Help me replace my Weber?

[katecm]

I lost my beautiful Weber three-burner grill in a divorce, and unfortunately also lost most of my extra cash. As spring is moving into full force, I am jonesing for a new grill, but just can't splurge on the price of a Weber, given how many other needs I have around the house right now. So, I found a Char-Broil that looks good, and I;ve had some people recommend Brinkman, but I was wondering if anyone has any experiences with either of those brands. Thanks!

[katecm]

This is all really helpful, everyone. Thanks so very much.

[janniecooks]

Back when we had two homes, one had the weber genesis and the other a char-broil. We were happy with both, in fact we sometimes felt the char-broil's performance exceeded the Weber's, the only criticism we had was that the char-broil had two burners versus the Weber's three, so indirect cooking was not as successful, and the Char-broil's cooking grid was smaller than the Weber's. I wouldn't hesitate to go with the char-broil again.

[luvsummer]

You may also want to scan sites like Craig's List to look for a second-hand Weber. If they're taken care of they can last a long time.

[MelMM]

I want to second that suggestion. I got a used Weber for cheap on craigslist. Weber sells replacement parts, so just about any grill can be fixed up to as good as new. The best way to buy parts is to call Weber and give them the serial number off the grill.

[AdamD]

Once you step down from the higher priced models like weber and vermont castings, there is not a lot of difference in quality IMHO.

Consumer reports ranks the Brinkmanns almost the same as the Charbroils or the Blue Embers.

Just look for the one that has important features like enough BTUs, cast iron grill grates, vertical burners and sturdy construction. I would stick to a basic grill, and not one that is $400 with all the bells and whistles. And I would stay away from a cheap stainless steel models even though they might look nicer.

[scubadoo97]

you do want the burners to be stainless with brass fittings. This is a weak link in cheap grills. Also the frame is a weak link in the cheap ones as well.

[Dave5440]

You need to look at the spacing of the burners as well, mine came with really great brass burners but they are too far apart leaving a cold spot between them, so now i'm making my own burners that will be spaced properly