by Christopher Rieger » Thu Mar 29, 2007 11:44 pm
This is from an article in Consumer Reports from June 2006. They've always liked the Vermont Castings grills and I would look that direction if I had a few bucks to spend. I went to use my heavily modified grill last night only to find the venturi tubes were blown out. I had to broil the hamburgers instead of grilling/smoking them. Your mileage may vary here, but I'm sure you can find similar models for this year if you Google these model numbers. Just remember, you get what you pay for and those cheaper Wal-Mart grills have a very short lifespan.
Typical mid-sized grills:
• Vermont Castings VM400XBP (Home Depot) , $400, CR Best Buy
• BBQ Grillware GSF-2616 (Lowe's) , $200, CR Best Buy
• Char-Broil Advantage Series 463453305 (Lowe's) , $270, CR Best Buy
• Thermos Stainless 461262006 (Target) , $300, CR Best Buy
Cooking for a crowd:
• Brinkmann Pro Series 4400 810-4400-0 (Walmart) , $300, CR Best Buy
• Great Outdoors Pinnacle TG-560 , $500, CR Best Buy
I love modifying my grill as people often throw out their Wal-Mart grills after a season or two, but they often still have usable parts on them. A rack here, a new burner there - you can make a very interesting grill for next to no money so long as you're sure that fire insurance is paid up!