Outdoor Grills

Archived Q&A and reviews ▼

Archived Q&A and Reviews

Questions

Repairing a Weber gas grill

May 2013

Our grill malfunctioned over the weekend and, fortunately, did not cause any damage except to itself. Two of the control knobs melted onto the control panel; the hose/regulator connection to the tank is toast; and I suspect there may be other damage under the control panel where the propane feeds to the three burners. Replacing these parts is probably beyond my skill level. Can anyone recommend a service place or handyman who has done such work? Perfectly happy to have you recommend yourself.

Thanks, Norm

I haven't used this guy (yet!!), but BBQRevivers gets great reviews on Yelp. Seems to be a one-man operation. All he does is grill repairs/cleaning/maintenance of any brand, and he comes to you: http://www.bbqrevivers.com/ yelp reviews: http://www.yelp.com/biz/bbq-revivers-concord-4#query:Gas%20Grill%20Repair

Becky W.

OP here. Another member tipped me to BBQRevivers.com -- and I have to say that I have NEVER received a better recommendation. (Thanks, Becky!) Jack is a great guy and can get your grill up and running again in no time. He also likes to teach you about your grill, so you can take better care of it yourself. As far as I can tell, there aren't many other people (any?) doing this, and he can be booked up (I lucked out when he had a last-minute cancellation), but, in my opinion, he's worth waiting for. Check the Yelp reviews. Norm V.

Outdoor gas grill repair

April 2013

Hi BPN Community,

Our Brinkmann outdoor propane gas grill hasn't been working for awhile, and we've discovered in searching for someone who could fix this that grill repair is a somewhat underserved market. The manufacturer, Home Depot and others don't repair your basic backyard grill. The only thing we would know to check is whether the propane tank still had some gas left (it has plenty). We're unfortunately not very handy with these types of things. We don't know how to isolate specific parts of the grill, nor do we know the first thing about fixing them.

Is there any person or service in the Berkeley area that could troubleshoot a grill and get ours up and running again? Thank you in advance for your help. jl

When this happened to us we hired a handyman. It turns out that spiders had gotten into the propane supply line and blocked it. He fixed it pretty quickly. Not handy

Grill wisdom sought

Sept 2011

I'm ready to buy a grill for the remaining summer/fall season. I want a gas grill - probably propane - for fairly simple cooking. It doesn't need to have a rotisserie or be an outdoor kitchen, but I want it to be good quality, versatile, not overly complicated or loaded with bells and whistles, and able to hold up for many years. I hate appliances that call out to be replaced within a few years. When I compare different models I am overwhelmed with the choices; I don't think I need all those BTUs and want to stay away from electronics (less to break), but I really don't know what I need and what, with feature creep here to stay, I should just get anyways because it's part of an otherwise 'just right' bbq appliance. Thanks jmd

I just retired my first propane grill (Coleman, which doesn't make home gas grills any more, apparently) after 9 years and got a new one in July (Brinkmann). You can ignore the BTU information, as it really has no bearing on how well a grill performs. Having at least 3 burners is a must in my book, and 4+ burners is even better. The extra burners will help with indirect cooking (where the food is not sitting on top of a lit burner) and reduce flare ups. Another must for me is to have a side burner so I can saute/pan fry outside and not have oil splatter around inside the house. While many grills boast about having stainless steel, the quality of the SS is usually on the low end, especially for grills costing under $1000, so don't expect the really nice SS if your price point is below that. All grills will start to get cruddy/ugly/dirty over time, and the best way to stretch out the life of one is to not skimp on cleaning. Finally, I would suggest getting a good sturdy grill cover to help keep it clean and a gas gauge (so you know if you're likely to run out of propane in the middle of cooking). Good luck! JustGotANewGrill

Affordable gas grill?

May 2007

Any recommendations for a 'Father's Day' gas/propane BBQ grill that is appropriate for on a deck, can be around young kids and is easy to fire up and grill. We are still of the old-school charcoal variety, which is fine and which my husband prefers. But, it also means we don't grill as often as we might like. I know you can spend a bunch of $$ on one's grill system so I would appreciate a referral that is affordable and not high end. seeking BBQ

Try Sears. We got one there a couple of years ago for less than $300 and it has worked well. It takes propane and is on a cart for mobility. Q'in

I do think both Sears & Costco have some good deals. We are very happy with our Weber. We bought a gas grill a number of years ago and loved it, then donated it to my inlaws, partly so my husband could justify an upgrade. BBQ's are all going to be on sale in the next month or so (fathers' day, 4th of July), so keep that in mind. The webers are not cheap. But they're good. If you like to BBQ a lot, you might consider getting one with jets that run perpendicular to the grill (i.e., when you're looking at the grill, away from you as opposed to running from your left side to your right side), so that you can cook on the left side of the grill soemthing at high heat, like your hamburgers, and on the right side of the grill something at low heat, like your buns. It's also really, really nice to have a side burner so you can heat up your sauce or cook the mac & cheese without having to run back inside to check on it.

A Good Gas Grill under $600

June 2004

I am going to buy a gas grill for my husband for his birthday. I know he wants a stainless steel grill with a side burner and an exterior temperature gauge. I'm considering the Weber Gold C, a Kenmore and I've even heard of one called Front Avenue sold a Costco. Any thougts on these or other grills? I'd like to keep the price under $600 and I want a good product that will last. Thanks. Alicia

Check out the June 2004 issue of Consumer Reports for ratings of gas grills, available at your local public library for free or online for a fee.

Both Consumers Reports and Cooks Illustrated have recently reviewed gas grills. I can't recall their conclusions, but I'd trust either of them as recommenders. Wendy

We love our Weber. They're pricey, but everyone I asked for recommendations said the same thing. We had a weber Genesis Silver B or something like that, which is a step down from the Gold that you're looking at. For under $600 (which isn't exactly skimping) that' sprobably a good deal. It's easy to use, stainless steel lasts better, the heat is good. WE cook all the time on it. If you want to go just one step higher, you can chekc out the Summit Silver B, which we just bought (and donated our Genesis to the in-laws' cabin!). THe difference witht he one we just bought is that we now will have a side burner (which you'll have in the Genesis Gold), and there are 4 jets, each perpendicular to the grill, and each separately controllable. My husband was very excited about this, because that way he can do, eg, veggies on one side of the grill and meat on the other. It's harder with three long jets to separate the heat. But is that worth an extra $300-400? I don't know, depends on how much cooking you plan to do on it... For us, the side burner is also critical, because we have to run back through the garage to go upstairs to get anything we're not cooking on the grill. For me, considering how happily my husband cooks on the grill, the new grill was worth the extra bucks--plus, his birthday and fathers day coincided with all the sales, so I don't have to think about that either! And just FYI, bbq's seem to all go on sale for the major summer holidays: mem day, fathers day, July 4th. If that helps. But the higher end grills don't always get included. We found a 15% off coupon at OSH. You can also check Weber website weber.com for extrasbrushes, racks, drip pans, griddles, and their ''big book of grilling''. plus bbq saucees. Some of the accessories work for the Genesis series and not for the summit (who knows why). And the website is a great source: no tax, and $3 flat delivery fee. A steal! janet

Replacement grill rack for outdoor fireplace

Aug 2003

I have this wonderful outdoor fireplace, but no grill rack to go with it. I look at it and salivate, just thinking what about what I could be cooking in it! I was hoping someone would have any recommendations on where I can buy an adjustable rack for grilling/cooking food or a place I can have a cast iron grill rack custom made. I have made endless internet searches with no luck. Do I need to find a person who does custom metal work? maya

You might try Barbeques Galore or similar stores. They sell all kinds of replacement racks, grills, etc. There is one (I believe it's still there) in Walnut Creek, or take a look online (their website is probably bargequesgalore.com). Good Luck. Rachel

My husband had a custom grill made to turn our old trash incinerator into a BBQ. He said he paid about $100, but that was 5 years ago. He can’t remember the name of the store, but it was a welding shop located on the old base in Alameda. Anita