I'm happy with my Weber Summit Silver bought about 6 years ago. This model has 4 burners arranged left-to-right, by the way. Performance is good - my only gripe is that the separate side burner to the right of the grill isn't very adjustable (though I rarely need it for anything). While I could probably get choosey and find a more perfect grill, I would first look at Weber's higher-end because I'm thrilled with Weber's customer support. While performing way-overdue maintenance, I called them to order some replacement parts for items that had understandably worn out or corroded over time... They sent me replacements at no charge. No questions about warranty periods or anything like that. I called them intending to purchase parts, but it seemed they volunteered to replace them on the assumption that Weber products are designed to last forever. So I'm a loyal customer of Weber's. We live not far from the pacific ocean, the grill is outside, uncovered and facing the sea, and we use it 2-3 times a week year-round. No complaints.

Grills, stainless steel vs. cast iron. I don't know how big the differences are. Cast iron is much heavier, in other words, more material. Therefore it will take longer to heat up but once it is heated it will deliver more heat. I would assume if you take the time to build up the heat, it will do a better job in making grill marks. Which one will food stick more? I am not sure. Cast iron will naturally develop a seasoned non-stick coating, but cast iron grills tend to have more surface area for food to stick on. A good coat of grease on stainless steel works well for me for non-stick. What about taste? I don't know. Never have done a side-by-side comparison. I suppose the difference will be from cast iron has about 50% open area and stainless steel 90% open area. More open area will get you more BBQ/ smoky flavor vs. less open area more surface area, which will give you more fried flavor. Meat on hot oiled cast iron surface is similar to frying. If you look at my blower video, you will notice one thing very interesting, when the fire is very hot it only takes seconds for the grill to be hot enough to sear nice grill marks. "--maybe grill marks are just an affectation" One day you may see steaks with pre-printed grill marks. dcarch

Here's a picture of one used as a planter. We have one that has "trays" on each side. I'm seriously thinking of making it into a potting table. Hubby's not to keen on it, but it's better than sitting on the slab of cement in the back acre!

I do far more grilling than barbecuing. I grill pork chops, steaks, burgers, vegetables on a skewer and marinated shrimp on a skewer and sometimes ears of corn. I used to have a smoker and smoked roasts and turkeys. A leg broke off the smoker a few years ago and I never replaced it. The past few years the only time I have used barbecue sauce is to cook things in a crockpot such as chicken breasts, pork ribs, meatballs and kiebalsa ( sp?) I do not poke the food with a fork, nor do I smash hamburgers with a spatula. ( your other thread ) I use tongs to turn them when needed. Angela, I feel the way you do about watching people stabbing the food on the grill with a fork. I can't stand it!!!! Linda