I’ve got a Weber propane gas grill that needs some new parts and I’m considering replacement rather than repair.
Has anyone got experience with the “infrared” models such as the Charbroil Red series or the Charbroil Quantum?
I mostly grill steaks and pork steaks with occasional forays into chicken or fish. I have a smoker, so being able to smoke on the new grill is not an issue or requirement.
You tales of success, or failure, are welcome.
I’m not much of a gas grill guy, but a friend of mine just bought one of those, and he loves it. Says its the best grill he’s ever cooked on - and he does a TON of grilling.
I’m convinced that charcoal is the best for grilling, but gas is just so darn convenient that it’s hard to pass up. I’ll be retired next Spring, so maybe then I’ll use the charcoal grill more often. But it’s sure nice to come home and turn a valve and be ready to cook in just a few minutes.
Which one does your friend have? The Red or the Quantum?
He got the Red.
Thanks.
I’ve been looking at the Char Broil website and am surprised that there’s no side by side comparison of the Red and Quantum units. It appears that the two mainly differ in amount of stainless steel.
My Weber is 12 years old, and I have replaced the “flavor bars” twice and the grates once… still on the original burners and igniter, and still cooks great… my vote is “replacement parts”
Mine’s in the same age range, and it would certainly be cheaper, but I’m kind of wanting a new grill. Maybe common sense will kick in. 
I got the 4-burner Char-Broil infrared grill last Father’s day (Lowes had a 20%-off sale). Ended up returning it. Yes, despite taking several hours to assemble it, I took another couple to take it down.
In the store I was sold on the infrared magik and the thought of super-high temperatures and insanely good steaks. Inside, I use the heat-the-cast-iron-on-high-for-fifteen-minutes-before-cooking method. The promise of being able to do that outside was pretty alluring.
I had two problems with it. First, the infrared plates meant I couldn’t see the flame. One of the pluses of gas is temperature control, and I don’t like being visually disconnected from the actual source. The knobs are marked, but that wasn’t quite enough. The plates also retained heat (duh), which is great for some things, but not if I want to make quicker adjustments.
Much of that is psychological and related to how I cook, so YMMV.
The second problem was that its temperature gauges were off. I have an infrared thermometer that reported temperatures far below what the built-in thermometers were reporting. I coudl have made mental adjustments and whatnot, but it really took the umph out of the whole Super Hot Unicorn Loving Infrared Happiness vibe I was initially sold on.
So eventually it went back. Very glad I did, but that was situational. See, I got it on Father’s Day, it went back about a month later, and I’d called beforehand to ask if they’d re-extend the same 20% discount. They’re choices were a bit slimmer, it being closer to the end of the season, and they were trying to get rid of their inventory. They had floor model of another grill marked down considerably, which with the discount got us an amazing unit for a fraction of the cost–ended up with a Blue Flame i-Que. The new one has one of the best features imaginable. Tank monitor? Nah. Thermometer-based temperature control? Nope. Rotisserie burner? Nice, but no. … It’s got an on-grill bottle opener. 
I did look at my Consumer Report magazine from June 09 and they rated the Blue Ember grill pretty high. So you made a good choice.
Doesn’t have the infrared though, and I think that’s one thing I want.
Or maybe just some new flavorizer bars fr the Weber. I’ll bet I can get those puppies for about $50.
I have a 4-burner Charbroil Red that I got last year and I love it. It’s got plenty of surface area and the temp is very even across the whole thing. It doesn’t get up to steak house-level searing heats, but it gets high enough for me. It’s easy to clean, and easy to throw some wood chips in for extra smoke. Rotisserie attachment works like a charm.
The only problem I’ve had is that fatty foods and some sauces will flare up in the troughs. Usually I just blow on the flare up for a second and it will go out, but not always, so if you’re doing something fatty or dripping with sauce, stay alert.
Just replaced my bars, grid & ignitor on my Weber Genesis Silver - ordered all the parts via Amazon - set me back $100 (went with the stainless bars & cooking grid). The grill is 15 years old and this was the 2nd time each have been replaced, but the first time I upgraded to stainless.
Love the grill - would do it again in a heart beat.
Infrared? Somebody fill me in - I didn’t see an explanation at the Charbroil site.
There’s not a good explanation on the site, but here’s my take on it. And if I’m incorrect someone please correct me.
Most gas grills heat the air and lava rocks or perhaps flavorizer bars in the case of many Weber grills. The hot air and heat from the flavorizer bars cook the food.
With an infrared unit the flame heats a steel sheet, or in earlier models a ceramic plate. The radiation from the hot surface, infrared radiation, cooks the food. Somehow the heated surface is supposed to get hotter than the flame can heat the air and food in the non-infrared models. Not sure how this happens. A gas flame is a certain temperature, so it seems to me that the heated surface can’t be any hotter. But maybe the infrared radiation transfers to the food more effectively that the flame heated hot air. Could that be it? I’d welcome a better explanation.
I have the Quantum, and it’s about a year and a half old. I’m not happy with it any more, although it was pretty slick at first.
Those steel sheets collect crud, which blocks the holes and makes it difficult to cook. They’re a pain to take out and clean and now the grill pieces are coming apart when we do it.
So we decided to replace them with regular cast iron grates. That’s not going so well either. The flames are farther from the grill surface than in a normal open grill, so I can’t get it searing hot. My husband is going to make another steel sheet surface, one with bigger holes, to go under the new cast iron. And he has to weld a couple of brackets to hold them more firmly in place, as they’re a little smaller than the originals. How’s your welding? You might need it with this grill.
Of course, I grill all year long, several times a week. If you use yours less often, it might last you longer before you get completely frustrated with it.
I have a Kenmore gas grill. So why am I posting in this? I also have an old steel and coated griddle cover for the Jenn-Air grill we had in our last house. I can lay this on top of the grills, turn it to high and close the lid, and the thing gets super hot in no time. Burgers, steaks, etc. sear beautifully. Or you could just use a cast iron pan, for that matter. Beats paying a lot of money for something of dubious benefit.
New consumer reports magazine came yesterday with an update on their grill test from last month (June). They still rate the Red pretty high. Didn’t see any Quantums in the list at all. There’s a HD right near my grocery store where I’ll stop and take a look tonight. Maybe they’re on sale for Father’s Day?
I should just cave and buy new flavorizer bars for mine. I know it’s the best economically.
The thing about replacing parts is that it’s your grill. Before we went with the new one our olllllld Char-broil was, well, olllllllld. And cheap – as in it was a low-end grill to begin with. After about fifteen years and two or three rounds of replacing various internal bits, it was time to go. It was sad, actually. Maybe I antropomorphise too much (way too much), but she was there for so much goodness and so many great times it was sad to lay her to rest. And uneven heating and other problems were non-existant; I knew the surfaces too well.
Sorry for this post … just got a bit of smoke in my eye, that’s all.