Cheap Grills

I'm in "need" of a cheap grill. In a perfect world i'd want something i could use charcoal and propane, but i doubt that's in budget. If i had to pick one, gas.

Budget: $200ish. Looking for something to last 2 summers. If it lasts more, that's great.

Wally World has a Kenmore 4 burner that looks and feels decent, but who knows if that means anything.

Who has recommendations?

How big do you need? If you are looking for a full size gas grill, and willing to shop big box stores, anything above the cheapest should easily last that long.

If you can go small, a weber Q will fit the bill for that price and last.

I have a Char-Broil infrared that I got at Lowes for under $200. It's mostly stainless and its lasted about 3 years so far. It's getting around to needing new inserts, but not yet.

Wait, I thought we were talking about the cheap, gaudy-looking pieces of plastic adorning the front of modern automobiles?

neon4891 wrote: How big do you need? If you are looking for a full size gas grill, and willing to shop big box stores, anything above the cheapest should easily last that long. If you can go small, a weber Q will fit the bill for that price and last.

4-6 burners. Side burner a plus, not a requirement. Saw a Kenmore at KMart that had a searing burner, that was kindof cool. You know, gizzmos.

Bonis points for amazon recommendations so i don't have to go to walmart or kmart.

Side burners are nice if you lose power for any length of time. Boiling water becomes a luxury.

Woody wrote: Side burners are nice if you lose power for any length of time. Boiling water becomes a luxury.

Gas stove and a match FTW.

I bought a kenmore 4 burner on a crazy sale last year (499 marked down to 99). So far, it's been good. Cooks evenly and has nifty light up knobs

neon4891 wrote:

Woody wrote: Side burners are nice if you lose power for any length of time. Boiling water becomes a luxury.

Gas stove and a match FTW.

I'm renting. I have an early glass top stove thay doesn't really work. Will probably do 75% of cooking in warmer months on grill.

I haven't grilled in ages, but I really like using a standard round weber charcoal grill. It's the manual transmission of grilling.

I have some random grill that does gas and charcoal but 99 percent of the time I use this small Weber charcoal grill, link http://amzn.com/B00004RALL . It's perfect when grilling for four or five people and doesn't require much charcoal.

I did propane for a long time but never really liked it. I stopped grilling for a few years and then last summer bought an old-school charcoal grill from Walmart for $89. I love it. Grilling is fun again. And the results are great!

Go to your local recycling center. The one here in AA has 5 gas grills right now.

They are cheap- including a very nice weber gas grill with iron grill grates.

The charcoal ones that are there are even cheaper.

I got a a Weber Q320 on Amazon three years ago. Very durable and works great. I also have a Weber Kettle which I use at least 4 nights a week. The Kettle is cheaper and once you get the hang of it you can have the charcoal ready in no time.

If you can find a Q series on Amazon, I'd do that.

I'm 49 years old, and I still have not figured out the purpose of a gas grill...

Wife doesnt get home til 11pm weeknights. I'm not messing around with prepping a charcoal grill everynight. Gets expensive too.

Swank Force One wrote: Wife doesnt get home til 11pm weeknights. I'm not messing around with prepping a charcoal grill everynight. Gets expensive too.

I used to get home at 4:30am six days a week... Never stopped me from grilling.

Unless you want to do low-and-slow, charcoal really doesn't take a Helluva lot more time than gas.

Not sayin', just sayin'...

Keep it indoors or covered and the exterior will last forever. Rebuilding the guts is cheap & easy. Get a second propane tank so if you run out in the middle of cooking something you can swap the tanks & get back to it in 5 minutes (or less). I have a $89 cast iron Charbroil bought in 1997. Replaced the burners twice, so I've probably spent less than $200 total including the second tank. We keep it in the garage & roll it out into the front yard where I can see it through the front door (in case it flares up).

If I was on a tight budget & couldn't find a new one for under $150 I'd look for a used one for $50 & rebuild it.

You can use wood chips to get the smoke flavor with propane. Keep 'em in a container with water so you can just pull them out and drop them into the grill.

grafmiata wrote:

Swank Force One wrote: Wife doesnt get home til 11pm weeknights. I'm not messing around with prepping a charcoal grill everynight. Gets expensive too.

I used to get home at 4:30am six days a week... Never stopped me from grilling. Unless you want to do low-and-slow, charcoal really doesn't take a Helluva lot more time than gas. Not sayin', just sayin'...

I get up for work at 5am. I get it, i prefer charcoal myself. I even have a small charcoal grill right now that i will probably keep. But with how long this one takes, i'm really not interested in messing with it as often as i'd like to grill, especially when i'm putting dinner on the table 6 hours or less before i have to wake up in the morning.

Convenience and speed has to take a priority for this specific decision.

But this is why i'd really LOVE to have a charcoal/gas combo grill, but all of those that i've seen start around $400. Out of budget.

http://www.walmart.com/msharbor/ip/Backyard-Grill-667-sq-in-Gas-Charcoal-Grill/31897842

Well... Just how terrible do we think this would be?

Fire up mx6. Cook steaks in flames of burnt egos.

I expected nothing less from you.

Swank Force One wrote: http://www.walmart.com/msharbor/ip/Backyard-Grill-667-sq-in-Gas-Charcoal-Grill/31897842 Well... Just how terrible do we think this would be?

Fits your budget, offers gas + charcoal, well rated on the site but that might be questionable... Probably worth visiting a nearby Wally World to look at.

The Kenmore unit i found with the searing burner seems to be well-reviewed as well, and the grill sites seem to like a searing burner as the best "gizzmo" a gas grill can have. Seems i have a decision to make between getting the combo, or getting the Kenmore w/ searing burner now, and keeping an eye out for a classic Weber charcoal deal for lazy weekend grill and beer time.

Swank Force One wrote: The Kenmore unit i found with the searing burner seems to be well-reviewed as well, and the grill sites seem to like a searing burner as the best "gizzmo" a gas grill can have. Seems i have a decision to make between getting the combo, or getting the Kenmore w/ searing burner now, and keeping an eye out for a classic Weber charcoal deal for lazy weekend grill and beer time.

Can't you imitate the searing burner with a cast iron skillet or griddle on the grill?