Hope I can jump in. I'm also in the market and have three requirements: the entire grill needs to be able to hold up to salt air near the coast, it needs to have infrared main burners as an option, and it needs to be made in in America (when spending this kind of money it sure better be supporting American jobs). Fire Magic is made in the US and has a good warranty but was not readily apparent if it offers IR. Lynx covers the first two but their website does not list where they are made. FB announced a CA factory 23 hours ago. I just messaged them on FB and they confirmed all of their grills are made in the USA - and that they now need to update their website. So aside from Lynx, does anyone have additional suggestions for rust adverse, IR, and US made? Thanks.

I just compared the burners, and there are various types of burners as noted but for this type (stainless steel tube type) the guage is the same (although there are a few different shape configurations, the Virco-type is the most common and undoubtedly an OEM part, see the pics at all.grills.com or go out and take a look for yourself). I did not see thicker SS on the higher end units and if someone (besides the latest incarnation of lpsage aka chilidawg) wants to point out a guage difference, I'd like them to reference the model (not just brand) as the burners of this type are similar if not identical. I just would not be worried about burners failing. It aint gonna happen. As far as the other components, well its really all pretty standard, simple stuff (outside of the SS cabinetry). Just knobs, wires, ignitors, etc. which could all be serviced by many equivalent parts if it came to that. I'm just happy that I got such a great value. The most expensive component is undoubtedly the assembled SS cabinetry, hood, etc.

Aca12 I have a Viking Gas Range and a DCS Gas GRill. Both perform extremely well. BUT............. I would be concerned about their warranties. Now I am not familar with the warranty on the Viking Gas Grill, but I can tell you that I am not impressed with their warranty on their gas ranges. I recently had a problem with the oven where both igniters and both burners had to be replaced. My range is not quite two years old. The igniters had a one year warranty and the burners have a 5 year warranty but not on labour. It cost me $300.00 for repairs. I have written to the company concerning this as I believe that it can't be a normal occurence for all 4 of these parts to breakdown at the same time and within 2 years of purchase. The initial response was basically how unfortunate it was that I was experiencing these problems. On the other hand,DCS has been very helpful when I called them. I had a problem with the grids on my DCS Grill rusting out within the first year and they replaced them immediately. The same thing happened again and they replaced the grids, this time with the new stainless steel grids. Also recently I noticed a crack in the frame that holds the ceramic bars. I called them and they immediately sent out replacements. My DCS Grill is over 4 years old. I use my Grill alot, from direct grilling to indirect roasting of ribs and whole chickens as well as using the infrared rotissiere and I am never dissapointed. I cooked whole meals on the grill this summer when it was just too hot to turn on the inside oven. I even baked Yorkshire Puddings as well as blueberry muffins over indirect heat. With just one side lite the temperature in the grill will get up over 600°F. Here is a link that might provide you with some more information to help you make your decision. It was provide to me by another member here, bbqjones. Here is a link that might be useful: gas grills

I agree with deeageaux on FM vs Alfresco. Although, you might also consider Lynx, which have thick heavy cast brass burners. I looked at both, and ended up choosing Lynx over Fire Magic for my own particular reasons, but I don't think you can go wrong with either. This post was edited by ctycdm on Mon, Nov 4, 13 at 12:08