Buying a new BBQ - can you recommend one?

[HenryDorsetCase]

I would like a Coleman type BBQ to chuck in the ute and take out on 4WD trips etc. (We have a hooded full monty at home but is too big to take away)
I also have a couple of those 3 legged round gas ones but they're not very good or versatile.

The Coleman unit is a suit case type with scissor legs.

The problem is I can't justify $550 for a second BBQ.

Does anyone know of a similar unit at a much cheaper price?

Attachment 251876

Weber.

http://www.weberbbq.com.au/CompareAllQ.php


http://www.weberbbq.com.au/CharcoalPortableRange.php

[flyingcrocodile46]

Bought a Stainless steel Gasmate Mercury 6 burner (one a ring burner on side) hooded rotisserie with a horizontal burner and it lives out on the deck.

We have had a great deal of difficulty finding a decent cover that doesn't de-laminate and leak like a sieve and a third of its 3 years has been without a cover. This has seen all of the drawers and cabinet to become flooded routinely

As far as function goes it has been a 9+ for cooking on the hot plate and/or grill and a 10 for the rotisserie, it cooks all over evenly and gets a perfect crisp skin on what ever you cook. The hot plate coating is excellent with no sign of lifting and still cleans down easily. The two grill plates are also coated with the same product but are starting to flake off on a couple of the edges. Never use the ring burner on the side.

As far as durability not quite so good. The temperature gauge (on the hood) is chrome &glass and leaks and the chrome is rusting. The large hood handle and side handles plus the door and draw handles are also rusting chrome units (not SS). The inner skins of the doors are zinc panels which are starting to rust at edges and hinge fixing points. The main burners are supported on a folded sheet metal rail which has rusted so badly that one burner has dropped down (though still works and could be easily fixed).

At a $1000 3 yrs ago from Farmers I figure I got good if not excellent value for money but think that they let themselves down unnecessarily by skimping on the use of stainless in the above areas.

[jasonu]

When I was a lot younger it was rule of thumb (in my friends and family circles) that you only bbq'd cheap steak and saved the good stuff for the pan. Is this still the case?
Completely the opposite here. Pretty much no one will pan fry any steak. The good yank steak like ribeye (scotch fillet) is mostly grain fed beef and has a fine fat marbleing through out the meat and is SUPER tastey. Maybe that is the difference.

[shafty]

As far as durability not quite so good. The temperature gauge (on the hood) is chrome &glass and leaks and the chrome is rusting. The large hood handle and side handles plus the door and draw handles are also rusting chrome units (not SS). The inner skins of the doors are zinc panels which are starting to rust at edges and hinge fixing points. The main burners are supported on a folded sheet metal rail which has rusted so badly that one burner has dropped down (though still works and could be easily fixed).

At a $1000 3 yrs ago from Farmers I figure I got good if not excellent value for money but think that they let themselves down unnecessarily by skimping on the use of stainless in the above areas.

Yeah, - on the Rinnai website http://www.rinnai.co.nz/bbqandoutdoor_faq.html
they give a good explanation on the different standards of stainless steel, viz:

When it comes to BBQ’s there’s a lot of information about the different types of stainless steel, what is the stainless steel of Rinnai BBQ’s?
Chrome and Nickel are the main metals added to steel to give the stainless steel effect and both are expensive. Our range comprises of a mix of stainless steel grades making a range of options depending on budget.

Rinnai has two complete 304 stainless steel BBQ’s that are ideal for seaside conditions. They are the Maxim S7SB and the Maxim S5. Rinnai also offer a range of BBQ’s with a combination of 304 and 430 stainless steel to provide style as well as affordability. As a general rule, if the BBQ is under $2000 then it will be comprised of all or some 430 stainless steel.

All stainless steel will corrode over time (especially in salt spray environments) which is why it is important to keep them covered when not in use. Regular cleaning outlined in all our operation manuals is also advised to extend the life of the BBQ.

- I found this pretty helpful. The flip side is enamel can hide finger marks.

I've used a stainless steel cleaner made for fridges etc, as a way of cleaning the pipes on the Pan Euro, could be the go I reckon

[phill-k]

B G E

I have the medium size

[shafty]

Here's the Beast - a Sunbeam Innovo 4 Burner plus side plate. Went together well, built like a BSH.

[steve_t]

Very nice!

[Hoon]

As a typical kiwi guy I always considered myself a bit of a BBQ know it all. I wanted something smaller and mobile so scored a awesome little kettle BBQ off 1-day for $29.95. The 'making fire' part also appealed to the Bear Gryls in me. Tried it out Friday night for the first time on some scotch fillet steak the missus bought. After failing miserably at my first attempt to heat the coals I eventually got it up and running ready for action. Threw on the steak, some marinated chicken drum sticks and gourmet sausages (precooked in boiling water).

Results, the charcoal cooked steak tasted fantastic and very tender!! The chicken would have tasted just as good if it weren't for the marinade which conflicted with the smoke/coal taste - will stick with plain next time. However it was cooked more thorougly than any other chicken pieces I've ever BBQ'd without burning them and totally restored my confidence in cooking chicken on a BBQ. The sausages not much different to gas due to the skin locking out the flavour. And because I went a little overboard with the coals after my inital hiccup the bbq was still blazing away 6 hrs later.

I am now a coal convert and will never cook a steak on a gas BBQ again unless I have to. Might try a whole chicken next time and use some easier lighting/quicker burning coals. Looking forward to the next BBQ at my place where I plan to blow away my other BBQ mates all the way back to their gas fry pans....not bad for $30!

[ynot slow]

Some of the best bbq meals I have had were at the beach,mate was a mechanic,had a 6mm or so plate steal pad,a couple of bricks to sit it on,driftwood lit,let the fire die and hotplate roasting and cook away,beautiful grub.

As kids we used to light fires and grab toast rack to cook on,sadly the sausages always were burnt,nobody listened when I said let the flames die and embers will cook the meat lol.