Grills

Weber is great. We have had a Napoleon Prestige pro until now as we've sold the house, it was insanely good. The new one doesn't have a natural gas hook-up and the condo regulations are strict about gas lines, so we're getting a weber 310, they have an amazing reputation and I've used a similar model to the one we are getting at a friends place. You can't do anything wrong with weber.

 

Weber is definitely a go to brand for grills, but I've had them from every major manufacturer - Broil King, Brinkmann, Charbroil - and at the end of the day, the longevity, is probably a wash. We're also 2 blocks from the ocean (and 2 blocks from the intracoastal), so we do have a particular harsh, salty, windy environment, in fact, more recently I just go cheaper-ish because it's not going to last more than 12-18 months

What I'd like for our next grill solution will be what you mentioned: a grill/sink/kitchen type installation. Our friend across the street has this, and just replaces some of the hardware on occasion (there's a number of prosumer grade sources for component type grills), and it's awesome. We're having our deck rebuilt and instead of the wraparound section, we're going to just to stairs down to a new paver path that opens into a patio/grill area, should be pretty slick when it's all done.

Some folks swear by the Big Green Egg, I've invested a few times without purchasing, if I go with a standalone again (we will need a replacement for the summer, and the ultra-patio won't be done), I may look into them again. I think the size may be limiting.

 

Check out the grill reviews at amazingribs.com

http://amazingribs.com/bbq_equipment_reviews_ratings/reviews_ratings

The website is a great resource for all things BBQ and grill or smoker related.

 

My parents have a Weber-built in stainless grill at their home, as well as well as a pretty standard 3-burner model at our summer place in Rhode Island. Like D.T., in Rhode Island the salt and humidity ruin everything prematurely. We've had the same grill there for probably 10+ years now with zero issues. Our last weber grill was relatively problem free (probably 15+ years, I think the burner tubes were replaced at one point), before the wooden shelf parts of it began to rot. We ordered the replacement shelf/table (now made of composite), and moved it to one of our rental houses and she's still running. It was old but in better condition than a 5 year-old Charbroil.

The great thing about Weber is it is very easy to find replacement parts for them. So when something does wear out its just a matter of running down to Home Depot and picking it up or ordering online. I'm not sure how easy that is with other brands. Keep an eye out for the warranty offers too.

My parents looked at Viking, Wolf, Lynx, etc built-in models. They cost about 2x+ as much as the Weber, but hard to justify spending the extra money given the appreciable differences.