Grill Buying Advice?

@cinoclav Interesting. $200 less than the weber I'm considering AND comes with the side burner. Pricing is far more competitive for it at Lowes than Amazon ($620), but I have about $400 in points there.

@ACraigL Lowes will occasionally run sales too. If you're gutsy, ask the manager if he'll give you 10% off. They'll often do it to make the sale. Or go to raise.com and buy a bunch of gift cards to use in the store equal to what your cost would be. Right now the Lowes cards are 10.9% off and I believe you can use the extra 5% off promo TAKE5 for a few more days. You would end up saving another $75 or so, bringing the cost down to $425.

@ACraigL Btw, that one does come up as a top 10 choice on amazingribs.com.

@cinoclav Or just go on eBay and buy a 10% off coupon. They run under $4.

@cinoclav we bought the Broil King from Lowes a year ago and love it. We bought the good cover as well.

@ACraigL Well there you go, an actual user comment from @tightwad. While the obvious history of Weber doesn't need to be rehashed over and over, it seems like a lot of Weber fans just assume every other grill out there is total crap. In regards to the Broil King, we're not talking about a $150 grill from Walmart here. Sometimes you pay a lot for quality, sometimes you pay even more just for the name...

@f00l I try not to get pulled in every time, but this. Charcoal4Life!

@f00l @JerseyFrank totally get it, but it's a lifestyle thing. Wife is not comfortable with unattended hot coals, even if they're safely resting in the grill. I also like to BBQ after work, but don't want to wait to for the coals to be ready (and WAY too lazy to use a chimney starter).

@ACraigL It's cool. I judge you and your gas-loving-grillers much more silently nowadays. I get where you are coming from. Your spouses aren't good cooks and the gas grill is the only way you're allowed to cook and still get laid. Really, I get it. We cool. KIDDING. Charcoal is a mess, it's not fast. I don't get to grill during the week. On the weekend, I don't mind working through a couple brews, making fire, and grillin'/smokin' all afternoon.

@JerseyFrank Haha, that gave me a laugh. That sounds like an awesome way to spend the weekend. Once my second kid is out of the house, I'm looking forward to similar activities.

@ACraigL The chimney starter really does work wonders- it's not as quick as gas obviously, but it gets you hot coals that are ready to go rather quickly.

@ACraigL
@JerseyFrank
@dashcloud

My parents grilled w charcoal all the time. On workdays, Mom got home earlier, so she started it while waiting for Dad to get home. Sometimes we youngsters started it on request.

As for the wait: it turns out beers/martinis/margaritas speed that process along nicely.

@JerseyFrank With a $8.99 (coupon required) Harbor Fright Heat gun (or if it makes you feel more elite; a $69 Looft Lighter) , you can have a hardwood charcoal file started in 5 minutes and ready to cook in 12-15. I grill at least 2 times per week year-round. Can't even tell you how much time I regret wasting on paraffin/sawdust starters or chimney and paper... No more I tell ya!

@JerseyFrank If you don't want to wait for the coals, you ain't BBQing, you're grilling. :-)

@bkillam Though I be a gas guy for ease myself.

But I hear ya.

@Oldfeet
From some reason this idea has never crossed my mind. Thank you.

@marklog They're on Amazon. And even spendier than the Weber models. Hadn't heard of them before though, so thanks for pointing it out.

http://www.amazon.com/The-Holland-Grill-Epic-HGG421408/dp/B00BGGNNU6/

@ACraigL Mine was half that cost, right from the distributor. All of the grills in their product line cook the same. It's size and finish that change.

@duodec
Excuse me for this, but:

Fuck your HOA.

Followup: Fuck all HOAs.

@f00l I agree in principle. In this case the HOA reacted to the development's insurance company. Two or three twits damaged the building siding and decks by being stupid with charcoal grills and one fire pit. The insurance company was going to jack the rates up (by like 3x) which would have meant both higher monthly fees and a special assessment. The actual damaged unit owners would have been dinged more but everyone would have been screwed. Losing smokers, fire pits, chimneas, and charcoal grills meant the rates only went up about 15%.

So f*ck the idiots who caused property damage, f*ck the insure-co that doesn't give a crap about screwing the residents, and, yes, f*ck the HOA on general principles, even if in this one case the bad action was understandable and somewhat justifiable.

@duodec I also have the Spirit, because at the time I was unwilling to fork out the Genesis cost, but I have still been far more happy with the Spirit than I was with the throw-aways.

@duodec I work for Weber. Everything your post has said is correct. Since we were bought by a coorporation about 5 years ago (it was still family owned until then) things have been changing.

@mfloyd0232 Friends and Family discount?

@ACraigL If you live in the chicago area, I could make it happen. I generally get about 40% off msrp

@mfloyd0232 Wow! Great offer, but not in Chicago, unfortunately. Thanks anyway!

@ACraigL
Amazon points? Is that an Amazon credit card bennie? I have several Amazon cc's but forget to look at bennies....

@f00l Yep. 3% at anything purchased at Amazon, 1 or 2% everywhere else. It adds up quickly. It's through Chase, so it's flexible as well. You can also exchange points for travel or gift cards.

What I didn't realize is that you can get cash back -- it's been a while since I checked and your post prompted me to do so. I can get cash or a statement credit as well. Hmmm.....

@ACraigL I just hopped on Amazon and submitted a lower price notice for the Broil King. You should do the same. Maybe they'll drop the price to match Lowes. The link is on the right side under Feedback in Product Information.

@cinoclav Good call! Will do. I opened a chat with Amazon CS but got nowhere (nor did I expect to).

@MrMark
Ok i give. WTF is a Flavorizer Bar?

@f00l I have also replaced mine :)
http://www.weber.com/weber-nation/blog/flavorizer-bars-replace-em-or-keep-em

@f00l Triangular cover over the burners. Does the multi-duty job of protecting the burners, evenly spreading the heat and acting as a smoker (after a fashion) when juices drip onto them, and it "flavorizes" the protein in question.

@ACraigL
Ok. Will try to visualize flavorizer bars after i get home. In the meantime, i think i do love charcoal. But charcoal's prob bad for me. I will apply margarita treatmehnt.

@ACraigL I hope it worked great for you! Nice buy; if I could have got the Genesis in that price range I'd have been all over it instead of the Spirit. And the Spirit is actually a very nice grill.

@duodec I'm actually wondering if it's TOO much grill (is there such a thing?). Maybe it just seems big in my living room.

@DaveInSoCal
Little need for a grill cover on a barrel charcoal grill, if you dont mind being the token neighborhood trashy resident. ;)

@DaveInSoCal I have my old weber one (if it fits) and it's still in pretty good shape, but I did buy another with this. Reviews are pretty good anyway...
http://www.amazon.com/Yukon-Glory-Premium-Genesis-Compared/dp/B010TVPELE

@ACraigL Thanks for posting that. I was in need of a new cover for my Weber Spirit. I just had to look for the Yukon cover that fits it. Surprised the cover that fit Spirit are more expensive than those that fit the Genesis.

@mfladd Yukon cover fits great, BTW. Perfect!

@ACraigL So you did stay with Weber. She is looking sweet!

@ACraigL Glad you didn't go with side burner. When I got mine in 2003 all the stuff I read recommended against the side burner but I was sure I was different and would put it to good use. I've used it maybe four times in thirteen years.

@ACraigL Let me know how it goes, I've been looking at this grill for a few weeks. I was also looking at the spirit with the gourmet bbq system, which looks kind of cool.

@ACraigL Looks nice. Do the burners go front to back on that one? I noticed there seemed to be a change from the left to right layout. Be curious to know if you see any difference.

@MrMark They are font to back. From everything I've read, it should heat pretty evenly. There are few significant changes from the previous Genesis I owned (16 years ago), and most of them seem like pretty good improvements.
- Moving the controls to the front -- these were on the right shelf prior and basically removed the ability to use the prep area
- Better positioned thermometer -- used to be on the bottom right of the lid, and was removable (but I never removed it)
- Cabinet with doors as opposed to legs and metal grating only
- Electric ignition over manual/push spark

Still waiting on using it for the first time, likely this weekend. I promised my son a porterhouse for helping me build it.

@lichme The genesis is a lot bigger than I expected, but I think I'm happier with this than I would have been with the spirit. Significantly more cooking area. The gourmet BBQ system looks cool, but I wonder how much I would actually use all those parts. I'm just as happy using that extra real-estate on the genesis to put a cast iron wok or grilling basket right on the grill.

@ACraigL Beautiful.

@ACraigL
From my grilling memories, i guess because it's new, it doesn't look properly dirty and smoky.

I hope you get that fixed real soon!

@jml326
Minus the smoker, your top pix is what i grew up with, except ours looked very well used, not all shiny. Aaaaahhhhh...

@lichme Nice! Loving mine. Grilled filets and two porterhouses on Wed (the first grill of the grill!) which turned out amazing, and last night I made mojito-lime chicken breasts. The sear this things gives is beautiful -- the color on the chicken was amazing.

Are they putting it together for you, or are you doing it? If the latter I have a few tips to share.

@ACraigL I'll be putting it together myself unfortunately, along with a patio set. I'm hoping it gets here by Friday, since I have a gathering on Saturday.

@lichme Cool. Takes about an hour (but having done it, I could probably do it in far less time again). A few pointers:

• Unpack everything and build it on top of the box. It's more than sturdy enough and saves you the trouble of bending over and under it for most of the build.
• Remove the pins from the hood and unpack the lid and body separately. You have to do this anyway and it will save you some heft when unpacking.
• I suggest putting all the hardware into the foil grease-catcher liner. Easy access, no rolling screws.
• Don't over-tighten the first rail attachment. This kept the opposite rail (looks like a stretched out 'u' -- you'll know it) from lining up properly for me. Finger-tighten front and back -- literally steps 1 and 2 -- then lock them in.
• A socket wrench will make your life better -- but they do include a tool to use. BYO screwdriver though.
• Have a friend help take it off the box when it comes time to put the hood back on, but you'll want to leave it on there until that step.
• I missed the step of adding the LP tank guards inside the cabinet. They look like large plastic pills and prevent the tank from hitting the inside wall. It was easily accounted for but required another person once it was all built. Just be on the lookout
• Take the bag the covers the igniter mechanism and use it to cover the regulator attachment while you're building the the thing. This will keep it from rolling around and potentially scratching up the inside.

Hope that helps. If you have any questions let me know (but it's all pretty straightforward and REALLY will built and designed).

@ACraigL Great, thanks! I'll let you know how it goes

@lichme How did it go? Success?

@ACraigL Unboxed yesterday night, still in pieces, it was raining and I didnt want to do it inside

@ACraigL All put together. Due to my lack of not following instructions properly (or not looking at the pictures close enough), it took a bit longer than an hour. I (cautiously) used a drill for most of it, which saved a lot of time. I hand tightened afterwards.

A couple of my pieces were bent, which made me have to hammer them to try and straighten them out. It was a pain in the ass to get the side table on because of it, but I made it work.

Nothing but rain the next few days, so unlikely I'll get to try it out.

Thanks for the advice! Can't wait to try it out. I secured it to my deck with a bungee cord towards the bottom. My last grill got damaged when it tipped over from high winds, and I'm hoping to avoid this again.

@lichme Awesome. I've been making absolutely delicious things on it. I didn't have any expectations other than it replacing my old one, but I think it sears way better. Enjoy!

@mfladd I thought the Weber grills were guaranteed for life? Is that not the case? If so, you should definitely file a claim on the old one.

@capguncowboy hmmmmm…I will have to look into that. Thanks.

@mfladd Why couldn’t you make a new thread. >:|

@DrunkCat Not for my new grill. And I remembered this one.

@mfladd This one, and pretty happy with it.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B010TVPELE/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Congrats on the new grill. Yep, still in love. Happy cooking!