The Bottom Line
Pros
- Inexpensive
Cons
- Horribly cheap burners
- Cheap construction with a poorly designed cart
- Thin, pocelain coated steel sheet metal firebox
- Lightweight stamped steel cooking grates
- Large amount of plastic
Description
- Two 12,000 BTU burners and one 15,000 BTU "sear" burner. Burners are cheap stainless steel
- 360 square inches of primary grilling space for a total cooking area of 596 square inches
- 39,000 BTU total output from the main burners
- 10,000 BTU side burner
- Single electronic igniter
- Lightweight porcelain coated stamped steel cooking grates
- Porcelain coated steel sheet metal body with powder coated steel frame
- Hood mounted temperature gauge
- Cover and propane tank sold separately
Guide Review - Kenmore 596 Gas Grill (Model #16113)
This model has been discontinued. It's closest replacement is the Kenmore 680 2-Burner Gas Grill (Model #16110/464810408).The one selling point of this grill, other than the fact that its cheap (typically on sale for $200 USD) is it's "sear" burner feature. This isn't the kind of sear burner you find on more expensive gas grills and certainly won't give you the promised "restaurant-style searing". This is a 15,000 BTU burner as opposed to the two 12,000 BTU burners on this grill. The idea is that this one burner puts out enough heat to actually grill properly before you switch over to the burners that warm nicely. This isn't a feature, it's a curse that just makes this grill even more uneven in it's heating.
The construction of this grill is weak. It is designed to weight as little as possible to reduce the shipping costs from China where is it made. This includes the lightweight porcelain coated (painted) steel firebox. It is also designed to be on sale. If you insist on buying it getting for $200USD and not the full $250USD that it says it sells for. The 13,000 BTU side burner is uncovered and made from aluminum. There isn't actually a single component on this grill that is of value.
Char-Broil has made the low end gas grills for the Sears Kenmore brand for many years. They are designed to be a low cost grill. In years past they were relatively quality units. Unfortunately foreign competition has crushed these units.
