Wow! Nice to see so many fans of the grill I just purchased! I had Tuesday off (June 18) and was getting ready for a party that night. So I went to my local San Leandro Costco to get chips etc. Well, there on the floor were four Virco grills, one out of the box. I took one look, and wished I had brought my truck. I was back later that day with the truck and brought one home. IMHO a full size pickup truck is needed to carry this thing. I also had some ignitor problems but after adjustment of the gaps they all seem to work ok. I also fiddled with the connectors underneath the control panel and that seemed to help. I also found some fraying of the glass fabric cover on the ignitor wiring to the rear rotisserie burner, where it exits the back of the cabinet. I moved the whole cable up a bit to expose an unfrayed portion to the metal edge. I'm planning on wrapping the cable with some heat resistant tubing where it goes through that area, to prevent more fraying. I had a similar problem with a table-top patio heater I got at Costco a while ago. The ignitor cable frayed and shorted out on some metal. Easy enough to fix once I discovered the cause. I cooked a rib steak on it last night and it came out great. It was kind of hard to see some of that beautiful stainless get carbonized, but what the heck, it's a BBQ grille. The right door on mine has a very minor crease in it,which it took me a couple of days to notice. I'm not about to return this behemoth because of that! The burners all seem to function perfectly, with nice blue flames. Oh, I don't think the handle and the shelf are interchangeable. The spacing on the bolt holes are wider for the shelf than for the handle. Still have to hook up the rotisserie motor. I'll probably do a chicken tomorrow. All in all this is a beautiful, extremely well made grill. I've been using charcoal for years... I have a Kingsford egg shaped grille that I use to roast chicken and turkey. It comes out great, but I'm tired of all the smoke inhalation I inevitably get doing this. I also have a New Braunfels horizontal smoker with separate fire box. I have been consistently disappointed with the dried out results I get with this one. It's also very labor intensive, adding just the right amount of wood/charcoal and trying to keep the temperature even. I'm keeping both, because sometimes you just want that real smoke, but the Virco Classic will be my main grill. Faster and cleaner! Oh, and thanks to those who posted the info on the natural gas conversion. I'm going to order one of those kits right away. I'll have to run the gas line a considerable distance to the patio, but it will be worth it in the long run. One minor complaint: the wheel locks are very hard to get at... but they do work. Just for grins, I took a magnet to the whole unit. It's nearly all 304 non-magnetic. The only magnetic parts I found was the surround for the ceramic rear burner, and some nuts holding the chassis bolts under the cooking unit. As for the stainless burner tubes not holding up to heat, I hope they do ok. After all, they use stainless steel for automotive exhaust systems... which contain a lot more corrosive gases than propane.

Joe: I bought one without first researching and wouldn't have if I had done my homework. I'll try to brief, but there's quite the story to these "grills". I did read the instruction book at the store and everything seemed fine, except there is no manufacturer name or address if one needed parts or advice. It is called a "Portable Infrared Grill" on the front cover. In the book, are instructions on how to sear AND grill different foods like "Bone-in Chicken--Total Cook Time 20-24 minutes". Not at all possible, as the IR heat source is too powerful, even on the lowest setting, for the small cabinet and the grill grate is too close and not adjustable. Everything I tried was burned to charcoal in just a few minutes. I called the store and they said the high return rate from this problem was why they were on clearance. The old "get what ya pay for" I guess. I have since found many other dissatisfied former owners. The "Stainless Steel" is not the long lasting grade I thought it was (a magnet sticks, so will rust). The ceramic IR elements are not holding up (no warranty at all on the US). Thinking I was doing something wrong, I looked up "what is searing" and only found this technique used with a heavy hot pan or done on a flat top, never on a grill. The heavy pan method works fine, not sure why searing should be tried over an open burning flame?? Anyway, search around, ask at a good bbq store, ask friends before you buy, and make sure the store has a return policy. The US doesn't work well at searing and not at all for grilling. Hope this helped.

Just a thought but I've always read that when you use convection for "normal" recipes you should reduce the temperature by 25 degrees F. Heat is transferred to the food faster with convection, same effect as an ice cream cone melting faster in the wind. Perhaps give that a try. -Stooxie

I think you have some good suggestions above regarding heat. Electrical heaters are very expensive. We had two that used dryer like outlets and they cost tons to use. We also went through many of the cheap electric heaters -- they only last so long before they stop functioning. We live in Southern Ontario, Canada. We have been re-building/expanding our house for close to 4 years. We have lived through all sort of horrible, freezing conditions. We have four kids. I have a long winter coat that gets lots of use inside our home. Having a shower is the worst. Don't forget that poly plastic can make a huge difference for pennies to make a wall more insulated. You can poly over tons, and block off a section of your home with poly as well. A few winters ago, we did rent two propane heaters. They were not that great at spreading heat around the home, and they were expensive too. I do hope you find out your old furnace works. I would certainly get a quote to see what that would cost to fix. The difference in fees to rent another heat source, or pay for electrical energy to heat might be more than the furnace repair. Good luck. I hope your winter is not an extreme one. Carol