I too need to buy a new grill. I am replacing my old Weber. First I thought that I would buy a Weber Genesis, but I really want a larger grilling surface--especially if I'm going to spend so much money. The grate is 25" x 19" on the Genesis and the price is about $800 to $850 depending on which options you choose. It has 3 burners. One appliance store is getting a "close out" shipment of Ducane 5400 Stainless LP Gas Grills. This has 5 burners compared with 3 on Genesis. It also has a larger grilling surface (620 sq." vs approx. 500 sq.") I don't have the exact grate dimensions, but let's estimate for now that it is about 31 sq." x 20 sq."). Is this a smart purchase or some ploy by the salesman to dump inventory? (He does have the Weber too.) Also, I liked the specs on a Charmglow (Charglow?) model #720-0578 that I saw at Home Depot this morning. It has five 10,000 BTU burners and the grate measures approx. 33 sq." x 20 sq.". The grate is porcelain-coated cast iron on this one vs. stainless on the other two. Price is $500. To get the larger grate on a weber grill the price jumps to $1,800 or so, which is out of my price range. Any wisdom/experience/opinions to share?

bump Sorry, you've probably decided by now...

Long time viewer -- first-time poster . . . I'm builing an outdoor kitchen. My focus in this post is the BBQ grill. I am replacing previous owner's nat gas grill as I do a complete renovation of this house. I will have the builder make a built-in area for the grill. I was looking at the Weber Summit S-650, as the features/quality fit the bill. I noticed on Weber's website that they make a similar, although not exact, version of this (calls S-640) for built-in installations. This model, however seems to lack the functionality on the "wings" of the grill that the portable model has. I'm wondering if my builder can just build around the S650, to preserve the functionality as well as get the built-in look. Has anyone done this?

the weber will outlast the charbroil, but at twice the price, is it worth it to you? the Charbroil has a larger cooking surface AND higher BTU rate than the Weber. also it has cast iron cooking grates, which to me equal more even heat than the Weber's stainless grate. so, for me, i would go with the Charbroil. not to start anything here, but have you considered charcoal or dual fuel grills? i saw a Char-Griller at my lowes a couple weeks back that was 2 grills in 1. gas on one side and the other grill was charcoal. ifyou plan on cooking anything that requires a long cook time, such as smoking meats, you just cannot beat a charcoal grill. gas cooks quicker, and has less mess to clean, but does not do as well for slow cooking items. i smoke my ribs for 6 hours on my chargriller, and they fall off the bone. trying to cook teh same ribs on a gas grill and they cook in under 2 hours and are TUFF!