Purchasing a new gas grill

[Borgoguy]

Dude with the rain we had this year my lawn has been more demanding than a 800 pound woman with a sweet tooth.

Absolutely.  The friggin' weeds are relentless.

[CTM]

Dude with the rain we had this year my lawn has been more demanding than a 800 pound woman with a sweet tooth.

mrs crusher knows the feeling

[The Crusher]

mrs crusher knows the feeling

 

 

LMAO..  miss you (full homo)

[Lil Bit Special]

Good stuff guys.

 

Any advice on lawnmowers? LOL

 

 

buy a goat.

[slowmoe57]

Just sold my mower (TORO) because the hood I moved too provides lawn services. I no longer have a need for it but still for some reason I would rather do it myself -- You get a great satisfaction when you look back at a nice yard you did yourself. Also bought a new Weber Grill and an electric smoker which works very well the 1st few time we used it Ribs,Pulled Pork and Brisket all came out very well. But I don't cook I have a wife for that - Dont get me wrong she has a passion for it and loves to make big meals and why I am not 300 lbs now is beyond me but thats another story.

Congrats on the house and 30 years of mortgage yay.

[sourceworx]

LOL. Absolutely. There is always something to do.

Borgo!

[joebabyny]

I'm about to become a homeowner, and on the short-list of immediate purchases is a gas grill. Things I'm considering include a Weber kettle, and a smoker, but with as busy as we are these days and a baby coming, I'm thinking a gas grill might be the way to go... so while I appreciate that point-of-view of the BBQ purists that insist on charcoal or wood, I'm pretty firm in wanting gas... and that's where I'd like to get some advice.

 

What features are must-haves?

 

What manufacturers and models would you recommend?

 

Thanks.

I actually just did a long comparison on the weber models for a friend. If you want to go real bigtime, like 2,000+, I could hook you up with a 40% discount on the grills I use for tailgating, crownverity.com, or give you advice on other brands in the high end range. If your budget is more in line with the regular sane person, I would strongly suggest something from the Weber lineup, just not the low end Spirit range, those are made and built all in China and are just made to hit a cheap price point at home depot.

 

Here is the rundown I did on the differences in current propane weber models i did for a friend:

 

So, Weber has 3 lines of gas grills, Spirit, Genesis, and Summit, from least to most expensive. They also have the grill centers, but those are just Summits with more built out cabinets.

Spirit Grills,

There are basically 2 models, the 200 and 300, further divided into with or without the side burner (210 w/o, 220 with).

200 specs, $470.00

2 burners = 26500 BTU

Cooking area 360 sq in of PRIMARY cooking space

Construction, mostly painted steel body, with porcelain enameled hood and stainless "covered" side fold outs. Porcelain enameled cast iron grates

300 specs, $519.00

3 burners = 32,000BTU

Cooking area 424 sq in of PRIMARY cooking space

Construction, mostly painted steel body, with porcelain enameled hood and stainless "covered" side fold outs. Porcelain enameled cast iron grates

Genesis Grills,

You have 2 models here, the 310 and 330. Both have 3 burners for a total of 38,000 BTU's. The 330 also includes a side burner and another smaller 10,000 "sear station" burner in the grill that helps you create a hotter zone within the grill. Both grills have the same combination of painted steel, with porcelain hood. There are stainless models in the lineup for extra money, but these stainless models are more for show and still sit on painted steel frames below the doors and outside skin, so not giving you the true longevity of true stainless construction. My issue with the "sear station" is it means if you cook in that smaller set spot you are getting more heat, but you can't decide where that ho heat zone is on the grill and if you are cooking lots of steaks or burgers across the grill you are not getting even heat and the rest of the grill isn't hot enough.

Specs 310 and 330 $719 and $819

3 burners = 38,000 BTU (plus 10,000 sear burner on 330)

Cooking area 507 sq in of PRIMARY cooking space

Construction, mostly painted steel body, with porcelain enameled hood and stainless "covered" side fold outs. Porcelain enameled cast iron grates

Summit grills

These are the top of the line grills, and get a little confusing on features. There are 2 sizes, the 400 and 600, and within those 2 sizes there are 2 options, one a more basic and the other more optioned out including a rotisserie , smoker burner, and the smaller sear burner like the one on the genesis line.

The 420 $1500

4 burners = 48,000 btu

Here is a run down of the weber gas lineup, along with a little info on my grills, crown verity, and some other info.

Cooking area 538 sq in of PRIMARY cooking space

Construction, mostly the same as the cheaper models, but now includes stainless steel rod grates.

The 470 $1900

Same specs as 420 except:

Sear burner 10,000 BTU

smoker burner 6,800 btu

rotisserie burner 10,600 btu and system

Smaller primary cooking area of 468 sq in

The 620 $1900

6 burners = 60,000 btu

Cooking area 693 sq in of PRIMARY cooking space

Construction, mostly the same as the cheaper models, but now includes stainless steel rod grates.

The 670 $2500

Same specs as 620 except:

Sear burner 10,000 BTU

smoker burner 6,800 btu

rotisserie burner 10,600 btu and system

Smaller primary cooking area of 468 sq in

On any of the weber grills, I would not recommend spending extra on the stainless versions (summit i think there is no extra charge) due to the fact that they aren't truly stainless construction other than cosmetic.

My picks:

The Spirits are too small and under powered for consideration.

The Genesis, I would want the sear burner so I would go with the 330 for the extra $100 because the Genesis doesn't have a ton of BTUs either.

The Summit, this would definitely be the line I would go with if I had the budget. I can see myself using the rotisserie, but be honest with yourself, for 90% of people it will never get used. If that is the case, I save the money and go with either the 420 or 620, and use the leftover money for a weber SWM smoker.

 

[joebabyny]

Another option, you can sometimes find someone getting rid of an old Genesis 1000-3000 for free or next to nothing. There is a guy on ebay who makes stainless steel grates and flavorizer bars better than original pretty cheap. If you want a cool project and can find a not-too-rusted old weber genesis 1000, you can restore it pretty easily with a little elbow grease for less than $200 and have a great grill. I have a 25+ year old weber genesis that still gets used 2-4 times a week and runs great.

[joebabyny]

Good idea.

 

For folks that don't have this option, and don't want to buy a ready made wood chip box, wrap some soaked wood chips in heavy duty aluminum foil.  Then punch a few holes on it and place on the grill to heat and smoke.  When you're done, just chuck it out.    Cheap and easy.

I have one of these,

 

 

That is an A-MAZE-N-TUBE smoker, a tube you fill with wood pellets to add smoke for gas grills or extra smoke for smokers, etc. Also can be used to cold smoke cheese and other stuff like that. In the photo I am smoking a bologna chub.

[joebabyny]

Weber !!!!! mine is 12 years old and the pizzo sparker still works. You dont bbq on a gas grill you grill on a gas grill. All real bbq is done over charcoal

Get a basket for doing fish and chicken

Ah please, as someone that cooks with propane, charcoal, wood pellets, and sometimes sticks, you can bbq on a propane grill. Learn how to cook indirect on a propane grill, add a smoke generating device of some kind, just like the charcoal does burning your wood chunks, and you are fine.

 

Cooked this on my propane grill for a few hours, nobody turned their nose up when it came time to eat.

 

[Larz]

Ah please, as someone that cooks with propane, charcoal, wood pellets, and sometimes sticks, you can bbq on a propane grill. Learn how to cook indirect on a propane grill, add a smoke generating device of some kind, just like the charcoal does burning your wood chunks, and you are fine.

 

Cooked this on my propane grill for a few hours, nobody turned their nose up when it came time to eat.

 

 

 

meh

 

if you have to add an artificial smoker that proves my point.  slow grilling a fatty meat with lots of sauce isn't BBQ per se

 

I picture cooking a whole pig on a rotating spit or underground, that kinda thing

 

and sorry but you can taste the difference between gas cooked or other source.  nobody complains about my ball park franks, but that doesn't make it BBQ

[joebabyny]

meh

if you have to add an artificial smoker that proves my point. slow grilling a fatty meat with lots of sauce isn't BBQ per se

I picture cooking a whole pig on a rotating spit or underground, that kinda thing

and sorry but you can taste the difference between gas cooked or other source. nobody complains about my ball park franks, but that doesn't make it BBQ

The device is for the smoke flavor, just like you need to add wood to a charcoal kettle or smoker, you can't smoke anything without wood, so unless its a stick burner you are adding wood to the mix. No difference between throwing chunks of wood in a charcoal fire or a metal tube that holds the burning wood, it isn't much of a "device".

And propane burns clean and leaves no taste. You can say you like the addition of any flavor charcoal imparts, but to say propane leaves a taste, good or bad, is absurd. You mean to tell me you can go to a great steakhouse and taste the propane? Or you can taste the gas used in your oven? That is like people that can taste a metallic taste from beer cans even though beer cans have a lining and the beer never touches bare metal.

And there is no sauce on that pork butt, it was injected then rubbed then thrown on the grill indirect at about 250 for a few hours with hickory burning on the grate.

And btw, pretty much every restaurant bbq joint, even ones considered among the best, use ole hickory or southern pride ovens, both of which are gas assist.

I can cook on a gas grill, on a wood pit, or a charcoal kettle, heck even directly on a pile of lump coal, and make some awesome food. It isn't the cooker, it's the cook.

[Bugg]

I actually just did a long comparison on the weber models for a friend. If you want to go real bigtime, like 2,000+, I could hook you up with a 40% discount on the grills I use for tailgating, crownverity.com, or give you advice on other brands in the high end range. If your budget is more in line with the regular sane person, I would strongly suggest something from the Weber lineup, just not the low end Spirit range, those are made and built all in China and are just made to hit a cheap price point at home depot.

 

Here is the rundown I did on the differences in current propane weber models i did for a friend:

 

So, Weber has 3 lines of gas grills, Spirit, Genesis, and Summit, from least to most expensive. They also have the grill centers, but those are just Summits with more built out cabinets.

Spirit Grills,

There are basically 2 models, the 200 and 300, further divided into with or without the side burner (210 w/o, 220 with).

200 specs, $470.00

2 burners = 26500 BTU

Cooking area 360 sq in of PRIMARY cooking space

Construction, mostly painted steel body, with porcelain enameled hood and stainless "covered" side fold outs. Porcelain enameled cast iron grates

300 specs, $519.00

3 burners = 32,000BTU

Cooking area 424 sq in of PRIMARY cooking space

Construction, mostly painted steel body, with porcelain enameled hood and stainless "covered" side fold outs. Porcelain enameled cast iron grates

Genesis Grills,

You have 2 models here, the 310 and 330. Both have 3 burners for a total of 38,000 BTU's. The 330 also includes a side burner and another smaller 10,000 "sear station" burner in the grill that helps you create a hotter zone within the grill. Both grills have the same combination of painted steel, with porcelain hood. There are stainless models in the lineup for extra money, but these stainless models are more for show and still sit on painted steel frames below the doors and outside skin, so not giving you the true longevity of true stainless construction. My issue with the "sear station" is it means if you cook in that smaller set spot you are getting more heat, but you can't decide where that ho heat zone is on the grill and if you are cooking lots of steaks or burgers across the grill you are not getting even heat and the rest of the grill isn't hot enough.

Specs 310 and 330 $719 and $819

3 burners = 38,000 BTU (plus 10,000 sear burner on 330)

Cooking area 507 sq in of PRIMARY cooking space

Construction, mostly painted steel body, with porcelain enameled hood and stainless "covered" side fold outs. Porcelain enameled cast iron grates

Summit grills

These are the top of the line grills, and get a little confusing on features. There are 2 sizes, the 400 and 600, and within those 2 sizes there are 2 options, one a more basic and the other more optioned out including a rotisserie , smoker burner, and the smaller sear burner like the one on the genesis line.

The 420 $1500

4 burners = 48,000 btu

Here is a run down of the weber gas lineup, along with a little info on my grills, crown verity, and some other info.

Cooking area 538 sq in of PRIMARY cooking space

Construction, mostly the same as the cheaper models, but now includes stainless steel rod grates.

The 470 $1900

Same specs as 420 except:

Sear burner 10,000 BTU

smoker burner 6,800 btu

rotisserie burner 10,600 btu and system

Smaller primary cooking area of 468 sq in

The 620 $1900

6 burners = 60,000 btu

Cooking area 693 sq in of PRIMARY cooking space

Construction, mostly the same as the cheaper models, but now includes stainless steel rod grates.

The 670 $2500

Same specs as 620 except:

Sear burner 10,000 BTU

smoker burner 6,800 btu

rotisserie burner 10,600 btu and system

Smaller primary cooking area of 468 sq in

On any of the weber grills, I would not recommend spending extra on the stainless versions (summit i think there is no extra charge) due to the fact that they aren't truly stainless construction other than cosmetic.

My picks:

The Spirits are too small and under powered for consideration.

The Genesis, I would want the sear burner so I would go with the 330 for the extra $100 because the Genesis doesn't have a ton of BTUs either.

The Summit, this would definitely be the line I would go with if I had the budget. I can see myself using the rotisserie, but be honest with yourself, for 90% of people it will never get used. If that is the case, I save the money and go with either the 420 or 620, and use the leftover money for a weber SWM smoker.

I own a Spirit at one home and a Summit at the other.The Summit, despite getting 3 feet of water on it from Sandy, still works fine and dandy after a serious cleaning though the electric starter was basically destroyed by seawater. While the stainless steel models are not really stainless steel they clean way easier. Also even if it's an extra upgrade, get the steel grill grates and flavot bars rather than ceramic; again they clean way easier and last longer.The sideburners are really pointless if you are at home and have a rangetop and take up room you can otherwise use for a cooking countertop. Edited July 20, 2013 by Bugg

[joebabyny]

I own a Spirit at one home and a Summit at the other.The Summit, despite getting 3 feet of water on it from Sandy, still works fine and dandy after a serious cleaning though the electric starter was basically destroyed by seawater. While the stainless steel models are not really stainless steel they clean way easier. Also even if it's an extra upgrade, get the steel grill grates and flavot bars rather than ceramic; again they clean way easier and last longer.The sideburners are really pointless if you are at home and have a rangetop and take up room you can otherwise use for a cooking countertop.

Yeah, only time I use my sideburner is to light my chimney starter for my charcoal smoker.

[Blackout]

[JohnnyHector]

Yeah, only time I use my sideburner is to light my chimney starter for my charcoal smoker.

 

It's funny... I've gotten so spoiled by this at home that I get annoyed by how long it takes to get a chimney full of coals white hot the conventional way...

[joebabyny]

It's funny... I've gotten so spoiled by this at home that I get annoyed by how long it takes to get a chimney full of coals white hot the conventional way...

You wanna kick it up a notch and go full pyro, grab a weedburner to light your coals. I scare people when I pull that out, sounds like a jet engine.

[JohnnyHector]

Heh, I've seen those. When I'm down at the beach w/o my side burner, I resort to spraying paper towels with non-stick spray to light the chimney. Works pretty decent and the winds down there do a pretty good job of stoking the fire. Certainly better than all of the other peckerheads using a full bottle of lighter fluid to cook their frozen hamburgers.

Good luck on the competition front. I've wanted to do it for a while, but could never find the time between work/kids. Now that I changed jobs, I'll never have the time, so I'll instead shift my focus to one day opening my own smokehouse, since people don't know how to make good BBQ around here.

[Integrity28]

I have one of these,

 

 

That is an A-MAZE-N-TUBE smoker, a tube you fill with wood pellets to add smoke for gas grills or extra smoke for smokers, etc. Also can be used to cold smoke cheese and other stuff like that. In the photo I am smoking a bologna chub.

 

So, I bought the Genesis EP 330 in black. It arrives next weekend.

 

I wanted the stainless steel grill and searing station, those come with the side-burner too. Went with black though, rather than stainless exterior.

 

I'm looking at this smoker tube - it is 12" and $45 on amazon, and paired with wood pellets. Would you suggest pellets or chip to use with it? 

[joebabyny]

So, I bought the Genesis EP 330 in black. It arrives next weekend.

 

I wanted the stainless steel grill and searing station, those come with the side-burner too. Went with black though, rather than stainless exterior.

 

I'm looking at this smoker tube - it is 12" and $45 on amazon, and paired with wood pellets. Would you suggest pellets or chip to use with it? 

 

You have to use pellets. IF you order direct from the site you can order pellets as well.

http://www.amazenproducts.com/

the tube is $29 on the site.

I like the cherry pellets.

[Integrity28]

You have to use pellets. IF you order direct from the site you can order pellets as well.

http://www.amazenproducts.com/

the tube is $29 on the site.

I like the cherry pellets.

 

 

Cool.

 

I've never used pellets, are they better than chips or chunks?

 

I was also looking at the tube that Napoleon makes, it's like $12

[joebabyny]

Cool.

 

I've never used pellets, are they better than chips or chunks?

 

I was also looking at the tube that Napoleon makes, it's like $12

Ok, I looked at the napoleon unit. It looks similar to the amazentube but it doesn't have nearly as many holes for the smoke. Also, with the napoleon and their directions to use wood chips and put directly on the burner. you are going to have a flame the entire time in that pipe, which will produce a more billowing white smoke that you do not want for flavoring food. What you are looking for is a thinner blue smoke. The combination of using chips and the air spaces they provide along with placing on the grate are just going to cause a big flame. Also you will not get a lot of burn time for long cooks.

 

With the amazentube and the pellets they use along with their directions, you load up the tube with pellets, and use a small torch to burn the pellets at one end to get a flame going. You let that flame go for 10 minutes to build up some good embers, then you blow the flame out if it doesn't snuff itself out. These embers will put out the nice thin smoke you want, and will continue to burn for 4-8 hours. You just put the tube in your grill, not on top of a lit burner, and you are good. Depending on the grill, if it has a lot of air vents I would also cover those with foil to keep the smoke circulating in the grill.

 

Just as an fyi, the quality bbq pellets are 100% hardwood, compressed into pellet form. I use a smoker that is fired 100% by pellets. As I like to smoke sometimes at 300-325 degrees I also add the amazen tube for additional smoke as pellets are a little too efficient at 300+ degrees and put off less smoke.

[Integrity28]

Ok, I looked at the napoleon unit. It looks similar to the amazentube but it doesn't have nearly as many holes for the smoke. Also, with the napoleon and their directions to use wood chips and put directly on the burner. you are going to have a flame the entire time in that pipe, which will produce a more billowing white smoke that you do not want for flavoring food. What you are looking for is a thinner blue smoke. The combination of using chips and the air spaces they provide along with placing on the grate are just going to cause a big flame. Also you will not get a lot of burn time for long cooks.

 

With the amazentube and the pellets they use along with their directions, you load up the tube with pellets, and use a small torch to burn the pellets at one end to get a flame going. You let that flame go for 10 minutes to build up some good embers, then you blow the flame out if it doesn't snuff itself out. These embers will put out the nice thin smoke you want, and will continue to burn for 4-8 hours. You just put the tube in your grill, not on top of a lit burner, and you are good. Depending on the grill, if it has a lot of air vents I would also cover those with foil to keep the smoke circulating in the grill.

 

Just as an fyi, the quality bbq pellets are 100% hardwood, compressed into pellet form. I use a smoker that is fired 100% by pellets. As I like to smoke sometimes at 300-325 degrees I also add the amazen tube for additional smoke as pellets are a little too efficient at 300+ degrees and put off less smoke.

 

 

This is great info bro, thank you!

 

I'll order the amazen right from their site, and start out with their pellets assuming they are good quality - until I learn more and then I can shop around and try different stuff.

 

I'm psyched. I've been living in apartments for 15+ years, and haven't been allowed to have a grill. I had an old man named Mr. Griffin, a security guard in my dorm, down in Savannah teach me all sorts of stuff about rubs and sauces and cuts of meat in college - but I've never really been able to experiment with what he taught me, or all the other stuff I've picked up along the way from people (yourself included). It's one thing to know about and love bbq, it's another to be good at it. I want to work on the latter.

Edited August 12, 2013 by Integrity28

[SweetLee83]

Saw one of these at the local county fair the other day and got one...pretty awesome stuff for grilling. No clean up, no chemicals like aluminum foil, and you still get grill marks. Good stuff.

 

http://www.amazon.com/BBQ-Grill-Mat-Set-2/dp/B00C1LWE32

[Blackout]

[LionelRichie]

Yeah, only time I use my sideburner is to light my chimney starter for my charcoal smoker.

 

Joe - looks like you did a lot of research on the Weber's.   I have a 10 year-old Genesis A that runs on propane.   I am looking for a little more surface area and I have a natural gas hookup at my new house.  

 

Is there any major difference between the natural gas and propane grills that you know of?   

[joebabyny]

Joe - looks like you did a lot of research on the Weber's.   I have a 10 year-old Genesis A that runs on propane.   I am looking for a little more surface area and I have a natural gas hookup at my new house.  

 

Is there any major difference between the natural gas and propane grills that you know of?   

 

Propane packs a lot more punch than natural gas, about twice as many BTUs. This is why a propane grill needs a different manifold that has holes twice as large to get more gas out when converting to NG. There generally is a difference in the amount of heat produced, but with a quality grill like a Weber, as long as you get the proper Weber kit you shouldn't notice much difference. It will come down to either wanting the absolute most performance with high heat for a "black and blue" steak that chars on the outside while being raw on the inside, or wanting the convenience of never running out of fuel. I'd say the vast majority of people would go with the NG if they have the hookup for it.

Edited August 20, 2013 by joebabyny