This posting is well after the fact, but an FYI on top of the hours worth of testimonials above to confirm the Perfect Flame GSC 3318 (side by side lids)was a complete waste of money. Contrary to that implied by the Lowes salesman, I did not purchase this unit because of price, I was furnishing a new house and simply liked the arrangement and size of the unit. Having had punted Home Depot years earlier to become a loyal Lowes customer based on their merchandise quality and customer service, it did not seem necessary to do a whole bunch of research. My mistake. I purchased this grill in July of 2006 as a floor model. From the first use forward, the left hand side would light, then flash and whistle; kind of like the backflash sound of an acetylene torch. Due to my work load at the time, I had not time to pursue a fix and figured it was probably a simple adjustment. As winter approached, it was clear the heat output on the working side was not sufficient to offset the northern Michigan winter temperatures, and eventually I abandoned the grill on my front porch until now, fall of 2012. Oh, yes, as our Lowes friend suggested, I purchased a cover with the grill so it would be protected even though it was stainless steel and its home was a covered porch. Even so, the rusting "stainless" steel reared its ugly head about two years after this "grill" attained decoration status as a result of the high-quality cover I purchased dry rotting and blowing into the front yard. So, six and one half years after the fact, my wive and I wheeled it into the garage and I was about to attempt to fix this engineering wonder and tribute to global trade, but after searching for a manual and reading an hours worth of negative postings,I am considering otherwise. Has anybody out there come to a similar juncture and successfully reconditioned or should I say rebuilt a similar unit with aftermarket parts? Anybody have a link to an owners manual? Mine is probably at the same location as my receipt, which is currently MIA along with all of my other paperwork from 2006. Anyways, that is my experience to date. Congrats to those who did not get taken and have similar grills that work correctly. Shame on Lowes for joining or at least repeating Home Depot's race to the bottom with this product.

Definitely options for you out there. There are many self-cleaning ranges available in gas. Your wish to have the controls on the front will certainly cost you more money, but it is a much sleeker look. If you go this route, make sure you consider the gap that will be created at the back of the range, as a slide in range typically does not go all the way to the back wall like a conventional free standing range. Here are some self cleaning slide in gas ranges. http://www.ajmadison.com/cgi-bin/ajmadison/GW397LXU.html with convection http://www.ajmadison.com/cgi-bin/ajmadison/GW399LXUS.html free standing (under $1000) http://www.ajmadison.com/cgi-bin/ajmadison/WFG510S0A.html with convection http://www.ajmadison.com/cgi-bin/ajmadison/WFG540H0A.html Lots of timer options and display of temps etc on all of these models. You'll find similar models under the Maytag name, and Frigidaire and GE will have multiple models that fit into your budget as well. Finding a non-self cleaning gas range is the more difficult thing now a days, until you get into some of the entry level pro ranges, like Wolf, Viking, Thermador etc. Some of the other features you've mentioned about the burners, that''s where things will really start costing you money. Most of the well developed burners on the market happen to be attached to the pro ranges, where the more basic ranges out there will all source their burners from companies that just manufacturer burners. Nothing special to them, not super hot, not super at simmering, but will get the job done. I suggest going into a brick and mortar store and talking to a sales person, they will hopefully have lots of knowledge, and more options that you'll get browsing internet forums :) Good luck!

Webers are everywhere, I have owned a couple through the years friends have owned them and they are fine grills for the price (the charcoal ones) But Webers you can buy everywhere, are far cheaper depending on the model, have tons more advertising so of course you are always going to have more people recommending something of which virtually everyone has or have owned. That's like saying on a post about Beer. 1 count the number of people that recommend Budweiser 2 count the number of people that recommend Deschutes Brewery, "The Abyss" Bud is one of the worst beers ever brewed, it is classic horse pee as far as beer goes. YET it sells more than any other American beer, nothing comes close because it is sold everywhere and puts out many millions in advertising. 1000s upon 1000s would recommend Budweiser as their beer of choice in this country. Now Deschutes Brewery The Abyss ale is one of the very best beers in the world, not just the USA. That would be my recommendation for the best beer. Now which one is truly "better"? Horse pee with millions in advertising that is available on every street corner in the country for cheap or truly one of the best beers in the world, only available from one place and only a couple months out of the year for $14 a 22oz bottle? If you only have say $150 for a grill then a good little Weber Kettle is by far the best choice. If you are talking about spending between $500-$1200 though? Any number of Kamado type grills be it the Big Green Egg, Primo, or the Vision are better BY FAR. Most of the Webers mentioned here I think are what, about $600-$900? The Vision I got from Costco was $570, less money, lifetime warranty, costco return policy, will BBQ, Grill, Sear, Smoker, Water Smoker, Pizza Oven, Wok, easy to start, very efficient use of charcoal, can maintain almost exact temps like you can on your indoor range from 200 up to 800+ degrees. So $570 Kamado or $600++ Weber Gas is a total no brainer as far as usability and value for the money. If Avid still prefers Gas no matter what then for the money the Solaire Infravection grills are far better than the Webers though cost a few hundred more, but what is an extra $200 when you are spending $1200 when you get a far better grill? Lower priced Weber Charcoal grills are hard to beat. If you are spending $900-$1500 then there are certainly better options for that price. and Charcoal beats the heck out of gas for absolutely everything except for ease of use.

I love gas. We are getting ready to build a new home and in the meantime I've been stuck with (a new) coil style electric stove that came with our mobile home. I hate it!!! I had a GE Profile top of the line gas range with both normal and convection ability (self cleaning cycle included though) in my last house, and have one on it's way to put in this trailer. I'll then move it into our house when it is finished. I was going to wait until our house was finished, but I cannot stand to cook on electric and cannot put off getting a stove I like. This stove still has top ratings. Gas has instant response, so there is no waiting for it to heat up and cool down. The heat is steady and does not fluctuate up and down like electric. Gas stoves are safe. They do not have pilot lights anymore. They ignite with electronic ignition similar to a gas outdoor grill. However, during a power outage you can still light the burners with a match and cook, which is nice. You won't be able to light the oven with a match, at least not this stove. I'm sure it's a safety measure. I had this range for three years and never once had a problem with it. It baked pies, cookies, and cakes evenly. My advice is to buy the best gas range that you can afford. It is worth the investment. I had considered either the Wolf or a Viking but won't touch them with a ten foot pole. I have friends who have had these, and they have had lots of issues with them. Consumer Reports even states they are repair prone. Over priced in my opinion. I'm not one who gives a hoot about status symbols anyway. I'd rather have peace, as in being able to cook without calling a repair person all the time. Oh, and stay away from Maytag. Been there, done that with them as well. I'm not a big GE fan, but this range is a good one. Not inexpensive, but good, but way less than "fancier" name brands. Sandy