Count me in this camp. No need for a grill the size of a compact car with 2,3,4 burners......are you cooking for the whole neighborhood or what?

 

Had a two burner Char-Broil...just isn't big enough to spread the food out on or have different temps going on at the same time. With a 4 or 5 burner, you can separate the food and have one side on high, one side low, etc. depending on what you are cooking. Or you have enough space to cook for a large number of people. Several times my grill wasn't big enough to accommodate the crowd. The way I look at it, you don't always have to use all of the space/burners on a big grill if just cooking for a couple of people. But when you need the size/space, a small grill just won't cut it.

I bought a Brinkmann 5-burner grill from Home Depot about 2 weeks ago. $199. Is it the best grill? Nope, not even close, but it cooks meat when I throw it on it and cleans pretty easily so it definitely meets my needs.

 

Brinkmann 5-Burner Grill

It is a little more than you indicated that you want to spend, but about 5 years ago, after not being satisfied with my previous two grills I went ahead an splurged a bit a got a Weber. I have been extremely satisfied with with it. By far the best grill I have ever owned, but for a gas model your looking at $399.00 and up.

 

I've had a grill with a sear burner before, and I really didn't think that it worked all that well and therefore seldom used it. Perfect Flame or whatever name Lowes house brand grills are going by now are absolute junk.

It is a little more than you indicated that you want to spend, but about 5 years ago, after not being satisfied with my previous two grills I went ahead an splurged a bit a got a Weber. I have been extremely satisfied with with it. By far the best grill I have ever owned, but for a gas model your looking at $399.00 and up.

 

 

My brother has a Weber that was roughly $300-$350 and he absolutely loves it. They make very nice grills.

The cheapest I have found is Krogers $199.

I'm a charcoal and wood burner guy so I won't be much help, but I will say I've never seen a Weber that I didn't like. Simply put, they make an excellent product that lasts a long, long time.

 

I do own a 3 burner charbroil gas grill and it is a complete piece of junk in terms of build quality and keeping even temps. It will heat up to 7-800 degrees pretty quick though, which is why its sole duty is for searing. A buddy of mine has a 5 burner, plus searing burner but man is that things a gas hog. So consider that when making your choice, the larger the surface area, the more fuel your going to have to burn to keep the temperature up.

 

A buddy of mine has a 5 burner, plus searing burner but man is that things a gas hog. So consider that when making your choice, the larger the surface area, the more fuel your going to have to burn to keep the temperature up.

 

That's why you don't use them all. The first time I used my 5-burner we had a handful of people down, so I needed the whole surface area. Since then, it's just been my wife and I, so I've only been using 2 of the burners. If you have a 2-3 burner and have a larger group, you can't add burners, but if you have the 5 burner, you don't have to use them all.

That's why you don't use them all. The first time I used my 5-burner we had a handful of people down, so I needed the whole surface area. Since then, it's just been my wife and I, so I've only been using 2 of the burners. If you have a 2-3 burner and have a larger group, you can't add burners, but if you have the 5 burner, you don't have to use them all.

 

I get what your saying, but you still have to heat the same amount of space. My buddy usually only uses one or two burners, but still burns through a few tanks of gas per summer. When he had a small 2 burner grill one tank lasted him a year. Maybe he's doing something wrong, I dunno, I rarely use gas grills. But I figure it works the same as heating anything else. If you have a large home, its gonna take more fuel to heat it than it would a small home. It wouldn't matter if you have a small furnace or a large one, its still gonna take the same amount of fuel to heat the same size space.

I get what your saying, but you still have to heat the same amount of space. My buddy usually only uses one or two burners, but still burns through a few tanks of gas per summer. When he had a small 2 burner grill one tank lasted him a year. Maybe he's doing something wrong, I dunno, I rarely use gas grills. But I figure it works the same as heating anything else. If you have a large home, its gonna take more fuel to heat it than it would a small home. It wouldn't matter if you have a small furnace or a large one, its still gonna take the same amount of fuel to heat the same size space.

 

When I use 2 burners (say the left 2), the surface area over the 3 to the right does not get hot.

Love my charbroil Commercial grade infrared. It cost around $500. Huge grill with a side burner/griddle. I also kept my Weber gas grill that is about 10 years old. Still in great shape. Spend the money on a good cover.

I use the grill as often as possible. Don't feel the need to skimp if you enjoy back porch method of cooking.

I take my inner heat diffusers, scrap them off and put them in the dishwasher once a month or so. Not that bad.

Love my charbroil Commercial grade infrared. It cost around $500. Huge grill with a side burner/griddle. I also kept my Weber gas grill that is about 10 years old. Still in great shape. Spend the money on a good cover.

I use the grill as often as possible. Don't feel the need to skimp if you enjoy back porch method of cooking.

I take my inner heat diffusers, scrap them off and put them in the dishwasher once a month or so. Not that bad.

 

Do you ever run the grates through the dishwasher? I've been wondering if I should do that every so often to keep it clean.

When I use 2 burners (say the left 2), the surface area over the 3 to the right does not get hot.

 

Right, which is fine I guess if your cooking steaks, burgers, or dogs. But if your cooking something that needs indirect heat, like ribs among other things, your gonna have to burn a ton of fuel to keep the opposite side up to cooking temp. Ribs for instance need 5-6 hours of indirect heat if you want to render the fat down. I'm not knocking large gas grills, they certainly have there purpose, I was just throwing it out there as a consideration to anyone looking to buy a new grill. My indirect smoker has a huge cooking area, similar to a 6 burner gas, it takes a lot of coal and wood on long cooks. But I have a chainsaw and room to season the wood, so its no big deal.

Do you ever run the grates through the dishwasher? I've been wondering if I should do that every so often to keep it clean.

Yes, did it last time I cleaned it. Put them in with the diffusors and pretty much nothing else. Worked great. I always burn off after I cook as well.

I just bought a Char-Griller Acorn for $220. It's a kamado style grill (think big green egg). It uses lump charcoal (at Walmart or Home Depot 27 lbs for about $14). It can cook 200 degrees to over 700, smoke ribs or pork butts slow and low or sear steaks, even bake pizza or bread, pie etc. I made smoked 3 racks of baby backs this weekend and corn on the cob (grilled in husk), and potatoes, was really good

I used to hate char coal grills seems like everything cooked too fast and tasted like lighter fluid. Now sold on Kamado style grills, don't use lighter fluid or regular charcoal. I can fill it with lump charcoal, light a weber starter cube, and be at 500 degrees and grilling in 12-15 minutes.