Ducane Affinity 4200

For 2012 Lowe's is carrying the Ducane line of gas grills. This 4-burner unit with side burner is an exclusive to to Lowe's and at $439USD it is less than you could have bought the 4-burner without side burner for last year. Comparatively this is a better grill than most of the ones you are going to find for this price. Made in China at Weber's factory, this grill comes with one of the best features you can buy, full Weber support. Aside from this, the Ducane Affinity 4200 is a basic grill with a simple design. This translates into better internal components that you will find on many of the grills sitting next to it.

The Ducane line of gas grills, owned by the Weber-Stephen Products Company have been discontinued. Weber will continued to support these products, but they are no longer available for sale.

Before talking about this grill I should say a few things about the deal that made this grill possible. Many years ago Weber bought Ducane. They shipped the manufacturing to their factory in China with an idea of making some lower cost grills specifically for the specialty market, meaning no mass market stores could carry the Ducane grills. After languishing for several years, Weber has cut a deal with Lowe's Home Improvement Stores to carry the Ducane grills and Weber has introduced this model, the Ducane Affinity 4200, exclusively for Lowe's. Dealers can carry the other two, but you have to ask why.

Why? Specialty retailers carrying the Ducane Affinity 4100 (the same as this grill, but without the side burner) had a suggested retail price of $540USD. At that price they could make a profit. Lowe's is selling this grill, with the side burner feature, for $439USD. There is no reason for you to buy a Ducane Grill at a specialty retailer, since Lowe's has all of them and at a much lower price. So there is no reason for any specialty store to carry Ducane Grills anymore. I would expect that to dry up in the first half of this year (2012).

While this isn't good for the little shops out there, it is good for you. The Ducane grills are well built for the price and better than most of the comparable products out there. Yes, this is a basic looking grill without a lot of stainless steel and loads of features, but that is what makes it better. The fewer parts are better parts and while similarly priced grills might look nice, or offer you more extras, they won't last as long or grill as well.