Don't Bother With Kenmore Outdoor Grill

[Phil Thien]

One word: Weber.

+1. Mine has been great. Best I've ever owned.

[Jon Grider]

The timing on this post is superb. Now my rant. I bought a Thermos/ Charbroil stainless in 04. It looked great for the first year, I kept it clean and covered it dutifully when not in use.The stainless steel grate tubes started disintegrating after the first year. The cast burners also plugged and I was able to keep it going for 4 more years by periodically partially dismantling the grill and cleaning the burner holes with a piece of wire. The electric igniter lasted less than two years. The "stainless" cabinet hinges rusted badly soon after the igniter died.Today, with family coming over for Memorial day, I couldn't get the burners to stay lit even with a full tank of gas.Plugged burners again? I pulled out the old charcoal Weber and decided the convenience of a gas grill was not all that convenient after all; especially after going online and seeing the cost of replacement burners and grates. So my main point here, Charbroil gas grills are junk! At least the ones under $500.

[John Keeton]

Ditch the gas, and go back to natural charcoal - and a Weber with a chimney starter. I can have a cooking fire in 10 minutes, and the flavor is hard to beat. When I am done, shut the vent, kill the fire, and reuse the charcoal next time. Couple bags of charcoal last all summer for us.

And, John Shuk is right - your title should have read "Don't bother with Kenmore - period!" But, I have ranted about that before.

[Michael Roland]

Ditch the gas, and go back to natural charcoal - and a Weber with a chimney starter.

+1 for the charcoal Weber. I have the old performer model that has a small gas burner that is used just to get the charcoal going.

A couple of years a go Weber redesigned the Performer and the new model is not even close to as nice as the older model. When I saw this I waited until the local store put the old model on clearance and picked one up as a spare. The original is 13 years old and going strong. With a spare in the box I may never need to buy another grill.

[James Biddle]

FYI for all the Weber lovers... Weber was making all of their grills in the USA until recently, before the cost of stainless steel went through the roof. Recently, my searches indicate the Weber has now shipped their lesser cost models to China. Specifically, the Spirit and Genesis models. In doing so, the stainless steel that used to be made of 304 stainless with a high nickel content, a sign of Weber quality, is now made of 430 stainless which can rust of a period of a few years due to the higher iron content. As I understand, Weber's higher end models continue to be made of the higher quality 304 stainless steel. Mind you, this information was all garnered from web searches.

I was in the market and focused on a Weber grill, but shied away from the Weber because I felt that the value of a Genesis grill was no longer worth the premium that Weber demanded. Not that it isn't a good grill, and better than 75% of the competition, but that there are now better options out there from companies that are using better materials at the price point similar to a Genesis. It used to be that the competition could only compete on gimicks, not quality.

Now, if one could find one of the earlier models of the Weber Genesis with all 304 stainless on the shelf in a store somewhere, that'd be worth it.

[Neal Clayton]

One thing about this discussion is what the burners are made of. I bought a Char-Broil when I first moved to this house 13 years ago, and had to replace the burners, grease deflection bars and rock grate twice in about 6 years. Once I calculated the cost of the grill, and then the replacement parts, I got smart and tossed it into the dumpster when it needed new burners yet again.

I then went out and dropped a lot of coin on a completely stainless steel Jenn-Air with heavy, cast bronze burners. In 6 years, it's needed nothing, and it shows no sign of deterioration.

The Weber I looked at at the time was also well built, but had a cast iron grill and didn't have a couple of features I wanted, so I bought the Jenn-Air.

However, I've no doubt that the Weber would be just as sturdy as the one I wound up with. There's a serious lesson here - buy quality, cry once; buy cheap and cry often. And in the end, the high-end grills would've been cheaper anyway.

came to the same decision myself, dropped quite a bit on the whirlpool equivalent (i think it's under the kitchenaid brand).

it's not worth the hassle to buy cheap stuff.

edit: and the higher end kitchen aid grills are all 304 stainless.

[Paul Ryan]

I can't comment on the new webers using cheaping stanless steel now. What I can comment on is how nice weber grills are. I got away from charcoal 8 years ago with a weber gas and wont go back. Just cooked the family some real nice ribeye steaks tonight. In the 8 years I have owned it I have cleaned it once and replaced on ignitor. It is in need of some bars but the $30 they charge for them I am happy to pay it. It has been the best grill I have ever owned and know of. Most everyone I know replaces their grills every 5 years. I think this weber will longer than 20 years the way it is going. We use it on the average 4-5 times a week in the summer and about 1-2 times a week the rest of the year. I have even used it when it was -10 and windy outside. Full on to get enough heat to cook, but it worked good. I have cooked everything from steaks to brownies on it, even papa murphy's pizza. There are other good grills out there but for the price the Weber is a really nice grill.

THANKS VETERANS

[Dave Lehnert]

I'm in the garden bizz in my day job. Deal with gas grills all the time.
Any store I have been in only stocks the "universal" replacement parts.

Not many makes gas grills. I can buy a line of gas grills with any name brand I wish. All come from the same co. If you look close store "a" grill will be the same as store "b" just a different lid or the like.

Parts are easy to get. Just go to the one that made the grill and cut out the middle man.

http://www.charbroil.com/Consumer/ReplacementParts.aspx

Click on Kenmore and see if your model is listed.

[Scott Shepherd]

FYI for all the Weber lovers... Weber was making all of their grills in the USA until recently, before the cost of stainless steel went through the roof. Recently, my searches indicate the Weber has now shipped their lesser cost models to China. Specifically, the Spirit and Genesis models. In doing so, the stainless steel that used to be made of 304 stainless with a high nickel content, a sign of Weber quality, is now made of 430 stainless which can rust of a period of a few years due to the higher iron content.

I don't know if that's try or not, but from Weber's website, the Genesis and Spirit both have a 25 year warranty on the body of the grill and a 10 year warranty on the burner.

Not sure I'd be too concerned about it falling apart or rusting if the factory offers a 10 and 25 year warranty on the items.

[Ed Labadie]

Worth a look.

http://www.hollandgrill.com/

My parents recently bought one, very nice grill, made in the USA. The dealer even delivered it, all assembled, ready to go.

It does have a slightly longer cooking time when compared to a "regular" gas grill.

Ed

[Glenn Clabo]

I've never liked any gas grill until I tried the Weber Performer...it uses gas to start the charcoal. IMHO using charcoal makes a world of differance.
http://www.weber.com/grills/default.aspx?glid=4&mid=25

[David Keller NC]

Well - I have to agree on the charcoal turning out superior food than gas. Even an incredibly cheap 'n crappy "use once and throw away" charcoal grill yields some really incredible grilled meat.

But one reason I went to propane over charcoal wasn't really convenience (though that is certainly a factor) - it's a courtesy to the neighbors and an environmental choice. Charcoal fires put out a lot of smoke, and although the smoke they put out has particles that are too big to contribute to smog, it can sure smoke up a neighborhood.

And while the propane is fossil fuel and the charcoal isn't, I use my grill very frequently in the spring/summer so that I don't heat up the house and have to remove the heat with AC. I doubt I'd do that with charcoal - it's just not worth starting a charcoal fire for a pot of beans or frying up a pan of fish.

That said, I'd really love to have one of these:

http://www.biggreenegg.com/

[Dan Mages]

Yet another Weber fan. I have an original Performer grill and love it. It is a charcoal grill with a propane starter. I can get the grill up to temp in less than 20 minutes. After 6 years of work twice a week during the summer and once a week during the winter, it has never missed a beat or needed repairs, just regular maintenance.

Check Craigslist, you might be able to find a cheap one used.

Dan