Check this site out!

[snapshotmd]

I stumbled onto this site and I found it very interesting! A lot of what he says makes sense; and I'm now reconsidering my planned Weber purchase.

What do all you experienced grillers and Weber owners think?

grill finder (http://www.grillfinder.com/index.html)


snaps

[ccgegg]

Interesting read, snaps.... thanks for posting. I think you and I are running around chasing our tails on our grill hunts. At least that's how I feel. I just don't feel like I'm getting any good, consistent, unbiased information as I research this pending purchase full tilt. The "grill finder" info you posted is exactly what I mean. I've never heard of any of the mfgs of the "under 500" category. I don't see any in the Consumer Reports either.

[1044]

Are any of their images opening for you?

[snapshotmd]

ccgegg,

I've never heard of any of the grills mentioned either. The one thing that I found really interesting is the BTU/cooking area ratio, which says it needs to be between 95 and 115 in order to sear meat.

I've been reading the forums at About.com and they were saying it is true that the high BTUs are needed to provide a good searing temp, about 500*F, with the hood open. The Weber Genesis reportedly has a problem keeping temps above 300* in the same condition. The tradeoff for having a HOT grill is it may cook itself; that is, if the burners are left on High with the hood down it will get hot enough to melt/warp metal. They also said that Weber designs their grills not to have high BTU/area ratios to protect its grills from self destruction.

I'm still leaning towards the Weber. I can't ignore the fact that I've heard VERY few bad things about these grills. However, part of me is looking into the Barbeque Galore (http://bbqgalore.com) grills. These seem to follow the "95 to 115" rule and they themselves warn about the thermal meltdown if run on high with the hood down. But, no side burner can be found on any of the models I've seen so far. Bbqgalore grills use ceramic briquettes instead of flavorizer bars, and I'm used to briquettes. Their burners are also vertical instead of horizontal.

snaps

ETA - The pics don't open for me either. That and the fact that I've never heard of most of the grills listed leads me to believe that the site is quite a few years old. But the info is still interesting and makes sense.

[gas_coal]

Apparently Gary Petersen, the owner of the website has a problem with Weber. His only comment is negative and he hasn't included them in any of the top 5 lists. Something just doesn't seem right because Weber makes an outstanding product and has top notch customer service. Something in his "25 year experience" has made him biased.

[snapshotmd]

Probably an ex-Weber employee who got the ax. :D