Gas grill recommendations

[SV Demeter]

We live aboard in the BVI these days and use our grill a lot. We have a magma newport 18" grill and frankly it's a piece of crap. Has been since new. Any time there is any sort of wind the grill is slow as hell to cook and blows out often. I've added some aluminum foil to block the big open back of the grill but even so it's slow as heck.

Looking for a quality grill that cooks evenly and well. Magma seem to have the market cornered but frankly their products are junk.


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[Suijin]

Originally Posted by SV Demeter

We live aboard in the BVI these days and use our grill a lot. We have a magma newport 18" grill and frankly it's a piece of crap. Has been since new. Any time there is any sort of wind the grill is slow as hell to cook and blows out often. I've added some aluminum foil to block the big open back of the grill but even so it's slow as heck.

Looking for a quality grill that cooks evenly and well. Magma seem to have the market cornered but frankly their products are junk.


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I agree Magma are junk. They just do not get hot enough.

Used a Dickinson recently on a friend's boat...it got hotter than $%*& and did a really nice job...and it was blowing. His was the square small one.

[Garrettw]

This seems to be a common issue with their rectangular designs. I have an older Magma Kettle model (the round grill) and haven't had any trouble with flame stability and it produces plenty of heat. It seems like the base is designed differently. There is a round flame ring in the Kettle that isn't exposed to the outside.


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[CAELESTIS]

My Force 10 was the worst. Same problem, wind blows it out, or it burns on one side so hot the food becomes a carcinogen. I researched all of them at length and found no consistent solution. Most are a major ripoff at $300+ for a polished stainless steel grill that does not work.

Now I buy the cheapest grill I can get at Home Depot or Lowes (about $29.95) and throw it away every year. I set it in the cockpit floor where no wind gets to it, and it works fine. The legs fold over the top of the lid securing it when not in use.

Nice Wauquiez!

[a64pilot]

I've a round Magma and two rectangular one, the rectangular ones are Catalina I believe, one is IR ?
The round is the worst for staying lit, none will cook in decent sailing wind as they won't stay lit, but the round is the worst.

They all work great on a clam day in the marina, which I guess is where most are used.

[zboss]

I bought a $72 cheapo portable rectangular grill from home depot, bought the magma mounts, drilled the appropriate holes, and attached the grill. Then used a couple pieces of foil tape to block some of the holes to protect from wind. Been on the boat for a year now and works like a champ - even in windy conditions. Enough room for like 10 hamburgers (sans rolls).

[Tom and Maje]

We got a Dickenson. It's sturdier than a Magma and does not blow out.

Maje

[Dennis.G]

We have the round Magma kettle propane grille, and it works great. Can be hard to get lit when wind is blowing, but that is same with any BBQ. If the wind is blowing it cools the BBQ taking longer to cook things, and will make it get hotter on one side then the other, but I am not surprised as it is hanging out off the rail and not protected from the weather.

[SV Demeter]

I've had the round kettle style magma in the past and found it was like cooking on a blowtorch. No low settings but it did get hot and no wind issues. Will look at the Dickenson had no idea they made grills. Thanks everyone.


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[Prairie Chicken]

Dickinson Sea-B-Q. Cooks great & you can buy parts for routine maintenance on it so it lasts forever.

[Tom and Maje]

Originally Posted by Dennis.G

We have the round Magma kettle propane grille, and it works great. Can be hard to get lit when wind is blowing, but that is same with any BBQ. If the wind is blowing it cools the BBQ taking longer to cook things, and will make it get hotter on one side then the other, but I am not surprised as it is hanging out off the rail and not protected from the weather.

Tom has never had a problem lighting our Dickenson in 20kt winds.

Maje

[4arch]

A lot of people swear by the Weber Q 1000 and have come up with various ways to rail mount them. I'm tempted to give it a try if and when I ever give up on my Magma kettle. Honestly haven't used the grill aboard anywhere as much as originally expected however.

[mischief]

I just bought the Magma kettle 2 propane version about 4 weeks ago. I've now used it about 12 times often in a stiff breeze. It lights first click almost every time and gets very hot. Despite a small breeze, if its really blowing I need to leave it on max but it still does a good job (in a strong blow it does effect how even it cooks but hey when it's blowing 20kn what do I expect)
To me I couldn't be more happy with it. I had read a lot of negative comments on the magma but after closer inspection the kettle and especially the kettle 2 seem to have a lot more positive reviews and few negative.
Mine also has some extra briquette once they heat up they seem to help too.



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[Scott Berg]

We have an 8 year old Sovereign... Not cheap but very well made...


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[socaldmax]

I just bought a Charbroil Grill2go X200 Tru-Infrared grill, I love it! It cooks evenly, puts great grill marks on the steaks, and cooks with infrared so everything is much juicier, including chicken breasts. The handles are some sort of heavy duty plastic, the firebox is powder coated cast aluminum with a SS liner around the burner and the 200 sq in infrared grate is SS. It cooks 25% faster and gets up to 700*, thermometer in the lid. It's only $110 at Amazon.com. I sold 2 Weber Q200s modified with thermometers to make room for the X200, I'm going to buy another (one for each RV.)

I tailgated with some guys years ago who had $400 Solaire Infrared grills and everything was bursting with flavor and juices (tritip, carne asada and chicken) and I determined that I'd get an infrared grill once the prices come down, and this is very cheap especially for an infrared grill.

I like chicken, but disliked grilled chicken (especially breasts) because they invariably turned out dry, but not with infrared, tons of juice (depending on the chicken itself, of course.) The Weber Q100 cover fits great for $10.

Also comes with a 5 yr warranty, longer than most things these days.