Propane Grills

Review by T. K. Schonhoff:

I bought one of these things ten years ago and despite twice replacing it with big, traditional-looking (and very expensive) grills I keep coming back to this one. In fact, when we bought our latest one at a local fireplace/grill store, the owner just couldn’t stop talking about this cheap little grill. He confided to me in a low voice that if I were to lift the lid of his own 00 home gas barbecue, I’d find this little gem sitting inside because it’s all he uses too.Why? It’s not ease of cleaning or durability or any of that stuff (they rust out after a few years sitting on the porch). And you’d better buy a big propane bottle with an adapter hose if you don’t want to those little gas cylinders to suddenly empty out on you mid-meal while you’re cooking for guests… No, the reason I adore this is that it just plain grills better than anything else on the market – and we’ve tried a lot of them.My wife, the culinary school grad, thinks it’s the “flavorizer” that does it (the metal pan that replaces those awful lava rocks). When we grill salmon we just cover that metal pan with alderwood chips and let the smoke penetrate the fish while it grills with the lid on tight – flat out beating every restaurant or neighborbood grilled fish ever made. Friends of mine simply won’t cook salmon for us.Even though we virtually never clean the thing, it simply does the best job flavor-wise of all our grills. If you crank it up to high for 10 minutes, then grill with the top closed (never open) you get very consistent heat which is the secret to good grilling.Some cookbook author who writes barbecue books constantly repeats the phrase “Know Your Fire” like a mantra. This fire is 100% consistent, heats up in minutes (again, no lava rocks to soak up heat) and produces superb results for us. If you know your fire, this is the fire to know.

Review by Scott Mackie:

I’ve owned a Weber Go-Anywhere for a couple of years now and it’s been a regular part of my outdoor cooking. Gets up to temperature quickly and is great for grilling simple stuff like salmon, chicken and sausages. The food doesn’t taste *quite* as good as my mesquite-fired kettle BBQ but the Go-Anywhere also doesn’t take 30 minutes to fire up.The piezzo lighter flaked out on my Weber a couple of months after I bought it but it’s pretty easy to light with a match. As another review mentioned, they do rust pretty quickly but they’re really sturdy and basic. It grills as well as it did when I first bought it.Strongly recommended for folks looking for a small, no-nonsense (or frills) gas BBQ.

Review by Griller:

This is the nicest grill I have ever owned and I can’t believe it really is only about 0 more than the last grill I had which was a total piece of junk. It is really nice, quality made. It heats evenly and quickly and is really much larger cooking area than I thought. Its perfect.

I put the entire thing together on my own and I’m a pretty petite woman. It was nowhere near as complicated to assemble as I thought. However I could not locate the knobs for the grill (dials) or the handle for the door. I re-checked every box, maybe it was there and the kids conveniently “relocated” it or it was missing in the first place (which I believe). I called Ducane, a few questions later they shipped out what was supposed to be 3 knobs and 1 handle, only got 1 knob. Tried again, only one knob. 3rd time is the charm and the woman I talked to the last two times said she would have the error corrected to reflect the proper part. Really their service was amazing and I’m thrilled with the grill. I splurged on a nice Ducane cover, I’m glad I did but this baby will get a parking space in the garage come winter, I’m in love with it!

Review by AustinScott:

Last weekend I helped a friend put together a Charbroil grill. Altogether a very frustrating experience since it came FULLY disassembled and the instructions were difficult to decipher. So, I looked forward to this grill’s arrival with a little trepidation. When it came (by the way, it’s shipping weight is 158 lbs and not the 20 lbs in the description), the delivery person very nicely helped me bring it up to my second floor, despite his only needing to drop it off at my front door.

The difference between assembling this grill and the Charbroil is like night and day. The parts on the Ducane are quality parts. The gas controls are refined and made of brass. The instructions are easy to follow and, most importantly, the actual grill itself is already assembled (burners, top/bottom) so all you need to do is assemble the frame which holds the grill.

It took me about an hour to assemble it and I was working very slowly. The only thing I wish they had included was a tool to drive some bolts. I didn’t have a socket set with me and it was a pain to use pliers. After it was put together I fired it up and the flame looks great. I can’t wait to grill with it. It is a perfect size for the space I have.

Also, the Ducane cover is also high quality – heavy gauge and soft lining in inside.

Review by Steve Cohan:

I rented a house in Sedona, Arizona for a month where they had a gas grill. Friends visited and grilled up some outrageous steaks and salmon. I had a little Weber Smokey Joe at home that I had not used for years. The charcoal system became too dirty and too much trouble. I never purchased a gas grill as I thought that really great tasting food could not be created on a gas grill.

When I returned home from my trip I went to Target, Walmart and Home Depot shopping for grills. Home Depot had a full-featured, large stainless steel grill on sale. Orginal price 9 – Sale price 9. The floor unit was the only one remaining unit in all the Phoenix stores. I won’t mention the brand name. I purchased the grill and arranged for friends to pickup the following day as it was too big to load into my SUV. I knew it was poorly constructed but the price was too tempting.

When I got home that evening I started reading reviews on the grill that I had just purchased. Nearly all of them were negative. I saw the Webers on the floor at Home Depot. The quality was CLEARLY superior. However, they were also considerably more expensive. I decided that I wanted a pleasant grilling experience. I could not picture having friends over for dinner and having burner difficulties.

I returned to Home Depot early the next morning. canceled the original purchase and purchased the Weber Spirit E-210. I had Home Depot assemble the grill for me.

Cooking on a gas grill is a either a science or art. If you don’t know how to do it, the results will be poor. I watched a gas grilling video on [...] by an executive chef from Morton’s Steak House. [...]

This video got me going in the right direction. The key points are high heat preheat and closed cover cooking. You can copy and paste the link to the video into your browser.

This grill heats up to 600 degrees quickly. Everything about it is quality, quality. There is a wonderful disposable drip pan system with foil drip pans. The grill plates are heavy steel meaning you will get even heating over all of your meats. Some other reviews mention this unit as having too small a cooking area. Obviously they are cooking for soccer teams. In my opinion, this grill is big enough for any family. There is no side burner or rotisserie although an attachment can be purchased. I have a Showtime rotisserie so that wasn’t a big deal for me.

I love this grill. It is truly one of the quality items that I own.

Review by Count On My Review:

This is a good as it gets for a basic , excellent quality grill. I replaced my old Weber Grill after 13+ years with this same entry level grill. It is still being made with excellent quality. Easy to read instructions & quite simple to put together. If you have put grills together that are not made by Weber, you know how difficult and time consumming they can be. Well Done Weber !!

Review by K. Benko:

Ducane has been making notable grills for decades. A few years ago, the company was bought by Weber. For a mid-priced grill, this is the one to go with. Burners and grates are Weber standard. Outside, thinner steel and a few minor short-cuts bring the price point down, but still far superior to a Char-Broil or Brinkman class grill. Heat is even. Porcelain coated grates. For about 0 less, you get the heart of a Weber. And for those of you who hate cleaning stainless steel, another plus.

Review by Cheryl Russo:

My husband wanted a new grill for around two years now. I did a ton of research and ended up ordering the Ducane through Amazon. It was delivered within a week in perfect condition. The directions were not hard to follow and it was put together relatively quickly.

We broke it in with a picnic of about 4o people and my husband was extremely happy with it.

It has a large cooking area, came with drip pans, the bottom cabinet is totally enclosed. The side tables are large and there are hooks to hang utensils on.

Review by Jeff:

The Patio Caddie is a nice small grill-good for small spaces when you want the convenience of propane. It is well constructed and easy to use. Assembly is a bit of a pain, though nowhere near as bad as their old full size units. If you have a cordless screwdriver and can follow their instructions, it should take about 30 minutes to an hour. It’s very easy to use-a push button ignition, burner control on the front, and with the propane tank sitting down below, you have easy access to the valve. There are nice touches like a built in thermometer and a retainer clip so you can hinge the lid on the lip of the grill if you don’t have a place to put it when you have the lid off. It does generate a decent amount of heat for a single burner grill-just enough for searing, and the ceramic charcoals do much better than lava rocks. On the bad side, it’s hard to see the flame, so it’s not exactly easy to tell if you’ve sucessfully ignited the gas. An electronic battery operated ignition would be a lot nicer. And while easy to wheel around, the small propane tank doesn’t cut it-it doesn’t hold enough, and if you do the tank exchange instead of filling your old one, no one will accept it. It’s great for a small grill-a good step up from a small charcoal grill. If you have the space, you’ll be a lot happier with a full size grill. With multiple burners and a lot more BTU power, you’ll get better results with a full size grill-and many don’t cost much more than the patio caddy. But if you only have enough room for a small grill, this is one of the best on the market.

Review by R. L. Johnson:

Consider this a long term test. I bought my Patio Caddie out of desperation when another cheap grille died one nice summer Saturday with friends coming over for dinner. I simply wasn’t in a mood to spend 0 or 0 for a king kong unit.What makes a good grille is really simple: it must start every time (it does), it must generate enough heat to cook (it does, but keeping the cover on helps)and it must have high quality grids (it does). On the last point, and what really sets the Patio Caddie Apart, are the heavy porcelainized grids. The are wonderful to cook on, easy to clean, haven’t sagged in 5 years use.Consider this the Honda Civic of grills: I fill the mini-tank once or twice a year for and cook at least once a week year round (in Seattle, no less). It is absolutely the finest chicken cooking device I have ever seen and easily cooks dinner for 4 to 6. No it won’t handle a 10 Lb salmon in one shot or cook a dozen burgers for a tribal reunion. And a Honda Civic wont carry an entire NFL team at one time either.The only downside is that the heat output does become limited below 50 degrees, but that’s a function of the propane, not the grill itself.If you live in a condo or apartment with a small deck, if you’re on a budget, or want a portable unit look no further, this is it.I will be moving on to a bigger and better grille in a couple weeks, and believe it or not, I have a friend who wants my old patio caddie for her condo. Old, greasy and well used, it still has life in it, and she knows how well it cooks. I just hope my new, bigger grille works as well.