Burning up the gas grills, how long do yours last?

[Longjohn ★]

I grill year round and went from cheap gas grills to more expensive ones trying to find something that would hold up.  I think I'm going back the other direction and buy cheap again.  The ones with all the stainless steel and ceramic don't seem to last that much longer.  My grill before the one I have now I replaced all the grates, burners, and covers.  It cost as much as a new grill. I think I'm going to buy one of those Stuff*Mart pampers type gas grills, use it awhile and throw it away and get a new one.  That seems to be the way they build them.

[Mr. Silly]

When I used gas grills they'd last two or three years.  I went to charcoal about 5 years ago.  It looks like it hasn't worn much.

[tybeegb]

If you grill a lot the cheaper option might be more economical, but the operation might hinder your culinary skills.  I grill much better on my new expensive grill than I did the cheaper ones.  Of course I pamper this one, and I really don't grill that much, and I have a cover that keeps it out of the weather. 

[maddmaxx ★]

I've had my current Weber for about 6 years now.  I have had to replace the cast iron grates twice at about $60 a pop but the rest of the grill is holding up fine.  The grill lives outside year round.  Some of the nicer features are hard line gas piping everywhere but the hose to the tank.  There are screens over the air bleed ports to keep the bugs from building nests inside the spray bars.  It's a nice grill with the grates seemingly the only weak link.  They are porcelain  over cast iron but the coating flakes off after a while and the cast iron rusts.

[Johnny Come Lately Name]

I have a 15 year old Weber Genesis Silver A. It's still going. I've replaced grill grates and "flavorizer bars" once. It's been used year round and kept outdoors (under a cover) the whole time.

The only reason it got relegated to camp was because I bought a new Weber Genesis for home, about five years ago. That one's still going strong, used regularly year round and  almost daily during the summer . Nothing replaced so far. (Although the $&@&@ mice chewed the knobs...)

I had a POS CharBroil from (b)Lowe's at camp and it lasted about three years. Despite being half again bigger than the Silver A, it weighed about half as much and pinged like an oil can when cooling down.

[Johnny Come Lately Name]

1 minute ago, maddmaxx said:

There are screens over the air bleed ports to keep the bugs from building nests inside the spray bars

Yes, but you need to remember to clean them once in a while. The nice lady at Weber customer support "bitched" at me about it.

[Longjohn ★]

My grill is on the deck under roof, I get two or three years out of them before I have to start replacing stuff. I have a row of them out behind the garage, one of these days I'll have to call the junk man to come haul that scrap away.

[a bunch of numbers]

I just replaced my old Ducane that was about 20 years old.  I rebuilt it 9 years ago, but that was all I ever did to it.  Of course I took care of it and cleaned it regularly.  I replaced it with a Weber Genesis.  I don't cover them in the summer, just in the winter. 

[Chris...]

My Holland gas grill is about 15 years old. Haven't had to replace any parts yet. 

[Indy]

I got tired of them not lasting and went Weber last time.  So far been a great decision.

 

The problem with a lot of the nicer looking ones, they use a cheap grade of stainless, so it's more for appearance than anything as it still rusts.

[TrentonMakes]

I was just discussing this yesterday with my dad.... I'm still using the grill my groomsmen got me as a wedding gift, almost 16 years ago.  It has not exactly been coddled.... but it's held up.  At this point though I think it's overdue for replacement - the tray underneath the burners is rusting out and the grates are in bad shape.  Also the knobs are all gone, melted off during a little burger-related conflagration.  The wood frame is, uh, "relaxing", and leaning back a bit.  That might be the biggest problem - I don't need the grill supports collapsing with burners lit and the propane valve open.

[2Far ★]

My Weber, natural gas unit is going strong after 8 years. I grill quite a bit, 4-seasons strong. It used to be covered when unused but that seemed to be too difficult for the other grillers to maintain... I'm going to have to replace the bottom inside support. I kept a bag of charcoal in there for a while & it must have held the moisture in & the bottom is corroding out. Looks like I will also have to replace at least two of the 4 wheels.

[ChrisL]

I've never owned a gas grill but the one i purchased for the HS Baseball program 5 years avo looked OK when I helped them with a bbq a couple of months ago.  But it only gets used a couple of times a year.

[Wilbur ★]

Just got rid of my old Vermont Castings last year.  It was 12 years old and still working well but the main box was corroded through.  I replaced it with a Weber.  No where near the flame control so I may dispose of it early. 

[Road Runner]

Haven't had a grill for 15 years or so.  I no longer eat beef or pork, so a grill seemed unnecessary. 

[Johnny Come Lately Name]

I like that a thread about gas grills is marked "hot".....

[Johnny Come Lately Name]

....and when I say "used year round", I mean it:

[Square Wheels]

24 minutes ago, F_in Ray Of Sunshine said:

....and when I say "used year round", I mean it:

You shovel too much. 

[Ralphie ★]

I was getting one every 5 years for my service anniversary gifts at work, but last time I got a MTB instead and did a Longjohn total replacement job on the grates and flavor bars.  On this Charbroil, the burner is just a pipe and it is holding up much mo' better than those stamped steel POSes in my previous really cheapo grills.  Those would split at the seams and get a little hot... a little hot...

[Longjohn ★]

Whelp, I bought cheep. It comes with a five year warranty on the burners and only cost $86.00. My last grill cost more than three times that and only lasted three years.

[Ralphie ★]

That looks like pipe burners - MUCH better than the stamped steel POSes.

[Johnny Come Lately Name]

16 minutes ago, Longjohn said:

My last grill cost more than three times that and only lasted three years.

$286....and you wonder why it only lasted three years? 

[Longjohn ★]

9 minutes ago, F_in Ray Of Sunshine said:

$286....and you wonder why it only lasted three years? 

That was the first step down from the expensive grill. This grill I bought today cost way less than the burners and grates that needed replaced.

[Johnny Come Lately Name]

38 minutes ago, Longjohn said:

That was the first step down from the expensive grill. This grill I bought today cost way less than the burners and grates that needed replaced.

There's a reason the warranty on the burners on this one is five years. The rest of it is going to rust out before the burners. 

[Further]

I've gone all charcoal

[Longjohn ★]

2 minutes ago, F_in Ray Of Sunshine said:

There's a reason the warranty on the burners on this one is five years. The rest of it is going to rust out before the burners. 

This one is cheap enough I will never have to clean it.  When it gets dirty pitch it and buy a new one.

[Johnny Come Lately Name]

New, Stainless grates for mine. $129

 

[Longjohn ★]

I think the grates on this new one are a special grade of Chineezium.

[Johnny Come Lately Name]

1 hour ago, Square Wheels said:

You shovel too much. 

I like shoveling.

I also do 50' of driveway and leave the snowblower in the garage.

[KrAzY]

My grill has lasted a couple of years now. Only thing I have had to replace was the propane tank. 
Other then that I have had a grill for about 10 years max... only because thats how long we lived in a state and I did not feel like transplanting it along with us. 

[LoneWolf]

"Yours" as in plural?

Mine has been around since our three-year anniversary when we brought it as a present for each other (which means it's ten years old now).  Of course, it is garaged when not in use.  I will be sad when it comes time to get another one, the temperature is so even on this, it makes doing steaks a snap.  My grates are porcelain coated; they're plain compared to other designs, but we probably clean them (and the flavor bars) 1-2 times a summer with soapy water, and then I sun dry them.