I'm looking to replace my 11 year old grill, and I saw one on sale (pretty much everyone is running sales now) for a good price. Consumer reports rates it pretty high too.
Does anyone have any experience with one of these?
It is the Aussie Bonza 4 series model 7462.
►DUAL FUEL - COOK WITH GAS OR CHARCOAL
►48,000 BTUs
►815 square inches of cooking surface
►4 porcelain coated cast iron burners
►Heavy-duty, porcelain coated cast iron grids and warming racks
►Porcelain hood and bowl
►Polyurethane coated hardwood cart
►Matchless ignition system
►Built-in heat indicator
►Easy clean drip pan
I like the size, the cast iron (even if it is porcelain coated), and the fact that it can do charcoal (which I have been unable to do since tailgating in college) as well as gas with one grill.
I've heard that most places sell this grill for about $400, but I can get it on sale for $269 right now locally.
Aussie Grill Link It doesn't have a side burner, but our grill now has one and in 11 years, I have never used it.
PS. I don't want to spend more than this. I know I can get a Holland grill and pretty much bake a cake in the thing, but I can't spend that type of money right now.
Thanks for any thoughts on this. I am hoping to be grilling on a new grill for this weekend's "Guy's Movie Night"... Sorry, I know most of you fall into the category of a "guy", but unless you get an invitation from me, you can't come, so don't bother driving all the way to Iowa. I'm not even inviting the other Iowans on the forums (Sirquack is the closest at about 15 miles away, and even he isn't invited. (sorry man))...
So back to the grill. Let me know your thoughts.
Interesting... I'm looking to replace mine, too. Where are you seeing this one for this price?
I'm sold. Of course I'm no expert. Price seems good from what I've seen.
Best part is the big "Aussie" on the front would remind me of Olivia Newton-John and give me a warm feeling everytime I grilled.
I like the 7362, although I really should just clean out my old grill.
Hey Nick, a few thoughts off the top of my head:
Pro's:
- Great Size
- Features
- Bang for your buck
- Built here - NOT off shore!
Cons:
- Porcelain Bowl - most rust and rot out within 5 to 8 years.
- Burners & sear plates look VERY close to the cooking grids - Most with this design produce uneven heat with extreme hot spots.
- Lower than average warranty.
Compared to what else you can get for the money, it seems like a good deal. So long as you realize this won't be a "long term" grill.
Kind of a shame really - they put a 15 to 20 year burner into a pot (bowl) that probably won't even last 10 years.
Thanks everyone for the input, and the Pros/Cons list.
The cooking grates are about 8 inches (maybe a little more) above the sear plates when in "charcoal" mode. In gas mode, they form mulitple "teepees" with the tops about 3-4 inches from the cooking grates. The pictures on their web site are deceiving. My grill that I have now just has the one teepee that runs right to left in the center only and it is about 2 inches from the cooking grate.
So even if that isn't a great design, it is better than what I have now. Heck, right now, just about anything would be better. It has been a great grill, but I am tired of replacing burners and the teepee shield every year just to get moderately even heat.
I think that this will work out great for me. Maybe my next grill will be a Holland or something higher end, but for now, I just want a good grill for a good price.
Which reminds me, for those that are wondering, the 4 burner grill is on sale right now at Menards (www.menards.com, although I don't think that you can buy it online) for the $269 price.
I've been extremely happy with my Weber (propane only) Genesis Silver A (
link). Compared to other grills, it may not rank as high in BTU rating, but it heats evenly and is very easy to clean. I've had it for a few years and haven't had to replace any parts yet (tank refills excluded).
We had a lovely chat about
gas grills a while back. Like Peter, I'm still satisfied with the Weber.
I think that I might still give the Aussie a go. I like the very large size, and it has a lot of key elements that I want, but can only find (because of the size) in a $1200+ grill. It does seem to be lacking in a couple of areas, but the more I am reading, the more it sounds like a great value. It may not last as long, but I am used to cooking on a very hot grill (even when turned to the lowest setting) so I need the heat.
Thanks to everyone who spoke up.
That's great, Nick! Please report back with your review.
Will do. And again, just because I don't buy a Weber or Brinkman or whatever, doesn't mean that your links and brands didn't help me out. It allowed me to focus in on other good brands and see what is what...
Yep, I don't think you can go wrong spending $269.00 for US built. Up here in Canuck land, most of the Q's in that price range are "off shore", and the quality & parts availability is horrid.
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The pictures on their web site are deceiving.
Yea, the cooking grids look like they're right on top of the sear plates!
When it comes time to smoke, try and find some of this natural lump charcoal or similar. It contains no fillers or additives, (Read oil/petro chemicals) that the standard charcoal briquettes contain.
Peter, I was going to ask how the porcelain flavorizer bars have stood up, but then I remembered you upgraded to the stainless.... nice call.
At the HVAC company I work for, the showroom now sells Weber, Vermont Castings, Broil King, as well the Napoleon Q's we've always carried.
I'm still a Napoleon fanboy, but the
Weber Genesis E310 is one heck of a Q for $899 CDN. (With the SS cooking rods & flavorizer bars) No fancy extras like rear or side burners, but it's
REALLY, REALLY solid. In fact, at that price point, I'd take it over the similar priced Napoleon.
I don't think the Aussie grill is a U.S. made grill, far east I do believe. I had one for around three years that the bottom turned in to pure rust. Everything in the bottom section was trash after three years. On a good note they did warranty everything but the grates. I must admit I did not always cover it so I do take part of the responsibility for its condition.
Could be... When I went to their
Company Website, it only lists the plant in Greeneville, TN. So I assumed..........
Regardless, as both of us have mentioned - porcelain pot bad.
Save your money and get a Char-Broil
I forgot to mention my brother also had one. His went up in smoke within the first year. I think it was a regulator that went bad. I can not recommend these grills. I do agree save up some more money and get something better.
BTW I gave the grill and it's new parts away.
Anyone tried one of the cheaper Webers?
They had a major recall a few years ago (2004 I think) on their grills due to falty regulators, like you mentioned. I keep going back and forth. I just can't spend more money on a grill, but if I can get by for 5 years (length of warranty) then I will be ready to get something really nice anyway. Reviews for this thing are across the board. Aussie grills in general get just "OK" reviews, but this particular one is rated pretty good and is marks as a GV (good value) by consumer reports.... ARGH!
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Save your money and get a Char-Broil
Mmmmm... Maybe save a little longer:
"Foreign competition continues to hurt many American and Canadian manufacturers. This year Char-Broil will close down its last U.S. production facility and all future products will be made in China and imported to North America. Some inside the industry have questioned whether Char-Broil will survive as an American Brand, or simply end up being turned over to a Chinese company. "
From: Grills, Barbecues and Smokers 2006 by Derrek Riches
Same thing is happening with Vermont Castings. Their North American plants are all but shut down.
It's quite scary. Even Napoleon is introducing a line from China this year called Mirage. (The rest of their lines are still built here) They didn't like the quality of the OEM manufacturers there, so they built their own plant. Guess what - it didn't matter. The entire first shippment of containers had to be shipped back due to bad castings.
You can still get quality grills made in North America, but it will be tough to find one under $800.
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Anyone tried one of the cheaper Webers?
We have the Spirit E210 on the floor at work. Solid unit other than the porcelain flavorizer bars and cooking grates. If you upgrade to SS then you'll have a good little unit.
So how do you go about getting the upgrade parts? Looks like a decent grill, if cheap. I really wanted a 3 burner that was aligned back to front, but I can't afford one like that. Odd that this model appears to only be at smaller, independent hardware stores.
You can get replacement parts through your dealer, or
directly from Weber. I would just run the factory parts until they fail, then replace them with the upgrades.
Yea, the big box stores usually sell on price only, so you won't normally find them there. The "associates" would say I have this kEwL stainless one from China for way less!!!
Now that I think about it, the one on our floor is actually the larger
Spirit E-310. In propane, we sell it for $569.00 CDN. No idea what the 210 retails for, or what they would be in your neck of the woods. Wild guess - $450 maybe?
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You can still get quality grills made in North America, but it will be tough to find one under $800.
Alas, the kind of news one hates to hear.
I have a friend shopping for a bbq right now and since he started, i've got the bug to look around a bit myself. The sacrifice in quality for cheaper costs hurts.
I really like those Napoleans, lots of great accessories, well built, but nothing less than $800 from at least one of the local shops around here that sells them.
Hey Nick,
Anyone down there carry the
Broil King line?
Good value, decent quality (WAY better than anything I've seen from off shore), and built in North America. They range from $269 to $1000.
There are a couple of dealers for Broil King, but they want a small fortune for them.
What about Brinkmann? I saw a nice looking one at WallyWorld (Walmart) tonight. Problem is that it must only be sold at Walmart as Brinkman doesn't show it on their site. They do show parts for it, but no details about the grill. It was the Brinkmann Pro Series 7541 for $298.
Here is the Aussie for those that are reading, but not wanting to search...
It sounds like the Brinkmann is worse than the Aussie!
I've seen that top 10 undre $500 before, but the ones that I can get locally are at the $500 mark (68% more than I want to spend, and 86% more than the Aussie.)
Maybe someone here wants to buy me a new grill?
Well Nick, I think you are coming to the realization that there is no free lunch. To get a decent grill, in size you've been looking at, is going to cost you more than $300.
So, you have 3 choices.
You can get the big import grill that you're drooling over for $300, but will fall apart in a couple of years.
OR for $300, you can get a higher quality grill (Broil King Monarch 20 for example) that will be WAY smaller with no features, but will last much longer.
Or, bite the bullit and stretch to $500.
I am starting to think that I need to stretch this a little bit, but the grills are so small still... I mean, the cheapo Coleman I have is 11 years old, cost a couple hundred bucks, is still solid (just want something nicer and bigger) but it is bigger than the top ranked "under $500" grills and has served me well...
HMMMMM.... Why can't these decisions be easier?
Ah, but things were mighty different 11 years ago. The cost of the raw materials has sky rocketed. And I know I'm beating a dead horse - sorry guys - but here you go:
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ECONOMIC REASONS FOR STEEL PRICE SPIKE: CHINA
Despite the varying hypotheses for the recent spike in steel prices and the complicated set of domestic and international
factors, the majority of stakeholders recognize one common problem: The Peoples Republic of China. Since the mid
1990’s when China devalued their yuan by almost 80 percent and then pegged it against the U.S. dollar, there has been
a massive shift in the manufacturing of steel, away from the United States to China. Due to the devaluation of their
yuan, the United States trade deficit with China increased to $125 billion in 2003.
Moreover, China’s sharp economic growth has led to an insatiable appetite for steel. China’s enormous consumption
of steel has placed an incredible strain on the global raw-material industry. At the same time, China, which has traditionally been a source of low-priced coke, has placed restrictions on the amount of coke they can export. Chinese
coke prices have increased from $55 per ton to almost $300 per ton today. The sharp increase in the demand of raw
materials for steelmaking, including coke internationally and scrap steel domestically, has resulted in increased costs for domestic steel companies.
Taken off a report from the Associated Builders & Contractors Association.
OK. Are any of these brands good, or at least better than others?
Char-Broil
Perfect Flame (never heard of them myself)
Blue Ember (never heard of them myself)
Charmglow
North American Outdoors (never heard of them myself)
Thermos
Amana
GrillPro
I would say that most of these are in the "value" range. I checked out a couple of Webber grills today, and to get the size I could live with was over $850. The above brands were ones that I saw today at Target, Lowes, Home Depot, and Menards...
I am still doing my own research, but any quick "avoid that brand" or "hey, they make reasonable grills" would help me to trim things down.
North American Outdoors seems to be Target's cheap/generic brand this season for grills. I know exactly the one you looked at...
My Thermos lasted about 4 or 5 years (but I didn't take very good care of it). I think I would/will have to replace the burner and quite possibly the cooking grate to get it reliably functional again. It never had good heat distribution (where's the hot spot? It's over here this time!).
I have a DCS 27" professional stainless grill, bought it on sale a few years back, and I love it. I think if you spend a little more and get something that is well made, it will be well worth it in the long run. Just my 2 cents.
I'm already looking in the $400-$500 range starting today to see what there is. I absolutely can NOT go above that, and may not even get "approval" (from my wife) for that either....
I just want a basic, but good sized grill. Something with cast iron (or porcelain coated cast iron) grates, no side burner, no rotissorie, 3 or 4 burners, and again, a good sized cooking area. We find our selves often grilling for groups of people over the summer, and I am cramped on my current grill...
Let us know what you find...
OK. I think that I found the grill for me...
I found a bunch of reviews on various grill brands, and for almost all of the exact models I was looking at. FOr the most part, they are all junk. That is what everyone was saying here. But one grill, and only one, actually gets REALLY good reviews. The Blue Ember (Fiesta brand) grill from Home Depot is the clear cut winner. On a scale of 1 to 5, it gets an average of 4.5/5.0 from the professional review sites. From customer reviews it gets 5 stars out of 5 stars. The details are all good. Quality construction, features, performance, etc. It is more than I wanted to spend, but I think that I will be alot more happy with the build quality.
buy a good quality small one, and keep the one you have. Use both for the big cooking space. When one craps out you'll have a backup and won't be in a rush to buy a replacement.
Kind of a hillbilly approach, ain't it?
Let's see him sell the wife on THAT.
ARRGGHHH! Too much conflicting information for me to handle, especially going back to the previous thread Tom linked to.
Here's what I'd be interested in:
- My price target is under $1K.
- I need surface area, lots of it.
- Never have used the rotisserie attachment but I like the idea in theory.
- I'm connected to NG
- My grill gets exposed to the elements all year round, and here in TX that is a LOT of sunshine. I don't want to have to baby the thing
- I want good control of the heat since I cook everything on that grill, from delecate veggies & fish to steaks
- Speaking of steaks, am very intrigued by the grills that have at least one infrared burner that gets up > 1600F for getting that steakhouse result
- Would LOVE the flexibility of using actual charcoal in the grill when desired.
- Don't care about having a side burner
- I don't have a built-in or drop-in space, so I need one with a cart that will last as well (though "portability" isn't really a criterion)
OK, so is this even possible? Anyone have real firsthand experience with some of the options (e.g. the infrared heat for steaks) that would make me either abandon or require that option?
My current unit is a 4 burner Cap'n Cook from BBQs Galore. Overall it has been pretty good, lasting 8 years, but it is ready to give up the ghost soon. I think I overpaid in retrospect. I'm still willing to pay $, but want it to last, and perform well over its lifetime.
Thanks!
Rich
I love my Weber Summit Silver, I think I paid $850 for it about 3 years ago.There is tons of space and gets to 600 degrees with no problem. The thing eats propane and I sure you can get a NG one.Mine stays outside all year long in Maryland,I do have a cover for winter time. If I want to use charcoal I just break out the Weber kettle(maybe $85).
Rich,
this is the perfect grill, with everything you are looking for. Decent size, top notch build quality, one of the best warranties you will find, infrared rear burner for rotissing, one ceramic infrared main burner for steaks, optional charcoal tray, and 16 guage 304 stainless burners. (These are the thickest walled stainless burners you will find.)
Only one problem - $1k won't buy it. You'll need to stretch another $400 to $500.
Skip the ceramic infrared burner, and the stretch should only be a couple of hundred. (And well worth the couple of hundred)
I've had mine for over 5 years, and the only thing I've replaced was the ignitor. It sits exposed, with NO cover year round to direct sun, rain, wind and snow. Temps below zero to above 90.
Here is the Weber line-up. Excellent product as well. The only issue I have with the current Summit series is that they went to a porcelain pot. It makes no sense, as the lower Genesis line has the cast aluminum pot which will last longer. [scratches head]
Geez, Shawn. Why do you have to be so helpful? I was kind of enjoying Rich's apoplexy.
I also want to point out that upgradeitis has apparently seeped from audio to cooking appliances. Thanks a lot.
Shawn--
Thanks so much. Holy cow! That is quite a grill. I actually found that model by going to that older thread link Tom posted, but wasn't sure what to make of it. How did you come to be such an expert on all of this?
And pay no heed to Tom. He's simply jealous because I live in Austin. (So, you coming to the ACL Festival this year? Talk about someone having apoplexy!
)
Hmmmm, audio upgrade or grill upgrade? Anyone on here in the grill distribution business and want to cut a deal with a fellow Axiomite?
Rich
$27.00. Then buy more Axioms!
Cough Sputter Wheeze Gurgle
Yeah yeah yeah Mr. Funny Guy. Hey, remember Mark, your room sucks worse than mine!
And Tom, there's only one way to cure that.... (well, other than more barley wine)
Rich
Hey guys, got a question. Is it worth the extra dough for stainless steel? I had thought it was just an appearance thing, but what do you guys think?
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Hey guys, got a question. Is it worth the extra dough for stainless steel? I had thought it was just an appearance thing, but what do you guys think?
From what I've learned with my grill purchase, stainless steel isn't a bad thing, but most of the grills are made with cheap 430 grade stainless steel. The better stuff is 304 grade, so either way, make sure that if you do get a grill with stainless steel, get the better grade or skip stainless steel altogether.
Well, it's more a question if I drop the extra $100US on stainless on the Weber E310 or not.
Ken, Nick is bang-on with his explanation of the stainless. With the the 310, jumping from the "E" to the "S" gets you the stainless lid, and door inserts. The rest of the Q and internals don't change. In this case, it's purely cosmetic.
Depending on how fussy you are, and how often you BBQ, you may get frustrated with the stainless exterior. It takes alot more maintenance to keep that clean shiny look.
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Depending on how fussy you are
Fussy? You're talking to the guy who let his current grill fall apart due to lack of cleaning.
You're supposed to clean them????
Given that mine now has lovely mold spots all over the interior, I guess so...
How does one clean the interior of the grill? Are you supposed to disassemble the things every month or so?
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Given that mine now has lovely mold spots all over the interior
Mmmmm.... Yummy!
When I'm done grilling, I'll turn all the burners on "high" for a post burn-off while I'm eating. This gets the gill up past 700 degree's and eliminates any juices or grease left over. Most of the time there is just white ash left, which can be easily brushed off the next time I fire it up. Granted, I'm hooked into my natural gas line, so I'm not worried about running out of propane.
Once a year, I'll tear the whole thing down and give it a "proper" cleaning.
On that Weber you're looking at, the ENTIRE BOTTOM of the pot is actually a drip tray that slides out. It makes it really easy to clean all the garbage that falls down there.
The other thing - I was always taught not to cover my BBQ or A/C. My old man was a beleiver in "it traps moisture and rots out sooner". Seems to have worked for the both of us.
Huh... well, I've been covering it, so I can't argue with that one. I'll probably end up with the E210, but a guy can dream. Either way, it'll be better than having to disassemble, clean, and replace bits on this one.
I LOVE the slide out drip catcher in my Weber. I clean the grills, flavorizer bars, and interior sides of the thing once a year, but I scrape out the drip catcher as soon as it starts looking nasty.
Does anyone else put sand in their drip pan/catcher? Someone gave me that advice long ago. Buy one bag a year of kiddie sand from a place like Toys R Us. It absorbs the grease, and you just dump it and you're ready to refill it.
I find it very effective.
Rich
Must...resurrect...thread...
Anyway, my wife is giving me an upgrade from the Spirit E210 to the E310 for Father's Day (woo!). I was wondering what the advantage of the SS flavorizer bars and cooking grate was. It's $50 to get them with the grill at Ace Hardware, and at least $100 later on. However, another store is running a no-sales-tax sale this weekend. They don't have the option to get them with the grill.
While porcelain is probably the easiest to clean when new, it tends to chip over time, exposing the steel underneath to moisture + oxygen = rust. Stainless steel will last you the longest, especially the nice and thick stuff Weber uses. No rust, scrubs clean pretty easily.
You can always upgrade down the line if you're concerned about laying out up front.