I am sorry I didn't post it earlier. As of a couple of weekends ago, the gas grill was exchanged for a helicopter ride. Not permanent, but memorable nonetheless.

this subject also answers the ? about if hi-end grills are worth it. i often do turkeys and find it is a real benefit to having an infra-red back burner. this is usually only found on lynx,viking, wolf, dcs, type grills. it is a vertical burner across the back. find a nice 14-15 lb turkey to put on a rotisserie. season the turkey with salt. put a pan under the turkey and make baste. 1 cup of Kahlua, 1 cup of water, and about 12oz. of apricot jam. mix baste and put in pan. cook only using back burner and baste every 15-20 min. turkey will take about 2 1/2 to 3 hours. save all the dripping, remove add a little water and corn starch to thicken for your gravy for this fantanstic dark colored bird. if you prefer more of a golden colored bird , use amareeto and apple jelly instead. um good

My experience with a 'sear burner' is that it really isn't 'all that'. I watched a video of someone cooking two steaks on the same grill, one side with a sear burner, the other with it's 'normal' burner. Both steaks turned out the same. When I was searching around several years ago for a grill I saw that there are mostly 3 levels. Those from $99 to around $999, those from $1000 to around $2900, and those above that. The lower level used cheap steel, cheap valves and cheap burners, all of which would rust to death in a few years. The middle level used better components (stainless in more places, valves that actually had a low setting, stainless tube burners), but there construction was a bit less (screws instead of welds). The higher end used 304 stainless throughout, heavy stainless grill surface rods (instead of porcelain steel that will eventually crack and rust), welded seams throughout the firebox and lid. So it really depends on your budget. What I would look for: 1. stainless steel cooking grates over porcelain. Cast iron is going to rust unless you take constant care of it. There are some stainless grates that are 'non-stick', not a coating but a special way they are made. 2.alternative lighting system. Pretty much all have electric start, either by spark or by glowplugs. The alternative "emergency" lighting Ive seen uses a 'flame tube' where you hold a match over it and the flame flows down to the burner. Nice to have it the batteries or power go out. 3. Decent rotisserie system. Look for how much weight it can support and how big the burner is in relation to the whole cooktop. 4. Lights. Sometimes good to have at night but they do get sooted up over time. 5. Easy opening/accessible splatter tray. Cover with foil and cleanup is a breeze. 6. Stainless tube, stainless cast or brass burners. They should never rust out on you. 7. Some gas grills come with dividers that separate the grill sections for each burner. This allows you to cook at different temperatures on the same grill. So one section for steak, one for burgers and one for chicken. This can come in handy. BBQ grill source

I've never purchased Hestan kitchen appliances before and so I wanted to give them a try this time. I've ordered the Hestan Smart Induction cooktop, single wall oven, microwave drawer, and a dishwasher from Appliances Connection. Big mistake ever. Appliances Connection charged my credit card immediately even though the items were not available for shipping and are still on backorder as of today. My kitchen remodel project was put on hold for a long time because of. After waiting about 10 weeks or more, I've finally received the induction cooktop only. I was so excited and could not wait to try it out. Right after the installation, we did the test the very first time, and one of the back burners failed to power on. I immediately called Hestan customer service, they picked up the phone and advised me to email the information and someone will get back to me. Emailed them per their request and no one contacted me. I waited a few days and called them back. This time they promised to have a service agent to call at the end of the day. A month went by and still nothing. I then had to contact Appliances Connection to see if I can return the defective unit. I was advised that once the unit is installed, they don't accept the return even though it was a defective unit. Is this how people doing business nowadays? This is not just a few hundred dollars order. They took my money, 3 months after they shipped the defective unit, and didn't want to do anything to correct the issue or refund my money. What a rip off. I am going to report to BBB and hire a lawyer to get my money back. Save yourself money and headache, please tell your family and friends to stay away from doing business with Appliances Connection and do not buy any Hestan products. They do not stand behind their products. I would give them zero star if I can.