Lowes' Gas Grill for 2011

This is one of the bottom of the line for the Char-Broil gas grills. What you get is a single burner, dual zone gas grill. While the heat output of is okay the evenness isn't. On the other hand this grill sells for $100USD, which is a price that is hard to beat. These days this is the bottom end of gas grills so if this is the most you can afford you may consider it, but don't expect much. The thin body won't hold in the heat so you can't get a lot of versatility. As a basic burger burner it is an okay grill, but watch out for the flare-ups.

This Char-Broil is a simple 2-burner gas grill with side burner. The previous version of this grill was notoriously difficult to assemble. This grill is labeled "Quick Assembly" but isn't really any different. Running around $140USD this straightforward grill will serve as a basic burger burner but it won't serve you for more than a 2 or 3 years.

Char-Griller has been making low priced charcoal grills and smokers for a few years and has recently started making gas grills. This gas grill is built on the modified body of the smallest of their charcoal grills, basically replacing the coal grate with three burners. In addition they have put on a 12,000 BTU side burner. This means a heavy thermal painted steel grill body and porcelain coated cast iron cooking grates on a gas grill. Surprising this actually works quite well for a low priced (typically under $200) gas grill.

For around $180USD you get a standard sized, 3-burner gas grill with porcelain coated cast iron cooking grates and a 12,000 BTU side burner. Constructed of a mixture of stainless steel and black powder coated steel this is a pretty impressive grill for the price. Unfortunately this is also another of the "you get what you pay for" grill. Thin metals, lightweight materials, plastic parts, and poor construction limit the life expectancy of this grill greatly. My recommendation is to look for something smaller and with less features at this price point.

Recently small grills have become a popular seller. Since many people live in smaller spaces the need for a "little" full sized grill has grown. This is Lowes' answer to that problem. This store brand grill is about as basic as you are going to get, a simple 2-burner gas grill with a small footprint. Being simple is one of this grills strong points. Because it doesn't have all the extras, more money could be spent on quality, not to say that this is a top of the line grill, it is however better than other grills at this price (around $200USD) with all the bells and whistles.

For around $200USD you get a large, 4-burner gas grill with porcelain coated cast iron cooking grates and a 12,000 BTU side burner. Constructed of a mixture of stainless steel and black powder coated steel this is a pretty impressive grill for the price. Unfortunately this is also another of the "you get what you pay for" grill. Thin metals, lightweight materials, plastic parts, and poor construction limit the life expectancy of this grill greatly. My recommendation is to look for something smaller and will less features at this price point.

Sitting next to this grill on the showroom floor of your local Lowes is a comparably sized and featured gas grill for about half the price. The question is, which one is the better value. At just over $250 is grill is, well, to be honest, something of a steal. Yes, the grill standing next to appears to be pretty similar and at half the price I know that a lot of people are going to skip this one and buy that one. That is a shame. This grill will last at least twice as long and will do a much better job of grilling with more even heating and greater temperature control.

The Char-Broil Quantum represents an innovative approach to an inexpensive all infrared gas grill. This unit uses a simple sheet of perforated stainless steel to convert the output of a standard gas burner into infrared energy. This $269USD small, patio sized unit has two burners that put out only 21,000 BTUs under 333 square inches of cooking space but can still reach temperatures around 700 degrees F. Unfortunately this grill is constructed from low quality and thin stainless steel limiting its durability. Each burner has an individual temperature gauge.

Char-Griller has been making charcoal grills and smokers for a few years. Recently they introduced a small 3-burner gas grill. This charcoal/gas combo is exactly what it sounds like, a combination of Char-griller's gas and smallest charcoal grills mounted on a single frame. If you are in the market for both gas and charcoal grilling (or you can't decide which way to go) this is a unit to take a look at. Typically selling for $300 to $400USD this isn't an expensive combination unit and with over 1200 square inches of cooking space it is a very large grill, though you probably will only use one side at a time.

This is a basic gas grill, the most basic of Char-Broil's Commercial Series line. With 4 burners and a side burner you get a well sized and feature grill for around $300USD (sold exclusively at Lowe's though similar models sell else where). The heat output is good and this grill will cook well. Unfortunately it won't cook well for long. The burners on this unit are thin, low grade stainless steel that should last for about 2 to 3 years. Most of the internal components are of the same quality.