Outdoor Grill Parts WTF?

AdamZ

AdamZ

Touchdown! Greaser!
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Adam Zucker
So I have a Carbroil natural gas grill that I have been using for several years. In fact I cook the cheese steaks for the flybq on it. Every spring I take out the burners, flame tamers and grates and wire brush them and make sure the holes in the burners are clear.

Last year they were looking a lot more worn so I took them out and stored them inside for the winter. They are getting pretty thin and I'd like to replace them this year the rust is eating them away. So I go on line and the flame tamers are like $40-$50 each and the grill takes 3 and the cast iron grilling grate is like $57-$70 each and it takes 2.

WTF? Really I think the grill cost me $400. These parts aren't even from the charbroil site I think some are OEM but others are are after market I think.

What the hell is it with grill parts? Anyone know of anywhere to get them at a reasonable price. Hell this isn't an airplane its a gas grill.
 
Look in home Depot, Lowes or Menards. They may have something that will work. I've gotten replacement burners from these places.
 
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Simple... no one wants to sell you grill parts. They want to sell you a new GRILL.
 
Weber. That is the answer.

My spirit 400 just ate the first parts it needed.....in 16 years.
 
bbchien said:
Weber. That is the answer.

My spirit 400 just ate the first parts it needed.....in 16 years.
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I just bought a grill recently and looked very closely at the differences between Weber and Brinkman. I agree that the Weber charcoal grills are very well built - but I just wasn't seeing it in the propane models being built today. They weren't built much if at all better than Brinkman and were still plenty flimsy. They also cost twice as much.

It's just for the price of the Weber I expect them to be a tank. Their charcoal one's are but the propane ones I was looking at most certainly weren't.
 
Kingsford.

They don't want to sell you grills or grill parts, just charcoal.

I'm a BBQ purist.
 
Sac Arrow said:
I'm a BBQ purist.
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I used to be. But I really like being able to cook my steaks, burgers, hot dogs, veggies or whatever without half an hour of prep time. Propane for me these days.
 
Sac Arrow said:
Kingsford.

They don't want to sell you grills or grill parts, just charcoal.

I'm a BBQ purist.
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I too am a purist for big things, I also have a Weber Kettle Grill in which I use hardwood charcoal but, when I get home from work and want a burger, chicken or what ever on the grill, I'm usually wiped from the day its late and I just want to get the food cooked.

DaleB said:
I used to be. But I really like being able to cook my steaks, burgers, hot dogs, veggies or whatever without half an hour of prep time. Propane for me these days.
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Yup!
 
Sac Arrow said:
Kingsford.

They don't want to sell you grills or grill parts, just charcoal.

I'm a BBQ purist.
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Want to get serious about grilling, get a Green Egg!:D
I think most newer gas grills are designed to last 4-5 years and then throw them away, the parts are awfully expensive!:mad2:
 
Cap'n Jack said:
Briquettes or chunks from wood? :)
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Sigh. Mostly briquettes but yes I use mesquite chunks from time to time.

N747JB said:
Want to get serious about grilling, get a Green Egg!:D
I think most newer gas grills are designed to last 4-5 years and then throw them away, the parts are awfully expensive!:mad2:
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I want one of those! I've heard so much about them.
 
At least your grill doesn't look like this. A tree fell on it in a storm.
 

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Have you thought about building your own grill? Then you wouldn't be stuck buying certificated parts.
 
bluee said:
At least your grill doesn't look like this. A tree fell on it in a storm.
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Didn't you just like have some kind of baby or something like that? Shouldn't you still be in the ICU?
 
N747JB said:
Want to get serious about grilling, get a Green Egg!:D
I think most newer gas grills are designed to last 4-5 years and then throw them away, the parts are awfully expensive!:mad2:
Click to expand...

Sac Arrow said:
Sigh. Mostly briquettes but yes I use mesquite chunks from time to time.



I want one of those! I've heard so much about them.
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Another person with Green Egg lust in his heart.....

I saw a knockoff called the Kamado King at the store the other day.

My neighbor's parents own a hardwood charcoal distributor. He ridicules me constantly about my gas grill.

What I need is a Green Egg or similar with a web enabled starter. This would allow me to prep the unit prior to leaving for work and then start it when I leave for home......

With an electric starter and some sort of X10 outlet, I think it could be done.....
 
Sac Arrow said:
Didn't you just like have some kind of baby or something like that? Shouldn't you still be in the ICU?
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Three weeks ago. Insurance only pays for two hospital days after the baby is born, so basically three days total.
 
OP, I just bought new electrodes for my charbroil grill off of Amazon. 9.34 each, not too bad.
 
The Green Egg - I've never used it, but the guys on the BBQ team that are in the spot behind us did, once. It's a little on the small side, capacity-wise, to smoke a lot of meat.

They were loaned one from a distributor to use for the weekend, during our annual state championship contest. Afterward, everyone was packing everything up to take back home, and one of their guys had a package of about 10-15 pounds of meat that wouldn't fit in a cooler. He figured, it's only a couple miles to get home, it'll be OK, so he put it inside the egg.

About 6 weeks later, he was on his deck, and got a whiff of something...something evil. He thought, "What the **** did my dogs get into THIS time?" Then he glanced over at the egg which was still sitting on his deck. He just about filled his drawers. Then he said he went into the woods behind his house and found the longest, strongest branch he could, and used it to pry open the lid and drag what used to be meat out of the egg.

Just as he did that, his phone rang. It was the distributor wanting his egg back.

--

Me? In addition to my Weber kettle and smoker, I have a 15 yr old Weber gas grill that is still going strong. The only thing I've changed on that are the 'flavorizor bars' that go over the burners - the originals rusted out and have been replaced with stainless.
 
AdamZ said:
So I have a Carbroil natural gas grill that I have been using for several years. In fact I cook the cheese steaks for the flybq on it. Every spring I take out the burners, flame tamers and grates and wire brush them and make sure the holes in the burners are clear.

Last year they were looking a lot more worn so I took them out and stored them inside for the winter. They are getting pretty thin and I'd like to replace them this year the rust is eating them away. So I go on line and the flame tamers are like $40-$50 each and the grill takes 3 and the cast iron grilling grate is like $57-$70 each and it takes 2.

WTF? Really I think the grill cost me $400. These parts aren't even from the charbroil site I think some are OEM but others are are after market I think.

What the hell is it with grill parts? Anyone know of anywhere to get them at a reasonable price. Hell this isn't an airplane its a gas grill.
Click to expand...

Be a good American & throw away the old grill and buy a new one.

See? Problem solved.
 
wsuffa said:
Be a good American & throw away the old grill and buy a new one.

See? Problem solved.
Click to expand...

Less helpful if the new grill is imported.
 
jesse said:
I just bought a grill recently and looked very closely at the differences between Weber and Brinkman. I agree that the Weber charcoal grills are very well built - but I just wasn't seeing it in the propane models being built today. They weren't built much if at all better than Brinkman and were still plenty flimsy. They also cost twice as much.

It's just for the price of the Weber I expect them to be a tank. Their charcoal one's are but the propane ones I was looking at most certainly weren't.
Click to expand...

A couple of years ago I replaced my 14 year old Ducane with a Weber Genesis. I loved the old Ducane (which used lava bricks), but the new Ducanes are much lower build quality than the old ones (used to be a "lifetime" parts warrante, that's long gone). The big Genesis is IMHO better than a Brinkman, though it IS a lot pricier. The grill part is a "tank". Compared 'em side-by-side & had a conversation with the crusty owner of my local propane & grill dealer.

2 years in, still almost like new.
 
Frustrating, isn't it?

Char-Broil is (iirc) Lowe's sore brand, now, isn't it?

I have a big honkin' one, had to buy new cast iron grates, had a heckuva time finding them and the prices were all over the map. Other parts largely crafted of Unobtanium (fragile and easily-corroded Unobtanium, as it works out), and the parts are not in the catalog- "obsolete."

But they'll sell you a new grill, they surely will. Made in China, with the stellar quality routinely associated with that label.
 
SCCutler said:
Frustrating, isn't it?

Char-Broil is (iirc) Lowe's sore brand, now, isn't it?

I have a big honkin' one, had to buy new cast iron grates, had a heckuva time finding them and the prices were all over the map. Other parts largely crafted of Unobtanium (fragile and easily-corroded Unobtanium, as it works out), and the parts are not in the catalog- "obsolete."

But they'll sell you a new grill, they surely will. Made in China, with the stellar quality routinely associated with that label.
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Spike, IIRC, Char-Broil is not limited to Lowe's. I've seen 'em at other home and garden stores. That doesn't change the conclusion, though.

What you need is a 55 gallon drum, cut in half, with a hinge on the back and a nice stand made of angle iron. Some hickory wood & a real grate - you'd be cooking that brisket mighty fine....
 
wsuffa said:
What you need is a 55 gallon drum, cut in half, with a hinge on the back and a nice stand made of angle iron. Some hickory wood & a real grate - you'd be cooking that brisket mighty fine....
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Naw, that drum just burns through. I've got some 36" x 1" wall pipe over in the pipeyard. That'll make a fine 'q. The cost for the welder and freight will make your eye's water...
 
11 year old Char-Broil on the back porch needs new cast-iron grills this year.

I'm not too surprised at Spike's PIREP that they'll be a PITA to acquire. :)
 
After 11 years, I think you've received your money's worth. Unless you buy a Weber, and want to do an overhaul every so many years, you are looking at grill replacement on a relatively regular basis.

If I get 11 years out of my Kenmore grill, I will be happy.
 
I think that Weber/Ducane are the same company now?

--


That same BBQ team that polluted their Egg was complaining a couple years ago about the quality of the Weber kettles going downhill. Older generations were made of a much heavier gauge of steel than the current (last 10 yrs or so) versions. The old ones would last pretty much forever, but the newer ones will rot out at the bottom much, much sooner. One of the guys on that team was complaining that he already had to replace his Weber kettle after just 5 yrs or so. Then, after 3 or 8 beers, he had the brilliant idea, "Hey, I'm a lawyer, give me that phone!" He made a few calls, eventually found the number of Weber headquarters, and left a message for the CEO. When he sobered up, he forgot all about it - until a couple days later when a new Weber kettle was delivered to his front door.
 
bartmc said:
Have you thought about building your own grill? Then you wouldn't be stuck buying certificated parts.
Click to expand...

I'd love to but don't have the cutting or welding equipment.

wsuffa said:
Spike, IIRC, Char-Broil is not limited to Lowe's. I've seen 'em at other home and garden stores. That doesn't change the conclusion, though.

What you need is a 55 gallon drum, cut in half, with a hinge on the back and a nice stand made of angle iron. Some hickory wood & a real grate - you'd be cooking that brisket mighty fine....
Click to expand...

I have a client making such a beast for Angel Flight East and FlyBQ use!:)
 
There's a whole smoking culture around the UDS (Ugly Drum Smoker) ... google it.
 
Greg, I realize you want to hang with the cool kids, but smoking is just plain bad for your health.


:D
 
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