I was over at a friends shop the other day looking around the back room. He runs a fireplace and grill shop and was working on restoring an ancient Charmglow gas grill. This shiny silver unit is several decades old and needs a bit of a clean up before it will grill up any steaks. These days it seems like people are constantly writing me for recommendations on a new gas grill to replace the one they bought a year or two ago. Of course most gas grills being sold these days are built to look good, but not to last. This would imply that there are a lot of disappointed people out there, frustrated by their gas grills. Either that or expectations are very low. Anyway, this leads me to this weeks question:
POLL: How long do you expect your gas grill last?
1) Too Soon to Tell
2) 1 to 2 years
3) 3 to 4 years
4) 5 to 7 years
5) 8 to 10 years
6) More than 10 years
7) Forever
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I have a Charbroil Commercial Series that I bought from Lowes in 2004. Has the brass burners (3) which I replaced, and the burner bar. It is a stainless steel hood, then stainless front doors. The rest is heavy duty painted steel. Keep the cover on half the time, but there is virtually no rust anywhere. This one should last 10 years..
By the way: If you must move your BBQing indoors because of winter or other exigencies (or don’t have any space on which to BBQ outside in any event), you can use a slow cooker. Just be sure to elevate the meat above the level of the liquid — you want the aromatic steam, but you don’t want the flavor-removing effects that actually soaking in liquid creates; otherwise, you’ll have soup, not flavorful slow-cooked pork.
If you have a frying basket that’s relatively shallow compared to the depth of the cooker you’ll be using, that’s ideal for this purpose. If not, any small metal wire rack should do so long as it’s food-safe and heat-safe. Do a dry rub the night before, then put the remnants of the rub in the liquid in the bottom of the slow cooker, along with any soaked maple, apple, or hickory chips, or whatever other goodies you might have, up to a depth of about 1 1/2 to 2 inches depending on the cooker. Insert the rack or basket, taking care that it’s above the top of the liquid and not touching it, and load up with meat. Put on Low for at least eight hours, then serve. If you have access to flame-producing devices (portable butane grills, gas stoves, etc., you can try to put some pretty grill marks on the cooked meat, or you can serve straight from the slow cooker.
Our Holland Herritage Grill lasted 13 years on our deck in Michigan, then I bought a new “bottom end” from Holland for $199 and repainted the rest and we’re good to go again.
After buying a “clearance” grill from a big box store,it needed major maintenance after only a couple of years,I decided to buy a Weber. I’ve known people to never clean or cover them and they last for years! I got mine last year,clean it regularly and covered most of the time. Works like a charm!
Three words: Big. Green. Egg. No burners to replace, no metal exterior to rust, lifetime guarantee on the ceramic parts. I expect my grill to last forever.