I have recently purchased the Model 8000 that was asked about way back in December. I paid $400 at Lowes with free assembly and a full gas bottle thrown in. I've had other grills, and I believe that the GO grills should be easily the longest lasting in their price range. Many so-called stainless steel grills use stainless cosmetically, which eliminates some repainting but does not contribute to structural survivability. The GOs are aluminum essentially everywhere (with the exception of the 4000 model, which uses some plastic). The entire body of the grill is guaranteed for 75 years. The burners are solid brass and guaranteed for 25 years. Most other parts are guaranteed for 5 years or more. All nut and bolt hardware is stainless. I've had expensive grills that rusted at the bottom of the legs where the casters or wheels attach. That's a pretty catastrophic failure. All the cosmetic stainless in the world won't deal with that. And the GOs simply can't have that problem, since they are aluminum all the way down to the casters. The casters appear to be bullet-proof themselves. So what are the limitations? Is this grill totally bullet-proof? I expect the paint will deteriorate -- of course many of you have repainted a grill, as I have. It's not that hard. A custom-fitted cover with zipper is available from GO and will prolong paint life. I expect that the grid that holds the ceramic briquettes just above the burners will be the first component to fail. Replacements are $12.95 plus shipping from the manufacturer. This raises an important question: If this grill is largely bulletproof and replacement parts will be affordable, what if the manufacturer doesn't survive? I've done some research on Great Outdoors, and here's what I've found: They incorporated in 1997. Their first products rolled off the line in 1999. Since then, they've tripled their production and sales every year. They are now retailing through giants such as Lowe's and Wal-Mart. Of course, this doesn't guarantee that they'll be around forever. They certainly won't sustain that growth rate indefinitely, and when they level off, they'll have to make serious adjustments to stay profitable. I'm betting they're here for the long haul, but I'm hedging my bet by buying a few spare parts and putting them away. (My guess is that five years from now GO be bought by one of the big boys like Weber or Char Broil. All the principles will walk away as 10-million aires.) I forgot to mention that the grill seems to be of first-class construction. Everything works well and has a feel of quality. So far I've had no problems with flame-up, but I haven't been cooking super-fatty meat. The only shortcoming from my perspective is lack of any temperature sensor. At GO's suggestion, I bought a Grill Care thermometer from Wal-Mart. I had to drill a 7/8-inch hole in the top casting to install it. LoweÂs sells a hole-saw type bit (a cylinder with bi-metal teeth around the bottom) for $12.95 that has a half-inch shank to fit your half-inch drill's chuck. It's a cinch to drill the hole if you have those tools. The thermometer was about $14 and is a high-quality item worthy of the grill. Drilling the hole does not void the warranty. One impressive thing about Great Outdoors is their customer service. Send them an e-mail, and you get a prompt and courteous response. They seem to have their act together in that vein. Is this the perfect grill, thermometer aside? No, I think the perfect grill is all stainless -- it doesn't rust, and it doesn't need paint. But such items are extremely expensive. I sent GO an e-mail saying that I wished they'd take the all aluminum design and supplement it with stainless to eliminate painting -- a bullet-proof grill at a more affordable price than end-to-end stainless. The manager, Linn Anne Rowe, said they were looking at a design like that. We'll see. Meanwhile, you can have your Webers and similar-quality, simlarly priced grills. I believe the Great Outdoors grills are best in class -- hands down. Tim Naff

Denaliman I do not have the IR burner. This grill gets real hot and cannot image needing higher heat. The temperature readout regularly shows 750-800 degrees, but feels even higher. Cooking to fast is more of a problem than not having enough heat. I have never cooked on an IR burner so cannot comment on that aspect. My burners are easily removed so if you want an IR burner later it would take 5 minutes to replace. You remove the grates, flavor grids, and burners to clean. The grill heats up fast and when the cast burners get hot that stay hot. I really can't imagine needing more heat. With 96,000 btu's from 3 burners on high that is a lot of heat. My old Weber had 3 burners which I believe were 12,000 btus's each and it cooked fine. What you will find is that you turn the burners down after searing and cook on medium high. When you open the hood on a warm day you will not believe the heat that comes out. The 790 has the right amount of grilling area. You can really cook a lot of food on it. With the zone panels in place the temperature can be varied from burner to burner. One word of caution is the grill is really heavy. It moves easily on the wheels, but mine was a tailgate delivery so had to unpack and get it into place. If buying from a store they will set it up for you if not you must do a little assembly. My wife thought I was crazy to spend so much on a grill, but 4 years later she admits it was a worthwhile purchase.

Thanks for all the input. Decided on the Landmann sold by Costco, less than $400 in the store. It went together easily and I need every one of the 577 sq inches. I don't feel good about the fact it is made in China and I am unlikely to be able to get parts if necessary - but I think it is a great value and I do feel good about buying from Costco. The current Weber Genesis was much smaller and more than twice the price. Here is a link that might be useful: Landmann stainless grill at Costco

Don't know if you have already made your decision, but I would actually describe the burners opposite of idrive65. Front to back to me describes the direction the burners run front to back with them left right and perhaps several in the center. That means that for indirect heat (slow cooking for ribs, brisket, whole poultry and large meats) you can use one or two burners on one end and cook on the opposite end, one on either end and cook in the center, use the center burner(s) and cook on wither side -- gives you options and full use of the front to back grill space. With side to side (not side by side) are burners going across from one side to the other where you have one front back and center. For indirect heat, your options are to use the back only or the front and back and cook in the center. You have the full width of the grill to cook, but less room front to back and the heat may be less indirect for whatever you are cooking. Webber has 3 different types of grates and different stores may carry one or two. Cast iron sears (may give a bit more char flavor) and retains heat well but rusts most easily (they suggest not cleaning after cooking so that the oils from cooking protect the grates until you preheat and burn them off when you cook the next time). Porcelain coated have protection from rusting, but some may feel they don't retain heat and sear as well as cast iron. We've used both and never had any complaint with the porcelain-- the rust factor probably makes it a better choice in our climate). Stainless is an option that comes standard on the higher end Summit grills or as an option or additional purchase for the Genesis. I've cooked on the other ones so long I wasn't sure about the stainless even though the rust proof definitely appealed in our humid climate. We were thinking about it when I realized the charcoal grills I've used all have stainless grates and the Summit ones were heavier and should do even better. So far, they've been working very well. I can cook happily with any of the grates, but the use of space -- having enough, being able to use it efficiently for large of small cooking needs and having it arranged well for what you want to cook would be what I would focus on. The burner direction matters most if you pile charcoal to one side and cook on the other. If you usually place evenly across the bottom, it may not matter to you at all. Have fun looking and hope you find one you enjoy.