Buying a New BBQ

Tchetek

Active VIP Member
Joined
Nov 11, 2013
Messages
2,826
Reaction score
7,180
Location
Alberta
We have a gas Webber and pellet pitboss.

Have had them both side by side on our upper deck since we got the pit boss and the Weber has had very little use since. Pretty much have used the pellet grill steady and lots of use through the winter. Seems to have a little better temperature control and can also cook/smoke any low temperatures. Have also cooked many things on the pellet grill that we would not have attempted on the regular bbq. Pizza’s, nachos, baked pastas, jerky, turkey, pans of fries and onion rings ect...

Don’t rule out a pellet grill, especially if you don’t have natural gas and plan to use propane tanks.
 

REV2XHEART

Active VIP Member
Joined
Nov 14, 2009
Messages
569
Reaction score
330
Location
Edmonton, AB
unfortunately i live in a condo townhouse complex and for some reason natural gas is the only thing we are allowed to have. cant even use propane
 

Stompin Tom

Active VIP Member
Joined
Jun 7, 2009
Messages
3,787
Reaction score
8,138
Location
BC
Kind of getting replies I figured I would get. Went to BBQ country this morning but it was raining so I just looked. Nice kid working there but he appeared to be about 12 years old and I kind of doubt he has ever cooked anything on a grill before (could be wrong) but since I havent bought one before I figured I would research a bit more.

I have narrowed them down to 4 choices for me

Weber - seems built well, but I was hoping for the ability to remove the bottom part for easier cleaning. Not a deal breaker though. I like how the sides fold down flush with it.

Napoleon - is the one the kid recommended second - stainless steel grids is a better thing he said? I dont know if thats true or not. https://www.napoleon.com/en/ca/barbecues/products/gas-grills/rogue-series/rogue-365-r365nk-1

Broil King - is the first grill he recommended like right away - seemed good. I didnt like how the sides folded down, they dont go flat and the design is different than the others but that probably just means it works good and has for years so why change. Was a 3 burner which I dont really need but for the same price as the 2 burners why not https://broilkingbbq.com/en_ca/grills/monarch/monarch_320/

Coleman - is the canadian tire special but all the reviews i can see are good. I havent seen it in person but the sides fold down good, the only iffy thing I think is the grease trap. I would think having it straight down under the box was best but this uses like double grids to channel it to the side of the unit. Must work no one in any review complained about it but I dunno https://www.canadiantire.ca/en/pdp/...-propane-bbq-black-steel-finish-0853139p.html


I like the looks of the Broil King
 

ferniesnow

I'm doo-ing it!
Joined
Dec 2, 2008
Messages
112,062
Reaction score
86,088
Location
beautiful, downtown Salmon Arm, BC
Drill the jets out ( or buy natural gas ones). Then adjust air to get proper flame. Chart for proper hole size View attachment 226208
how large of hole/ BTU per burner is required.
I am going to assume there is an individual jet for each burner. Is that correct?

Or is there one jet at the distribution point? The reason I ask that question, is because with the NG adaptor hose there was a fitting to be attached but no directions where to attach it to.
 

LUCKY 7

Active VIP Member
Joined
Jan 17, 2009
Messages
7,128
Reaction score
10,794
Location
Sparwood
I won this one a few months ago and by far the best BBQ I have ever owned
 

broke'n'nuts

Active VIP Member
Joined
Nov 16, 2011
Messages
518
Reaction score
1,379
Location
North Okanagan
The Napoleons sold in Canadian tire are built in China, check the manufacturer's plate. The Napoleons in bbq stores are made in Canada. Shade more expensive but from small store but then back to that made in Canada thing. Worth it to me
 
Last edited:

Bnorth

Active VIP Member
Joined
Dec 18, 2010
Messages
10,767
Reaction score
20,777
Location
Salmon Arm
my father in law has a canada built Napolean and it's by far the nicest grill I've used, love the stainless grills. We have a Broil King that is about 10 years old and getting worn out but I'll stuff $200 worth of parts in it and it'll be great again. Buying a nice grill is well worth the price.
 

brutematt750

Active VIP Member
Joined
Sep 23, 2010
Messages
1,219
Reaction score
1,425
Location
red deer ab
I searched bbq’s all winter and into spring. Bought a broil king the first day I looked at. I was impressed immediately with it compared to Weber’s and Napoleon’s and the cost was at least $300 less for comparable
I’ve only grilled on it a few times but so far all is good. No complaints
 

Bogger

Bogger of the GBCA
Joined
Feb 21, 2007
Messages
24,424
Reaction score
18,498
Location
Down by the Bay
Broil King are right up there with Webber & Napoleon just doesn't have the same panache….

I bought my Broil King Signet used on kijiji 7 years ago for $200 and bought the LNG conversion kit. Best BBQ I've ever owned (mind you prior to this I had Cuisinart and Broil Mate). I rebuilt the internals 2 years ago, grates & burners for around $125. Heavy duty, well built, easy access to parts and accessories. I was hell bent on a Webber when I bought this one but the wife sent me the kijiji link for the Broil King so I decided to check it out. To buy it new was $799 and it is just as well built as the Webber & Napoleon so for $200 I grabbed it, after a quick cleaning it looked brand new.
 

DooDoo

Active member
Joined
Nov 17, 2013
Messages
92
Reaction score
140
Location
Prince George
I got a decent Nexgrill from costco but since I got my Camp Chef, I find I like cooking on it better. You can configure it pretty much however you like. 30000btu and super easy to clean. Lots of accessories available also. I got the BBQ and griddle accessories and man does it ever cook up a mean steak. Plus you can also take it camping easily. Just my opinion but worth checking out if you don't want to spend a ton of money on a high end bbq.
 

Frankenytro

Active VIP Member
Joined
Oct 10, 2013
Messages
821
Reaction score
1,561
Location
Edmonton ab
I have a camp chef Denali at the lake too lol. Too many toys maybe? Either way, the best accessory for that thing was the pizza oven. We use it a half a dozen time’s a year and pizza at the lake is just amazing! Money well spent.

I got a decent Nexgrill from costco but since I got my Camp Chef, I find I like cooking on it better. You can configure it pretty much however you like. 30000btu and super easy to clean. Lots of accessories available also. I got the BBQ and griddle accessories and man does it ever cook up a mean steak. Plus you can also take it camping easily. Just my opinion but worth checking out if you don't want to spend a ton of money on a high end bbq.
 

Trukker

Active VIP Member
Joined
Dec 16, 2008
Messages
900
Reaction score
1,715
Location
High River
I searched bbq’s all winter and into spring. Bought a broil king the first day I looked at. I was impressed immediately with it compared to Weber’s and Napoleon’s and the cost was at least $300 less for comparable
I’ve only grilled on it a few times but so far all is good. No complaints
I have this one as well . Best bang for your buck and made in Canada
 

gibsons

Active VIP Member
Joined
Nov 14, 2009
Messages
8,450
Reaction score
4,723
Location
Blackstrap Sask
I bought a Broil King Sovereign some time ago, great BBQ made by Weber I believe, just not as expensive. Heavy stainless steel grates, large upper rack, large cooking surface. It's been a great grill.
 

Trashy

Super Moderator
Moderator
Joined
Nov 16, 2008
Messages
132,638
Reaction score
104,963
Location
Fort Macleod

armascott

Armaguard
Joined
Dec 1, 2013
Messages
660
Reaction score
852
Location
St.Albert
So bringing up an old thread, but I already made my purchase and I am a bit disappointed. Has anyone had to increase their natural gas line size for a new grill? Here’s my situation we are in a house that we built 9 years ago just replaced my 60,000 BTU Vermont Casting grill that we had for 18 years. The old bbq still cooked amazing the way it always has just rusted around the burner tubes to the point I felt it was becoming unsafe. Anyways we purchased a Napoleon Prestige 80,000 BTU the other day. First cook with it and the heat is very uneven and generally did not cook good at all. Had baby potatoes cut in halves wrapped in foil on the two left burners for 45 minutes at medium temp about 1/3 still firm, steaks on the two right burners on high after 7 minutes went to do a flip and 2 of them on different areas of the grill didn’t really even have any sear marks.

Phoned the Napoleon rep to express my concern and without any hesitation he automatically said it’s not getting proper gas flow.

A bit long winded I know but anyone else run into this situation?
 

sirkdev

Active VIP Member
Joined
Nov 2, 2008
Messages
3,270
Reaction score
5,328
Location
Stony Plain
what size is your regulator orifice? Does it say a set pressure? Does your BBQ have a desired pressure? If your burner tubes are not being supplied with correct volume/pressure for sure you will get the exact symptoms you discussed. So I would suggest your regulator is incorrect size or stuck.
 

mclean

Active VIP Member
Joined
Nov 28, 2010
Messages
1,938
Reaction score
4,994
Location
Alberta Beach
Not sure on the setup but the regulator needs to pressure up before you start the bbq. Otherwise it will go like 50% or something
 

ABMax24

Active VIP Member
Joined
Sep 10, 2013
Messages
4,883
Reaction score
14,168
Location
Grande Prairie, Alberta, Canada
Natural gas BBQs don't have regulators....they rely on the already existing regulated gas pressure from the house.

It's possible the line is undersized. Remove the grills and heat shields to expose the burner tubes. Light them all, now start shutting them off one by one, does the flame in the remaining tubes get bigger? If they do it's a gas supply issue, if not it's the BBQ.

I bought a portable Napoleon from Costco in June, returned it after 2 uses for the same reason, the heat was not even what so ever. So it could be the BBQ.

I have a natural gas broilmate, and while the heat was even it just wasn't enough. It was a 4 burner 40k btu unit. So I just pulled the 4 orifices from the burners (10k each), found the right drill size, and turned them into 12.5k burners. Works good now that the BBQ is 50k btu output.
 

ferniesnow

I'm doo-ing it!
Joined
Dec 2, 2008
Messages
112,062
Reaction score
86,088
Location
beautiful, downtown Salmon Arm, BC
It's possible the line is undersized. Remove the grills and heat shields to expose the burner tubes. Light them all, now start shutting them off one by one, does the flame in the remaining tubes get bigger? If they do it's a gas supply issue, if not it's the BBQ.
I don’t understand the above. I would think with 4 burners going there is an even amount of NG gong to each one. If you shut one or two off, shouldn’t the other burners have a bigger flame was there is more gas? Or is it because of the size of the orifice not letting in more gas/
 
Top Bottom