New Grill

[lostattxstate]

Just bought a new house, and my Father in law said he would buy us a grill for a house warming present. I'm thinking price range 300-400, because I dont see him getting me one nicer than his. I had my eye on the Webber Performer, I've always liked charcoal, but I've been thinking of just getting a nice gas grill, and adding a smoker to my side patio when funds allow. What would yall suggest if you had to pick one grill? Thanks

 

[Summerof79]

You know I saw a COMBO gas and cahrcoal grill/smoker at Lowes the other day. Loooked like a big smoker with two separate compartments side by side. Think it ran about $400 and then you add the side fire bosy for a little more. So it's in the range in price. A best of both worlds scenario.

Tried to find it on Lowe's website to no avil- even called the store but it was sold already. The grill side looked like a smoker balck metal and had a side burner for beans/sauces, the other side of the unit was a traditional smoker/charcoal grill setup. Decent depth on both units but not quite wide as a tradtional New Bransfels smoker.

COSTCO also had a GREAT deal for $399 on a gas grill, stainless with some contrasting surface finish, had side burner, infrared heating leement AND a rotiserie all for $399. I thought of buying the unit myself as a second one to my smoker.

 

[DCLonghorn]

Not trying to flame but there's a thread about grills at the top of the 2nd page on this forum that may be of use. I bought a new Charbroil last week and have been grilling on it every night since. There should be tons of 4th of July sales coming up.

 

[TaylorTRoom]

On the other thread, people talked about how much they liked the Char-Broil from Lowe's (Consumer Reports best value) and the Weber Genesis E310 or E320.

I would like something like those, but as I do my research, I think I've decided that a feature I really want is an infra red burner to sear my steaks. Does anybody know of any like that? I see plenty of Char-Broils with the infra red burner mounted on the grill's back wall to serve as a rotisserie cooker. I want it down on the bottom, so I can sear a steak, and then move it to another part of the grill (with regular propane flame) to finish.

Does the Costco grill mentioned above for $399 do that?

 

[TaylorTRoom]

OK, I need help from the Hornfans community. I've done some research, and want to buy this week. I really can't go (much) over $500, and want to be able to grill for 5 - 8 people. I want to be able to do top quality steaks, good quality beef ribs, good chicken and fish, and whatever on hamburgers and hot dogs. It seems that this infra red searing burner would really be an asset.

Lowe's has a couple of (store-brand, built in China) "Perfect Flame" grills with an infra red burner (or side burner), and for a couple more hundred dollars there is a Char-Broil TEC Triple burner (the single TEC burner is infra red).

When I read epinions of the Perfect Flame grills, there is a big concern about the durability of the burners. They are under a 10 year warranty, but evidently they fail a lot, and Lowe's has poor warranty support (evidently Char-Broil's burners are better, as is their support).

There are also a lot of discussions about the quality of the SS housings. I'm pretty much resigned to having to get a cover and be prepared for regular cleaning of the grill bodies.

My questions for this board are:

What are your observations about quality issues? What have been your experiences with failed burners? Will spending more, or going with other brands deliver significantly better quality?

Anybody have experience with infra red burners?

If the porcelain coated cast iron grates fail (crack), are higher quality replacements available?

Thanks!