Costco Jenn-Air BBQ?

I know that this is a real long shot but I am wondering if anyone just may have had any experience with the Jenn-Air BBQ being sold by Costco? https://sites.google.com/site/reviewspecsprices/jenn-air-stainless-steel-grill-model-720-0720
This BBQ is priced at $699.99 in the warehouse. I was initially excited by the Jenn-Air name but found out that Jenn-Air licensed the name to a number of other manufacturers.

We are serious about grilling and now headed into the time of year when we BBQ easily 5 nights a week. I just had to declare our CharBroil Commercial BBQ dead after two years and am sick of replacing grills every couple of years.

Any experiences with this grill or suggestions for others to take a hard look at would be appreciated!

Okay....so this is not serious CG, but we went on a bus trip to see an old hacienda where they were having a big family party that day in the courtyard. Wonderful smells wafting about, and mouths were watering by the time we reached the stone walkway where a group of women were grilling away: four loose bricks per side, fire underneath and metal grill on top.

Good luck on finding the grill of our dreams, but if all else fails..................

Pardon me for being dumb, but why would a grille fail in two years? Was it one of their cheaper models vs. the big fancy ones?

Simple answer - CharBroil grills are a POS! This was their Commercial Series Radiant model and exclusively sold for $400 at Lowes. Already had the gas regulator tube fail within the first month. This time it was the SS Radiant Grill plates that just fell apart and after an argument with customer service, they told me tough luck since those parts only had a 12 month warranty. I could buy replacement kit for $96.99 + shipping. I am headed to Lowes shortly to discuss with them.

Neil if you're serious about BBQ you should'nt be using a gas grill in the first place,a simple Weber and some hardwood charcoal, a little more work but a better result and they never breakdown.
Chris

Chris:

Yes, we do have a Weber Black Kettle and use a mix of Kingsford Competition Briquettes and Mesquite charcoal chunks. I really prefer cooking on at for certain types of meats but there are also some preparations where I prefer a good gas BBQ, especially when using a rotisserie. Besides the fact that I am too lazy to build a charcoal fire every night, we have a tendency for occasional high winds here in Albuquerque and fire limitations. We are allowed to cook on a gas BBQ when the open flames of charcoal are banned and there is a huge fine if caught.

Meanwhile, based upon Gringal's suggestion - I have placed an ad on Craigslist for either native Hawaiians or Samoans to come and dig a proper fire pit off our rear patio. HA!

viajero wrote:Neil if you're serious about BBQ you should'nt be using a gas grill in the first place,a simple Weber and some hardwood charcoal, a little more work but a better result and they never breakdown.
Chris

Too much work!!! And Weber is made of cheap Chinese steel. They don't look like quality to me.

Well all I knew is I had a big $400 weber gas grille with the burner on
one end. It lasted for 10 years before the bottom burned out. I bought
a cheap chinese one looked the same cost about $250 and the sparker
broke in a week and the metal grills burned out in two years. I now will
pay the Weber tax. The savings were a bad deal in a grille IMHO.

Z

See if your Home Depot has the Huntington Grill .

I really like the quality.

My brother in law had one of those big charbroils. The gas burner tubes were not made of stainless like Weber, they were made of mild steel and promptly rusted out. The rest of it was fine.

Neil having both gas and charcoal grills is the way to go, lots of meats are just fine on a gas grill and it is easier.Happy grilling.
Chris

Someone just touched on one of my pet peeves. Cheap metal masquerading as real steel. Used to be, you bought a Weber grill and it lasted, and lasted.
Enter cheap Chinese look alikes. Bah.

Used to be, you could buy one of those great winged foolproof wine bottle openers which lasted until you lost it in a move or something. Enter cheapo pot metal openers which cost a bunch and break almost immediately.

Just wondering: whatever happened to the old timey brick backyard barbeques? All you ever needed was a new metal piece for the middle once in a while. All gone now? The fancy ones even had the gas pipe going there.

Chris:
I was at Home Depot yesterday and didn't notice that particular brand but I also saw the assembly team putting together a bunch of new grills for the season. Maybe by Saturday when I get back over that way, that brand might appear?

MC:
I called CharBroil customer service on the East Coast and got the attitude! Since the model I have is exclusively built for Lowes, I went down the street and talked to the department manager. Was very calm but I pointed out that their manufacturer wasn't doing them any favors with their attitude and crappy product. By the time I left, I had him dancing on one leg and promising to get something worked out by manana. At this point, I have decided that I don't care for the grill or its lack of quality and will bite the bullet by selling it at a garage sale for $50 to $100.

John:
I understand what you are saying about charcoal grills being work but I am willing to accept the extra work to get a wide variety of preparations just right. Very little that I prepare is of the "slap it on the grill" type since I do lots of marinades that may be Mexican, Southern US, Brazilian, Argentinean, Mediterranean, Oriental or whatever. Grilling and preparation just happens to be one of those things that I enjoy through experimentation and refinement.

At the present time, even without any opinions on the Jenn-Air from Costco, I am inclined to head in that direction. Why? Because I know from prior experience in buying three Kirkland SS Grills in the past and really liking them up until they developed minor problems and having no issues in returning them.

CG, you can order replacement parts for it on the internet pretty reasonable. I'll wager you're one of those guys who can fix anything.

MC:

I did my research and I am looking at $100+ for replacement parts on a grill that I can only sell for $50 to $100 to the cheap garage sale bargain shoppers. With that equation, I would rather toss in a dumpster and eat my pride. If I can get Lowes to replace for free, then I will sell at whatever price in a garage sale. I have had it with this poor decision! I did play a "card" with the Lowes department manager that they stood no chance with getting any of my replacement money even though they had a couple of more expensive and better looking models (Weber & Kitchenaid).

Yes, you can only sell it for a yard sale but it would cost you a lot more to replace than that. Hence the suggestion that you fix it.

I neglected to say that fixing it (by replacing the parts) takes no talent as the parts simply drop in. But I have never been happy with the performance and have reached the stage where I write off the entire experience and charge the original $400 up to the cost of education. My other problem is that there isn't a decent rotisserie unit to fit this grill and I really like that method of cooking. The Jenn-Air has a 13,000 BTU vertical mounted ceramic radiant burner and I know from my prior experience with the Kirkland brand, they do a great job.

Time to accept my loses and step up to be a big boy!

If you are buying stainless steel be aware there are different types of stainless. The cheaper types have a higher iron content and will in fact rust. The best way to tell the difference between good and bad stainless is to use a magnet. The magnet will not stick to the good stainless steel.

For what it's worth, we've owned Weber products form many years; two kettle charcoal types and two gas models. Over the years Weber has replaced at no charge a few things that wore out. The steel "flavor bars" and the metal grills. When the metal grills rusted out Weber sent us cast iron grills at no charge as a replacement. Our current model has cast iron grills. IMHO you can't beat Weber for customer service. Likewise, COSTCO stands behind what they sell.

Agree. We had a Weber Genesis Gold that was over 20 years old and needed refurbishing with a few new parts twice in that time. The parts were and are still readily available. The burners were still in perfect condition after 20 years.

My wife's sister has a kettle that is still going strong after 40 years. It was a wedding gift.

Good stuff lasts. Not much of it around anymore. This has become the age of buy it, use it for a couple of years and then it goes to the landfill.

MC:

You are absolutely right about being the disposable age. While I readily admit that at $400, this BBQ was certainly not at the top end of the scale but I didn't expect it to self destruct in two years either. As consumers, our only option is to vote with our credit cards and our feet. With the attitude shown at CharBroil, I will never purchase one of their products again. Since this is an exclusive Lowes product, I calmly explained to the dept manager that how this has been handled negatively affects them and will affect how I make future decisions to spend money on a larger ticket item in their stores down the road. Depending on what they come up with today, I may take a hard look at their Weber or Kitchenaid offerings.

Quoting CB: "The best way to tell the difference between good and bad stainless is to use a magnet. The magnet will not stick to the good stainless steel. "

Having read that test on a prior occasion, I did do the magnet test on the CharBroil and have done the same with the Jenn-Air. The Jenn-Air is constructed of 303 stainless with the exception of the hood. The hood is a double wall fabrication of 445 stainless, which is a formulation with titanium and other exotic metals.

In doing my homework on the various grills in the marketplace, I have decided that I am unwilling to invest the $1K to $5K that they want you to spend on certain brands and models. So our limit is $999.99 and now it is just a matter of evaluating construction, features and warranties as I refuse to go through this again in 2 to 3 years!

CheenaGringo wrote:Quoting CB: "The best way to tell the difference between good and bad stainless is to use a magnet. The magnet will not stick to the good stainless steel. "

Having read that test on a prior occasion, I did do the magnet test on the CharBroil and have done the same with the Jenn-Air. The Jenn-Air is constructed of 303 stainless with the exception of the hood. The hood is a double wall fabrication of 445 stainless, which is a formulation with titanium and other exotic metals.

In doing my homework on the various grills in the marketplace, I have decided that I am unwilling to invest the $1K to $5K that they want you to spend on certain brands and models. So our limit is $999.99 and now it is just a matter of evaluating construction, features and warranties as I refuse to go through this again in 2 to 3 years!

In contrast.... folks on Isla Mujeres use an old tire rim & a grate , fill it full of wood and charcoal, light it up and enjoy...
whatever floats yer boat...

hockables wrote:

CheenaGringo wrote:Quoting CB: "The best way to tell the difference between good and bad stainless is to use a magnet. The magnet will not stick to the good stainless steel. "

Having read that test on a prior occasion, I did do the magnet test on the CharBroil and have done the same with the Jenn-Air. The Jenn-Air is constructed of 303 stainless with the exception of the hood. The hood is a double wall fabrication of 445 stainless, which is a formulation with titanium and other exotic metals.

In doing my homework on the various grills in the marketplace, I have decided that I am unwilling to invest the $1K to $5K that they want you to spend on certain brands and models. So our limit is $999.99 and now it is just a matter of evaluating construction, features and warranties as I refuse to go through this again in 2 to 3 years!

In contrast.... folks on Isla Mujeres use an old tire rim & a grate , fill it full of wood and charcoal, light it up and enjoy...
whatever floats yer boat...

I have one of those for picnics,it's great I call it my mexican hibachi.
Chris

As a followup, even though my promised phone call from Lowe's never came, I was there today picking up garden supplies and stopped to see my buddy. Turns out that they will give me the grates off of their floor model at N/C. They earned a certain amount of respect from me but not enough to get me to purchase another BBQ because I simply don't care for the models they are selling.