Front to Back vs. Side to Side Burners?
14TheGipper
Just finished purusing this board to get info on a new Gas Grill. My
piece o crap Thermos has disintegrated over the past winter....even
found a couple of Rats living in it! Yikes!
Anyway...I've narrowed my decision for my next grill down to Weber or
Ducane. My question is how this 3 burner system works in the Weber? I
noticed a few complaints about the inability to cook slower on one side
because the Genesis burners are from front to back. What are the pros
and cons of a Front to Back vs. Side to Side burner configuration?
I'm a casual griller so no need for a massive grill with lots of bells
and whistles but I do want a grill that will last for many years and
cook properly!
TIA!
Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
Share what you know. Learn what you don't.
Gochnauer's Home Appliance Center
newsgroup but my opinions are pretty clear with what I have felt works and
what doesn't work so well. I always ask the people what kind of cooking
they are doing on the grill. I have said before though some agree that the
Weber is the best "oven grill" I think you can buy maybe next to Holland.
It works great as an oven not I don't think that good as a real grill.
When I say that, I am talking about being able to throw something on the
grill, get a good sear, and most importantly get a good flavor from it.
This to me is grilling.
This is where is comes down to what you do on the grill. There are models
that cook with low BTU's and are made for long slow cooking and some with
high BTU's which are made for more the quick on and off style of cooking.
Grills like Broil King use a 50,000 BTU burner and are great of you do
steaks, ribs, burgers and other quick grill items. The Ducane is a great
quality grill but only uses a 30,000 BTU and is the the fastest grill you
will ever cook on and doesn't get the good hard, fast sear effect because
of the stainless steel. Side to side I feel is a huge advantage on any
grill though as most people don't fill up the whole cooking surface every
time they use their grill. The Weber does not give you the chance to do
just this. Most of the grills out there have side to side and enable you
to fire up just half of the unit at a time.
Though flamed most of the time for not being a Weber fan, I stick to my
opinions. This is because of not only selling many units and models but
more importantly cooking on many more models and getting a chance to see
what the +'s and -'s of each brand is.
So I think you have to know how you use your grill first then look at other
things like warranty, construction and these other things as you make your
grilling decision. Just one feature of a side to side or front to back
burner shouldn't make the total decision for you but should be one factor.
Hope this helps you with your decision. Thanks and have a great day!
Shotgun
technique to a "front to back" technique on a Weber? People, get a grip,
there are separate controls on all 3 burners of the Weber, therefor you
actually have 3 cooking zones rather than two, they just happen to be
aligned front to back rather than side to side. I can't believe the
aptitude of people that can't figure this out, and hold the "side to
side" issue against the Weber. How about standing at the side of the
Weber when cooking, will this help you figure it out???? If a gas grill
has more than one burner, and has separate controls for each, you have
separate controllable cooking zones do you not? Why is this such an
issue???
I personally use the back burner for the highest heat zone and place
the front burners on lower temps when different heating zones are
required on my Weber. Granted, the zones have a much narrower definition
than a 2 burner side to side configuration, but they still do exist, and
are just as effective as any other grill.
Shotgun
14TheGipper wrote in message <7kk7cr$u1i$1...@nnrp1.deja.com>...
14TheGipper
left and which is the right burner?
Just kidding : )
I have never used anything but a left right burner config so my
question was how the 3 burner system actually works on the Genesis?
Why 3 Burners instead of 2?
In article <Zwtb3.4782$A24.1...@typ42b.nn.bcandid.com>,
Shotgun
>will ever cook on and doesn't get the good hard, fast sear effect
because
>of the stainless steel.
ever cook on? Stands to reason that the higher the BTU's per sq.in. of
grill area, the higher the heat, the faster the grill will cook or burn
whatever your cooking be it a Ducane or any other grill. What facts do
you have to back up this claim??? Why is the Ducane faster than the
Broil King you refer to at 50K BTU? Why is the Ducane faster than the
Weber rated at 36K BTU?
>Side to side I feel is a huge advantage on any
>grill though as most people don't fill up the whole cooking surface
every
>time they use their grill. The Weber does not give you the chance to
do
>just this. Most of the grills out there have side to side and enable
you
>to fire up just half of the unit at a time.
See my post below, I guess you can't understand that a grill area
can be separated by front to back zones as well as side to side zones,
and both will work just as effectively as the other.
I don't care whether or not one buys a Weber, or a Ducane, or any
other brand grill, BBQ, smoker or whatever. But I do care that if one is
to establish themselves as a professional and rank a grill on it's
merits and disadvantages, one should be able to use each grill to it's
full potential before making any recommendations to it's functionality
and performance. If one is to give a "general" statement of
preference,(like I have a Ducane and feel it is the best grill) that is
fine, no need to support ones claims. If one is to provide detailed
performance issues to rank a product, (like the Ducane is the fastest
grill you will ever use, or side to side burner control is a huge
advantage) one should provide facts to support ones claims or they hold
no validity at all.
Shotgun
Bob(WA2QLI)
owning both Weber and Ducane, I prefer the side to side burners.
On Mon, 21 Jun 1999 02:18:09 GMT, 14TheGipper <da...@rocketmail.com>
wrote:
14TheGipper
DCC
14TheGipper <da...@rocketmail.com> wrote:
> Hi All,
>
> Just finished purusing this board to get info on a new Gas Grill. My
> piece o crap Thermos has disintegrated over the past winter....even
> found a couple of Rats living in it! Yikes!
>
> Anyway...I've narrowed my decision for my next grill down to Weber or
> Ducane. My question is how this 3 burner system works in the Weber?
I
> noticed a few complaints about the inability to cook slower on one
side
> because the Genesis burners are from front to back. What are the pros
> and cons of a Front to Back vs. Side to Side burner configuration?
>
> I'm a casual griller so no need for a massive grill with lots of bells
> and whistles but I do want a grill that will last for many years and
> cook properly!
>
> TIA!
>
> Da...@rocketmail.com
>
> Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
> Share what you know. Learn what you don't.
>
--
The consumer report has a review on Weber Genesis 1000, Ducane and
some other grill early this year. I believe the top one is Weber 1000.
The Cook's Illustrate magazine has another review rating on gas grill;
weber 1000 is the top one again and Ducane was rated at the bottom of
the list. Check out the guidelines they used in rating the grill and
make your own judgement.
BTW, if you pick Ducane, costco has the cheapest combo. Costco sells a
standard 1204S with a extra side selfs and a grill cover for $599.
However, the cooking grate is not stainless steel (porcelain instead).
I myself bought a Weber.
Good luck!
DCC
Gochnauer's Home Appliance Center
get the drift of what I was trying to say though. The higher BTU models
will give you the faster cooking (e.g.. Broil King). They are the models
that I was referring to. I guess that space in between the and fastest is
where I meant to have it go. Guess trying to type too many e-mail replies
and missed a key word. I sort of figured ol Shotgun would make sure I was
jumped on and corrected. My humble apologies to anyone who this may have
confused.
Shotgun
The simple insertion of the word "not", completely changes the
content of your post. If I would have known what your intent really was,
my reply would have been much different. You must realize that you are
portraying yourself as a professional, and by doing so, one will put
more validity to your statements than us average Joe's that hang out
here. Therefor you should be careful to print exactly what you mean, and
be able to back up your statements with facts.
Sorry if you feel I am "jumping" you, I am only trying to insure
that accurate information is relayed to those making the efforts to do
research and inform themselves before making a major purchase such as an
upper end gas grill. $500 or more might be chicken scratch for some, but
for others (such as most that will take the time to research the facts
before making a purchase), it is a lot of money to throw into a product
that has been falsely portrayed by anyone, especially a "professional"
such as yourself.
Shotgun
Ken Rentz
3 burners, you can have the middle one turned off to get that effect
rather evenly.
I do admit that having 3 narrow sections is a little less convenient than
2 squarer ones, but it's not that bad.
In article <7klsq4$g35$1...@nnrp1.deja.com>, da...@rocketmail.com says...
Bob(WA2QLI)
and Ducane and I prefer side to side burners. As you pointed out, the
three burner system gives a much narrower cooking zone which is a
problem for me. Having said that, I've cooked some dynamite meals on
my Weber. A grill is only a tool not a holy grail. Also I don't
believe any of the claimed btu ratings, but rather look at real world
performance.
Bob(WA2QLI)
wrote:
>Bob,
>
>Which Ducane model did you go with?
>
>
1504 with side burner.
Bob(WA2QLI)
sometimes it's the only way.
Sunday I bought a 1 1/2" thick piece of sirloin, rigged a couple of
grates in my horizontal smoker, fired up some mesquite charcoal and
grilled about an inch above the coals. A heck of a lot hotter than any
gas grill I've ever had. Better than any steak I've done on either my
Weber or Ducane but a lot more hassel.
On Mon, 21 Jun 1999 18:28:37 -0700, ren...@europa.com (Ken Rentz)
wrote:
Gochnauer's Home Appliance Center
one got past. Guess these computers can't correct everything this dumb
human does. Happy grilling everyone.
Shotgun wrote:
Paul Ferrara
the Weber.
As for side-by-side or front/back burners go, consider this... You can get
the food farther away from the burner, if that's your goal, with the former
since the two outside burners are at the very front and very back of the
grill. Leave one of them on low and turn the other burners off and you can
get the temperature down to 275 or so.
Paul
14TheGipper <da...@rocketmail.com> wrote in message
news:7kk7cr$u1i$1...@nnrp1.deja.com...
> Hi All,
>
> Just finished purusing this board to get info on a new Gas Grill. My
> piece o crap Thermos has disintegrated over the past winter....even
> found a couple of Rats living in it! Yikes!
>
> Anyway...I've narrowed my decision for my next grill down to Weber or
> Ducane. My question is how this 3 burner system works in the Weber? I
> noticed a few complaints about the inability to cook slower on one side
Paul Ferrara
1. not based on common sense and
2. obviously biased against Weber, which is the top selling and top-rated
gas grill in the $400-500 price range. I guess the profit margin on Broil
King is better, huh?
Here's what Cook's Illustrated said about the Ducane after extensive
testing: "Finally, the Ducane proves that more money doesn't always buy a
better product. With so many significant flaws..., it richly deserves its
last place rating."
Weber's *do* deliver a "good sear."
And your comment about "good flavor" is simply assinine. Are you using
mesquite flavored propane?
> Side to side I feel is a huge advantage on any
> grill though as most people don't fill up the whole cooking surface every
> time they use their grill. The Weber does not give you the chance to do
> just this. Most of the grills out there have side to side and enable you
> to fire up just half of the unit at a time.
You can fire up the front or the back or the middle if it's really important
to you. But why, to save a nickel's worth of gas?
If you think your biased and misinformed comments will win customers for
Gochnauer's, well...
Paul
Gochnauer's Home Appliance Center <gochn...@blazenet.net> wrote in message
news:376E3587...@blazenet.net...
> Well, I hope I don't start another "flame up" (no pun intended) on the
> newsgroup but my opinions are pretty clear with what I have felt works and
> what doesn't work so well. I always ask the people what kind of cooking
> they are doing on the grill. I have said before though some agree that
the
> Weber is the best "oven grill" I think you can buy maybe next to Holland.
> It works great as an oven not I don't think that good as a real grill.
> When I say that, I am talking about being able to throw something on the
> grill, get a good sear, and most importantly get a good flavor from it.
> This to me is grilling.
> This is where is comes down to what you do on the grill. There are models
> that cook with low BTU's and are made for long slow cooking and some with
> high BTU's which are made for more the quick on and off style of cooking.
> Grills like Broil King use a 50,000 BTU burner and are great of you do
> steaks, ribs, burgers and other quick grill items. The Ducane is a great
> quality grill but only uses a 30,000 BTU and is the the fastest grill you
> will ever cook on and doesn't get the good hard, fast sear effect because
> of the stainless steel. Side to side I feel is a huge advantage on any
> grill though as most people don't fill up the whole cooking surface every
> time they use their grill. The Weber does not give you the chance to do
> just this. Most of the grills out there have side to side and enable you
> to fire up just half of the unit at a time.
> Though flamed most of the time for not being a Weber fan, I stick to my
> opinions. This is because of not only selling many units and models but
> more importantly cooking on many more models and getting a chance to see
> what the +'s and -'s of each brand is.
> So I think you have to know how you use your grill first then look at
other
> things like warranty, construction and these other things as you make your
> grilling decision. Just one feature of a side to side or front to back
> burner shouldn't make the total decision for you but should be one factor.
> Hope this helps you with your decision. Thanks and have a great day!
>
>
> 14TheGipper wrote:
>
Dave Lord
Paul Ferrara wrote in message <7kr9r5$85q$2...@news.iwaynet.net>...
>
>And your comment about "good flavor" is simply assinine. Are you using
>mesquite flavored propane?
Maybe he followed the directions for grilling steak from the Weber cookbook,
eh?
Dave
Gochnauer's Home Appliance Center
also from customer input here in the store. I do have some personal favorites
from my years of selling, servicing and cooking on different model grills. I
think everyone does. No matter what I feel about a product, it doesn't make it
the gospel or the correct answer for everyones particular situation. I am
expressing a viewpoint from my experiences and knowledge. I have sold many
products in the home appliance side that were rated #1 and were a huge piece of
junk. Maybe consumer reports liked them and thought they were great products
but we had nothing but problems and complaints. This also works the other way
too where some magazine somewhere rated the product low on the pole but it
always performed well for us and was a great seller. My view and opinions have
nothing to do with ratings and how well they sell. That isn't right at all. So
my negative feedback about Weber is from reasons I have given before, nothing
more, nothing less.
I must also add, please do not go insulting me because I am a retailer and make
a living for my family doing that. The snips about profit margins are uncalled
for and not needed here. I don't go around selling or downgrading products
based on profit margins. I try to sell people what they need and what will work
the best for them. Selling is one thing, opinions are another. I don't like to
have the two mixed to often, at least not on newsgroups. As far as flavor, cook
on a few grills and you will see that some grills will give you a lot better
flavor and taste then others. I need not say more. I don't want to waste
anyone's time in this group but hope we can all discuss matters and share
opinions freely without having to fear getting cut down and belittled by doing
it. I am sure there are a lot of people who read this group who would share
opinions but because they are not in the "norm" of the group, do not for fear of
having mails like this posted about them and their opinions. Let's all stick to
the matters at hand and have good open forums no matter if a consumer, retailer
or general interested reader. Have a good day!
Paul Ferrara wrote:
> The problem is that your opinions are:
>
> 1. not based on common sense and
>
> 2. obviously biased against Weber, which is the top selling and top-rated
> gas grill in the $400-500 price range. I guess the profit margin on Broil
> King is better, huh?
>
> Here's what Cook's Illustrated said about the Ducane after extensive
> testing: "Finally, the Ducane proves that more money doesn't always buy a
> better product. With so many significant flaws..., it richly deserves its
> last place rating."
>
> Weber's *do* deliver a "good sear."
>
> And your comment about "good flavor" is simply assinine. Are you using
> mesquite flavored propane?
>