Gas grill recommendations?

[Jakeboy]

I have always been a charcoal guy...I have used my current Weber Kettle for about 13 years now....my only try with a CharBroil gas grill ended badly as it caught on fire and burnt up on my deck back in 2000!

Anyway, I wanna try gas again..,I love o grill out and gas is a healthier option.

I am clueless. Recommend me a quality backyard gas grill please.

Thanks!

Mark

[stonge]

We've had a Weber Genesis Silver C for about nine years now - (three burners front middle and back and a side burner). Last year I replaced the burners, drip bars (upgraded to stainless), and igniter for about $100, and gave it a good cleaning but other than that it hasn't required any maintenance. Of course, the covers get brittle after 4 or 5 winters up here but those are cheap enough. The grill heats evenly, and shutting off burners is critical if you need to do indirect cooking (like on a roast etc). We use a smoker box when we need to get a little smoke into the food, but we fire up a Weber Smokey Mountain smoker with Frontier lump charcoal for ribs or pulled pork (we smoke the ribs for 5 hours, hit 'em with a little Honey Habenaro BBQ sauce and flare them on the gas grill for a couple minutes). For low and slow, the Smokey Mountain gives better results but the gas grill can do ok on some things. Gas is useful for quick meals or small quantities (who wants to smoke hot dogs or hamburgers lol), or high temp cooking like searing some ribeyes (although I'm looking at a Kamado Kooker which supposedly can do 200-700 on charcoal).

There was a local shop that sold and delivered Webers; frequently when folks got the new grill they just gave the old grills to the guys to haul away. Most of the time, there was nothing wrong that a cleaning or a hundred bucks worth of parts couldn't fix. I'd look on craigslist, and cross reference amazon for replacement parts - as long as the structure is good the guts are easily replaceable.

personal preference - I like the Webers that have the gas tank off to the side, and not enclosed under the burners where the grease tray is. I've seen good grease fires get going in the tray when people don't clean it, and you don't want to have to reach into the grease fire to shut off the gas.

Weber is the second-best thing to come out of Palatine (Hamer guitars being the first of course).

[Jakeboy]

Thank you all .

[hamerhead]

A big help, weren't we?

[DaveL]

just realized my weber is nearing 10 years old, and spent a couple hours cleaning it SOS pads were pretty good, didn't scratch

it but cut thru the hard water buildup on the knobs and instruction panel like it was nothing, I'm lazy and not great at covering

it.

questions...

I have porcelain grates. trying to clean them (wire brush, sos pad) but the sos pad is just disintegrating after a minute

or two... and there's also the caked on stuff on the side of the grill. anybody got ideas on how to clean it (gf said soak

em in oxi clean, but don't want to waste a whole bottle if it doesn't work) also, new grates are $30 on amazon, so I can

probably just get some but since I need flavorizer bars, I want to keep the project reasonable.

my other question, thinking about a small smoker... am in a condo, do they create so much smoke, that I'll just smoke

out my neighbors (I have cool neighbors but don't want to be obnoxious) or are they more geared for people who have a house.

[tbonesullivan]

most smokers I see will produce some amount of smoke. The ones that make the least are the electric smokers that use wet chips. They are actually more like "steamers" but will give the flavor of the wood to the stuff you cook. One with a temperature control would be good, so that you can slow cook stuff for hours if need be.

[stonge]

just realized my weber is nearing 10 years old, and spent a couple hours cleaning it SOS pads were pretty good, didn't scratch

it but cut thru the hard water buildup on the knobs and instruction panel like it was nothing, I'm lazy and not great at covering

it.

questions...

I have porcelain grates. trying to clean them (wire brush, sos pad) but the sos pad is just disintegrating after a minute

or two... and there's also the caked on stuff on the side of the grill. anybody got ideas on how to clean it (gf said soak

em in oxi clean, but don't want to waste a whole bottle if it doesn't work) also, new grates are $30 on amazon, so I can

probably just get some but since I need flavorizer bars, I want to keep the project reasonable.

my other question, thinking about a small smoker... am in a condo, do they create so much smoke, that I'll just smoke

out my neighbors (I have cool neighbors but don't want to be obnoxious) or are they more geared for people who have a house.

I soak the grates in the sink in hot water and use a plastic paint scraper to knock the bigger chunks off (don't want to scratch up the grates by pressing to hard). Ehow says to try soaking some paper towels in warmed vinegar, and letting that try to take off the hardened stuff ( http://www.ehow.com/how_6565492_clean-coated-cast-iron-grates.html ); haven't tried that method yet but it might work.

My Weber Smokey Mountain smoker can generate a ton of smoke (did 23 lbs of pulled pork Sunday, and the house still smells like smoke - ain't a bad thing lol). It does depend how much smoking wood vs lump charcoal I use. The lump takes care of the heat, and I use apple or cherry chunks for the flavor. You don't have to create a fog bank effect to get the smoke flavor in though.

We did just pick up a Kamado Kooker by Char-Grill (BJ's about $325); supposedly it can smoke at around 225 or sear at about 650 and it runs off small quantities of lump. We'll see if it works well enough to use for everyday cooking.

[DaveL]

Thanks for the info... will start looking at small smoker and will try the vinegar solution to clean the grates

and just to add, that ehow article says NOT to use mesh or heavy abrasive on porcelain like I just did.

[aknapp]

Soaking in vinegar should do the trick - it doesn't have to be warmed, but warming helps some.

Vinegar can be used clean many (but not all) organic substances off of many (but not all) on-porous finishes. As always, if you are unsure, test in an inconspicous area or on scrap.

Oh yeah - it's non-toxic.

EDIT: For the grates, you could get paper towels soaked with vinegar, then wrap around the grates. Should take 10-15 minutes max.

[JohnnyB]

The Weber Summit.

You're welcome.

Had mine for over 15 years and it rules.

Another camera angle reveals what makes it so special.