years or so.