Hi -

About to buy a new gas grill. On the fence between a Weber and a
couple kenmore models. The stainless model 16324 was just rated very
high in Consumers, and has the high quality steel (304). 5 burners
in left/right arrangement. $400 on sale. Lots of shelf space. To get
similar shelf space (important to me), I'd have to go to the Genesis
Gold C - $600 on sale. Big difference in price.

I'm wondering if anyone has any experience with the Kenmore. CR said
its performance was excellent in all respects.

There is also last year's model at Sears - 16323. Not stainless-
painted aluminum. Slightly different heat spreaders over the burners -
similar to newer model but not same. Also seems to have much heavier
grate than the new model (but still porcelain on steel). 4 burners.
Can't find any reviews of this model anywhere, but it looks exactly
like the Elite line, except no stainless anywhere. $300 closeout,
which seems like a good price.

I know everyone says Weber is great and I'm sure it is - but I really
dislike the wasted space having knobs on top, and need to go to gold/C
to get two large shelves. Seems kind of overpriced.

In terms of burners - is more always better? At some point, is it
pointless to have more - 4 ? 5? Would 4 or 5 left/right burners
provide more flexibility for zone and indirect cooking than Weber's 3
front/back?

Thanks for your help.

Michael

The Kenmore is made by GRand Hall. Something with CR is yeah they buy these
and try them but they don't LIVE with them day in and out for the long haul.
I fell for the Grand Hall crap myself. Sure the outside is SS but the
insides rotted away to nothing in less than 18 mos. GRand Hall is no help
either. Good luck finding parts and anything else too for these Chinese
porch ornaments 2 or 3 years later also.
In a word if you want shiny wow buy the Sears. If you want an investment you
will keep and USE and that WORKS buy a weber. There is no other way around
it. Is the Weber spendy? You bet! But it's worth every penny! My 13 yo
Genesis is still on original burners, and even ignitor! It's used almost
daily all year long sits out in winter and summer sometimes I'll cover it
but mostly I forget.
It's WAY more versatile and quit agonizing about the workspace. It's made
like that because of it's superior burner layout. Thanks the the burner
layout you can do way more things better with it. I.e. Rotisserrie. With the
Grand Hall they go on about the IR rotis burner. Reality is yeah it makes a
nice thing cosmetically but you will do a MUCH better rotis in a weber
genesis than just about anything else.
More burners is not better either. Unless you have an unusally large space.
In the end the components and qulaity of experience is superior with the
weber. It also won't hurt our balance of trade either :-)
Larry
"ultradianguy" > wrote in message
ups.com...
> Hi -
>
> About to buy a new gas grill. On the fence between a Weber and a
> couple kenmore models. The stainless model 16324 was just rated very
> high in Consumers, and has the high quality steel (304). 5 burners
> in left/right arrangement. $400 on sale. Lots of shelf space. To get
> similar shelf space (important to me), I'd have to go to the Genesis
> Gold C - $600 on sale. Big difference in price.
>
> I'm wondering if anyone has any experience with the Kenmore. CR said
> its performance was excellent in all respects.
>
> There is also last year's model at Sears - 16323. Not stainless-
> painted aluminum. Slightly different heat spreaders over the burners -
> similar to newer model but not same. Also seems to have much heavier
> grate than the new model (but still porcelain on steel). 4 burners.
> Can't find any reviews of this model anywhere, but it looks exactly
> like the Elite line, except no stainless anywhere. $300 closeout,
> which seems like a good price.
>
> I know everyone says Weber is great and I'm sure it is - but I really
> dislike the wasted space having knobs on top, and need to go to gold/C
> to get two large shelves. Seems kind of overpriced.
>
> In terms of burners - is more always better? At some point, is it
> pointless to have more - 4 ? 5? Would 4 or 5 left/right burners
> provide more flexibility for zone and indirect cooking than Weber's 3
> front/back?
>
> Thanks for your help.
>
> Michael
>

Go to Sam's Club and take a look at their SS line. They
have all the features and are darned good. The grates are
SS bars, they don't flare up because of the ceramic drip
pads, the hoods are double layered (for better temp control
when it's cold) and the burners are cast. We had the
smallest one on our deck in NC for years and I got a cabinet
model for here in the desert where we cook outside every day.

Nonnymus

"ultradianguy" > wrote in message
ups.com...
> Hi -
>
> About to buy a new gas grill. On the fence between a Weber and a
> couple kenmore models. The stainless model 16324 was just rated very
> high in Consumers, and has the high quality steel (304). 5 burners
> in left/right arrangement. $400 on sale. Lots of shelf space. To get
> similar shelf space (important to me), I'd have to go to the Genesis
> Gold C - $600 on sale. Big difference in price.
>
> I'm wondering if anyone has any experience with the Kenmore. CR said
> its performance was excellent in all respects.

One major consideration...I can get parts for my twenty year old
Weber...just try that with a Kenmore.

Bill

ultradianguy wrote:

> Hi -
>
> About to buy a new gas grill. On the fence between a Weber and a
> couple kenmore models. The stainless model 16324 was just rated very
> high in Consumers, and has the high quality steel (304). 5 burners
> in left/right arrangement. $400 on sale. Lots of shelf space. To get
> similar shelf space (important to me), I'd have to go to the Genesis
> Gold C - $600 on sale. Big difference in price.
>
> "snip"
>
> Thanks for your help.
>
> Michael

Just curious, why gas and not charcoal/lump?

Ray
Austin, TX
===

Ray S. & Nayda Katzaman wrote:

> ultradianguy wrote:

>>
>>About to buy a new gas grill.

>
> Just curious, why gas and not charcoal/lump?

Yeah--- I don't think anyone's ever debated that choice here before <g>.

> wrote in message

>> Just curious, why gas and not charcoal/lump?
>
> Yeah--- I don't think anyone's ever debated that choice here before <g>.

No contest. I use the hickory flavored propane. Makes damned good barbecue.
You just have to love them barbecued burgers.

In article > ,
says...
>
> > wrote in message
>
> >> Just curious, why gas and not charcoal/lump?
> >
> > Yeah--- I don't think anyone's ever debated that choice here before <g>.
>
> No contest. I use the hickory flavored propane. Makes damned good barbecue.
> You just have to love them barbecued burgers.
>
>
>

You can't go wrong using pecan propane for poultry.

Bill
--
Gmail and Google Groups. This century's answer to AOL and WebTV.

In article >, Bill wrote:
>
> You can't go wrong using pecan propane for poultry.

Don't forget to buy a bottle of Skunk Propane to annoy your
neighbors occasionally!

I agree strongly with jdoe above.
You need three burners, not two; you don't need more than three.
They are best situated front to back. This allows you to indirectly
cook between the front and back burner, either on the rotisserie or on the
grates. I don't think you need a dedicated rotisserie burner. I strongly
doubt that anyone uses their outside "side burners". They're a waste of
money and space. I don't use my rotisserie, for standing ribs, or any fowl,
including turkeys. You just turn what you're grilling 90 degrees every 15-30
minutes.
Webers are overpriced. They, however, work, for the long haul.
The Weber, along with any other propane grill can't properly sear a steak.
That's for charcoal.
Good Luck
Kent

"ultradianguy" > wrote in message
ups.com...
> Hi -
>
> About to buy a new gas grill. On the fence between a Weber and a
> couple kenmore models. The stainless model 16324 was just rated very
> high in Consumers, and has the high quality steel (304). 5 burners
> in left/right arrangement. $400 on sale. Lots of shelf space. To get
> similar shelf space (important to me), I'd have to go to the Genesis
> Gold C - $600 on sale. Big difference in price.
>
> I'm wondering if anyone has any experience with the Kenmore. CR said
> its performance was excellent in all respects.
>
> There is also last year's model at Sears - 16323. Not stainless-
> painted aluminum. Slightly different heat spreaders over the burners -
> similar to newer model but not same. Also seems to have much heavier
> grate than the new model (but still porcelain on steel). 4 burners.
> Can't find any reviews of this model anywhere, but it looks exactly
> like the Elite line, except no stainless anywhere. $300 closeout,
> which seems like a good price.
>
> I know everyone says Weber is great and I'm sure it is - but I really
> dislike the wasted space having knobs on top, and need to go to gold/C
> to get two large shelves. Seems kind of overpriced.
>
> In terms of burners - is more always better? At some point, is it
> pointless to have more - 4 ? 5? Would 4 or 5 left/right burners
> provide more flexibility for zone and indirect cooking than Weber's 3
> front/back?
>
> Thanks for your help.
>
> Michael
>

"Kent" > wrote in message
...
>I agree strongly with jdoe above.
> You need three burners, not two; you don't need more than three.
> They are best situated front to back. This allows you to indirectly
> cook between the front and back burner, either on the rotisserie or on the
> grates. I don't think you need a dedicated rotisserie burner. I strongly
> doubt that anyone uses their outside "side burners". They're a waste of
> money and space. I don't use my rotisserie, for standing ribs, or any
> fowl, including turkeys. You just turn what you're grilling 90 degrees
> every 15-30 minutes.

Kent,
Stop over my house some weekend. You can enjoy a rotisserie rib eye roast
or chicken. That infrared burner does a fantastic job. I'll sauté some
mushrooms on the side burner so I don't heat up the house. I'll do some
onions also.

Prefer chicken thighs? Ill do them on the side of my two burner grill
because then cook best with indirect heat. I'll put them on the right side
while making some smoke with the burner of on the lift that heats the smoker
box.

Kent wrote:
> I agree strongly with jdoe above.
> You need three burners, not two; you don't need more than three.
> They are best situated front to back. This allows you to indirectly
> cook between the front and back burner, either on the rotisserie or on the
> grates. I don't think you need a dedicated rotisserie burner. I strongly
> doubt that anyone uses their outside "side burners". They're a waste of
> money and space. I don't use my rotisserie, for standing ribs, or any fowl,
> including turkeys. You just turn what you're grilling 90 degrees every 15-30
> minutes.

It's always good to have the right tool for the job at hand.
I'd love to have a good smoker to go along with my gas
grill and also a Webber kettle and even an R2D2. Space
simply won't allow that, nowadays, so I have to compromise
with my Sam's Club 3-burner grill with its side burner. As
with any compromise, it's not as good as a dedicated piece
of hardware, but it's OK. We use A/C here about 9 months of
the year, and I'll be darned if I'll be pumping BTU's into
the house cooking when I can do it outside.

We DO use our side burner frequently. Our grill is hooked
to natural gas, by the way. I used it last night for
Zataran's red beans and rice. We also fry oysters
occasionally, and it's just perfect to heat up oil in a
sauce pan for that. Our 3 burners are side-by-side, so I
use one to heat the rest of the grill when slow smoking ribs
or other meat. It's by the smoke drawer and I can fire up
the smoke drawer and then use the burner to regulate the
hood temperature. Again, it's not perfect, but it works.

Nonnymus

Side burners are handy for deepfrying. and frying anything. Esp
fish....
And you are FOS if you think a propane grill cannot sear a steak.
I've been doing it for years. Courtesy of DCS and propane. And I
rotisserie whole birds, they self bast.
With weber, you get what you pay for. Facts seem to elude you.

robrjt wrote:
> Side burners are handy for deepfrying. and frying anything. Esp
> fish....
> And you are FOS if you think a propane grill cannot sear a steak.
> I've been doing it for years. Courtesy of DCS and propane. And I
> rotisserie whole birds, they self bast.
> With weber, you get what you pay for. Facts seem to elude you.
>

A few days back, I mentioned how easy it is to clean a grill
by placing aluminum foil over the grate. The foil reflects
the heat downward and the temp improves dramatically to burn
off the crust. That will also work for those of you who
might have a gas grill that's a tad anemic. In fact, it
also works to heat up charcoal briquettes, but only if you
leave air space around the edges.

If your gas grill is anemic and you want to really nuke the
outside of the steaks, put aluminum foil over the grates
while you're heating things up. Remove it, spray on some
Pam for grills, and away you go.

Nonnymus