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What is the quality difference between expensive grills
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Posted by bnicebkind (My Page) on Tue, Oct 11, 05 at 21:06
| What is the difference in the $3,500 built-in outdoor grill from Lynx, DCS, Dacor, Wolf, Viking etc. compared to the $700 jenn-air outdoor built-in grill from Lowes? Both are stainless with a rotisserie, and visually look about the same. I could replace the jenn-air several times before spending the amount of the high end grills. So, what am I getting for the money in the high end grill that the lowes Jenn-Air doesn't deliver, and how important is it? P.S. We are in coastal florida climate if that makes a difference in quality issues. I also posted this on the appliance forum. thanks for your help! |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: What is the quality difference between expensive grills
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| I've studied the high end you've described at some length over last 2 years. I would recommend, if your budget is like mine, to go Jenn-Air. We have a 5 year old PGS k40 post mount, nat. gas - though no rotisserie which I wanted really bad for a while. The PGS burner will easily last the 10 years it is warranted for. Would recommend, but rotiss/back burner kit was available to add later as salesman said when we bought. However, they discontinued that part later - aaarrgghh! While your weather is like ours, most of the year here, almost half in fact, is too hot to both cook on the grill and hang out in the backyard. Due to budget and weather, we spent the money indoors instead on cooktop/vent/oven. And no bottle to replace. |
RE: What is the quality difference between expensive grills
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| I guess I should have looked at the date on your original post and realized. Not much interest in this forum I guess. |
RE: What is the quality difference between expensive grills
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| Pugger, don't worry, I reply to old stuff all the time. I recently replied to a fondue thread that was two years old and the original poster since passed away. My response lead to other members replying about how much they missed her. Ooops! But do you have an opinion on Jenn-Air vs. Ducane. Home Depot has a Ducane 5-Burner grill for $899. I think the Jenn-Air at Lowes doesn't include the rotisserie but with the Ducane it's included. Any thoughts would be appreciated. Thanks.
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RE: What is the quality difference between expensive grills
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| We also just moved to coastal florida & are looking for a decent grill. I saw the Jenn-Air at lowes today & it looked good - but a rotisserie would be nice. Thanks. Patty |
RE: What is the quality difference between expensive grills
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| FYI .. if you go with a ceramic cooker like a Big Green Egg or Kamado (egg shaped BBQs), you will not need a rotisserie at all -- I can easily cook a full sized chicken (or Turkey for that matter) standing up on mine and all sides are cooked easily.. Sorry.. couldn't help myself.. (8-> |
RE: What is the quality difference between expensive grills
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| To answer the original post - the difference is the expensive grills are generally built of the highest quality materials throughout (not just on the exterior), are manufactured in North America and are supported by the same company. The Jenn-Air is made in China, lately by Nexgrill but not always and never has been made by Jenn-Air, and is not supported at all by Jenn-Air. You must go to the manufacturer for support and their support has been spotty from what I've read elsewhere on the web. You get what you pay for. Good quality stainless (304-grade heavy guage) is *very* expensive. If the Jenn-Air even has that good a quality of stainless, then the bulk of the cost has gone into that and *not* into the internals. At the same time, those $3000+ grills are built for extremely heavy use - nonstop all-day restuarant use which you'll never do at home. You really don't need all that. There are many other good & proven grills to choose from - BroilKing, Napoleon, original Ducane (not the stainless ones at Home Depot), Weber to name a few. Here's a good list of grills in the Jenn-Air price range:
http://bbq.about.com/cs/toppicks/tp/aatp060402.htm |
RE: What is the quality difference between expensive grills
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| I bought the original Ducane. It still works but it is of very cheesy construction. How they got such a good name is beyond me. The rotisserie supports are made of thick sheet metal and are about to fall off. It had a lifetime warranty when I bought it but since then they have re-organized (filed bankruptcy) and have ended all warranties like I bought. Nice company. Go elsewhere if you ask me. To replace the grate that holds the coals now is $100 and mine is about shot at 8 years. Guvner.. |
RE: What is the quality difference between expensive grills
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| We had a cheap $800 stainless grill. The steel discolored from the heat because of it's thinness. Heat escapes and it can't get up to high temperatures. Our new outdoor kitchen has a Viking with higher quality steel and double walled construction. Also the rotisserie motor is sealed. There is no "cut out" on the side which will also smoke & heat to escape. Another feature that we liked, which was also on the Alfresco we were looking at, is a dedicated burner for the smoker tray. The Viking tray is big enough to hold the big wood chunks. We're also in Florida and we grill all the time any season. I do recommend a sear zone with any grill. A nice, thick, NY strip cooked 2 minutes on each side at 1,600 degrees is perfect. Good char on the outside and almost raw in the center. Yum. |
RE: What is the quality difference between expensive grills
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| I am looking into built-in grills. If know nothing about them and found the Jenn-air at Lowes for 899. The recommendations on this site are telling me to move away from that. Does anyone Know anything about Cal Flame. there seems to be a good deal on a Cal Flame G4.. can't find too much information on that how ever. |
RE: What is the quality difference between expensive grills
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| I have a Traeger pellet grill/smoker and love it with the auto temp control. I would recommend either a Traeger or better yet a Mak pellet grill/smoker if your going to spend that kind of money. The Mak allows you to sear a steak while the Traeger does not quite get hot enough to sear like charcoal or gas is the only down side to the Traeger units. These units will cook a cheap frozen pizza and make it really good. If you want to be able to do anything from bake to grill to smoke with one unit check into a pellet type. I will say my Traeger still is not as good as charcoal grilling but it is the closest you can get without the headache and a lot more versatile. It beats gas grilling completely. I can turn it on and in less than 5 minutes it is up and burning on its own and all you do after that is set the temperature you desire and make sure there are plenty of pellets for the cookout. I would vote for a pellet grill or big green egg and leave the gas alone. |
Here is a link that might be useful: Mak Grills
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