Gas grill rust-imploded....need to replace

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May 12, 2003
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Oklahoma
My 10 year old Brinkmann 2500 literally bit the dust this week, rust dust that is. I mean everything...cast iron burners, burner rack, drip pan, hot plates...everything. I can get some parts for it, but not all like the starter boxes, they just don't make them any more. Sure, I could just use a long lighter, but wife ain't crazy about that. They went out of business in 2015. Most of the parts I could find were all "should fit your model" kind of thing. Everything else is good, but when I start adding up all the parts that I could find like the 4 cast iron burners, frame rails, heat plates...I was already up to around 200 dollars. Boy, have gas grills changed a lot from 10 years ago. Was wondering what some of ya'll are using. I'd like to get a 4 burner with a side burner and below the 300-ish range. So freakin' many different grills out there that I'm just so confused.....304 steel, porcelain grill or stainless steel or wrapped stainless steel, etc. etc.
 
BJ or Sams or Costco has some ones that look decent for under $300.

Weber is high quality and high $$. Weber is like Amsoil except grills rather than oil.

I grill a lot less since no red meat for me.

I bought a $100 grill at Homedepot. It was cheap but for now fits my needs. I remove propane and bring in garage.

You can tell the quality of a grill by the grates, the best will have SS round grates.

Also they make some grills with the top areas SS but the lower areas painted steel. In 10 years you will have a nice SS grill on a rusting base.
 
Weber will go on sale during the winter as retailers try to move old stock and sometimes in the fall.

That's how we acquired ours.
 
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I have an MHP natural gas grill, it has lasted 20 years so far with two rebuilds (burner, starter, lower grate and pucks). The upper grate is cast iron and has lasted so far.

It is a post model so it doesn't get put away during the winter and we don't have a cover for it.
 
While we're on the subject of grills and grates and everything. Do the cast iron grates on some of the newer grills build up a seasoning like cast iron pans do?
 
Originally Posted by Ifixyawata
While we're on the subject of grills and grates and everything. Do the cast iron grates on some of the newer grills build up a seasoning like cast iron pans do?


No and TBH they don't need to. Grills operate a temps which will even burn off the seasoning of a cast iron pan.
 
Been through the cheap grill and replace thing before... Now on our second Weber. Expensive, but they work well and actually last for more than a decade.

We went with stainless grill grates instead of cast iron. We had them on our last Weber, and they never needed replacement. You can find these on the SE (Special Edition) Webers that you can find at non-big box stores. In our case, it was the local Ace, but could also be found at appliance retailers (again, not big box).

And the pricing makes it easy to buy where you want - its the same everywhere...
 
Fawteen.......that's the wife's car....what she wants....she gets.....SWMBO (she who must be obeyed)
 
FWIW: Just replaced a Traeger Junior 20 pellet grill (good combo deal from Costco) with a Pit Boss Pro Series 1100 (from Lowes). Looking forward to bigger and better cooks! VERY impressed with the Pit Boss at this point. I still have a ~25+ year old Weber Genesis in fairly good condition (soon to be sold) but I've now jumped full bore to pellet grilling (for my needs).

https://pitboss-grills.com/Shop-Pit-Boss/Grills/wood-pellet/1100-pro-series-pellet-grill

I do like many of the features of the Camp Chef Woodwind SG 24 grill w/Sidekick or Sear Box (both new for 2019), but the added features just was not worth the nearly doubled price (when adding up all the same accessories I would want) to the Pit Boss grill. No doubt the Woodwind is a great pellet grill and the latest commercials are hilarious (see their website). YMMV.
 
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Originally Posted by BMWTurboDzl
Originally Posted by Ifixyawata
While we're on the subject of grills and grates and everything. Do the cast iron grates on some of the newer grills build up a seasoning like cast iron pans do?


No and TBH they don't need to. Grills operate a temps which will even burn off the seasoning of a cast iron pan.


I guess I kind of figured this was the case. I made the mistake of storing my cast iron pans in the broiler part of the oven to find all the seasoning flaking off.
 
My over 20 year old painted steel base on my Kenmore grill has barely rusted. I merely put a cover over it after each use, once it has cooled down. I think I might have waxed it a decade ago, I mean the base and shelf only, which do not get very hot.

The cover has worn the paint off the top corners of the cast metal lid frame. It's some zinc looking metal that does not rust. The lid panels are painted sheet steel and have no rust.

Whatever you get, get cast iron burners, and give up the fight about keeping the ignition system working. It's less hassle to just use a $3 fireplace lighter from the dollar store, which is handy to have around for lighting other things too.
 
Another vote for Weber.

Bought the rough equivalent of this 20 years ago:

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Weber-S...ne-Gas-Grill-in-Black-44010001/302976462

In all those years only replaced the igniter and flavorizer bars. Stainless burners rock.

The basic model of a top line company is better than the best of a lesser firm.

Don't need massive size, 3 or 4 burners, side burners, etc. which jack up the price.

360 sq. in. is a lot of grill area. If you are cooking for an army, get your neighbors to help.
 
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