I am needing a new gasser for sear and such and saw a double walled, 6 burner, stainless steel unit at Sam's Club that looked better than anything I have seen in my regular haunt. It is just under $600. Anyone got one of these? Seems like a sturdy unit.
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https://amazingribs.com/equipment-re...target_id=1128
It seems these grills are most likely made by Nexgrill.
My concern with spending almost $600 is longevity, and future parts. I've seen these grills at Sam's Club myself for years. They are tempting. What led me to resist that temptation was the fact that I had a 17 year old 2 burner Weber Genesis grill that was still going strong, and for which I was still able to buy parts (grates, burners, anything). My thought are that this grill will be made of low quality steel and stainless, and probably need refurb in 2-3 years, versus 10 years on the Weber gas grills.
My advise if you want a grill that lasts is to spend that same $600 on the best grill you can afford from Weber or some other manufacturer that will support the grill with A) A ten year bumper to bumper warranty and B) Parts when the grill is 10, 15, 20 years old.
Another one to consider, probably only sold at Lowe's, is the Broil King. It's a lot of bang for the buck, made in North America, and has a good warranty, and most of those are a searing machine. A buddy has one, and the only complaint is that it had plain (not porcelain coated) cast iron grates, and he didn't take care of them properly and they got all rusty. He's not one to keep a grill covered and season and oil cast iron grates though.
Buy a Spirit II or Genesis II and you will be happier a lot longer. If you can wait, I picked up a Weber Genesis II E-410 (4 burner) on clearance at Home Depot for $399 this winter, original price had been $899. The large 4 and 6 burner grills got marked down steeply starting in late August or September. I watched it go from $899->$699->$599->$399 before I snagged one. The 2 and 3 burner more "regular sized" grills that they stock over the winter at Home Depot did not get marked down much if at all, other than to get rid of floor models.-
I have a Huntington (over 5 years now). It's a great grill and holding up well. Made by Broil King in Indiana. It has a heavy, cast aluminum (I think it's aluminum) box, which holds heat evenly. The grates it came were the plain cast iron, and I eventually replaced them with stainless, which is available from Broil King for about $100 (I think I ordered mine through Amazon). I'm pretty sure Broil King makes a similar grill under a different name that's sold through Home Depot as well. -
Murdy Broil King and Huntington are both made by Onward Manufacturing, based in Canada, with plants in the US and Canada. I like supporting businesses on this continent if possible too, and their lines are all listed here:
- Broil King
- Broil-Mate
- Sterling
- Huntington
- GrillPro
- Broil King KEG
I think Max Good likes the Onward products he has reviewed here. -
My friend has the Broil King Signet 320, purchased at Lowe's, and other than the cast iron grate, which he has now replaced with Grillgrates, the only complaint he has is that it is hard to cook at low to medium temps - it wants to get super hot. Which is good for searing! Personally, I would be afraid to use aluminum Grillgrates on a grill that hits 900 degrees without them...
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THE Humble Texan I just logged into my Consumer Reports online account, and pulled up the survey results from 38,000 gas grill owners, all of who purchased a gas grill between 2010 and 2018. The survey covers overall grill reliability and overall customer satisfaction. The Member's Mark grills don't look so great. Here's a snapshot:
Predicted Reliability:
WEBER 10 / 10
NAPOLEON 10 / 10
BROIL KING 8 / 10
DYNA-GLO 7 / 10
MEGAMASTER 7 / 10
NEXGRILL 7 / 10
KITCHENAID 6 / 10
CHEF'S GRILL 6 / 10
HUNTINGTON 6 / 10
MHP OUTDOOR GRILLS 6 / 10
CHAR-BROIL 6 / 10
SABER 6 / 10
CHAR-GRILLER 5 / 10
MEMBER'S MARK 5 / 10
BROILMASTER 5 / 10
KENMORE 5 / 10
LANDMANN 5 / 10
Owner Satisfaction:
WEBER 10 / 10
NAPOLEON 9 / 10
MHP OUTDOOR GRILLS 9 / 10
BROIL KING 6 / 10
MEGAMASTER 6 / 10
NEXGRILL 6 / 10
HUNTINGTON 4 / 10
CHAR-GRILLER 4 / 10
DYNA-GLO 4 / 10
CHAR-BROIL 3 / 10
SABER 3 / 10
BROILMASTER 3 / 10
MEMBER'S MARK 2 / 10
KITCHENAID 2 / 10
KENMORE 2 / 10
CHEF'S GRILL 2 / 10
LANDMANN 1 / 10
Based on all that, I would put that $600 towards one of the top 3 or 4 brands.Comment
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Can't go wrong with a Weber.Comment
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Member's Mark is usually made by Nexgrill or Rankam. Both specialize in making low cost products. Some models aren't bad considering price. These cheap grills are best enjoyed by those who want a simple, low-cost, disposable grill they don't need to clean or maintain.Comment
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I had a Members Mark that I purchased in 1991. I replaced some parts, and burners. It is still being used by my nephew today. It has a cast aluminum body. That being said, I don't think the ones being made today are nearly as well built.Comment
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Yeah, the ones I see there today do not appear to have a cast body. They would list it as a feature on the website description at SamsClub.com if they did. They do list things like porcelain coated cast iron grates. The reviews by purchasers indicate this porcelain coating starts flaking off into your meat within the first year...
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The one I looked at was TOTALLY stainless steel and double walled. I think the only thing that was not SS was the casters. it was made by Emery or Emmerson or some other "E" name. I think if anyone has a Sams close by that has one in stock I could use another eyes on opinion.
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THE Humble Texan I've looked at the 6 burner unit, and it looks nice on the surface, and has a lot of features for the price. The picture you post is of their $800 7 burner unit (the "Mark GT Elite").
I have to go with Max Good, who says these are made to be disposable, and with Consumer Reports, who says it will have poorer than average reliability. On the $600 6 burner model listed on the Sam's Club web page, which Consumer Reports tested last summer, test results appear quite good on their brand new test model. However, surveyed owner satisfaction is very low, with very few people willing to recommend the grill to friends or family.
It gets back to this. All of the Member's Mark grills sold by Sam's Club say this on their website:
Warranty
This product is covered by the Sam's Club Member Satisfaction Guarantee.
Well, what does that mean exactly? Well, it is defined at this page:
Basically, no where is it spelled out what the specific warranty period is. Based on reviews by purchasers of the lower end 4 burner model that has obvious issues with its cast iron grates, most people seem to indicate the warranty is 1 year, and that Sam's will replace the grates if they go bad within that timeframe.
Contrast this to a Weber or Broil King grill with a 10 year warranty, for that same price. They may not be that same shiny stainless, but I'm here to tell you that being made all stainless does not mean a grill won't fall apart in a couple of years. I've seen plenty that did. And assuming this grill does make it 10+ years, will you be able to find parts?
Anyway, I've tried to help. I am sure if you buy it, you will be happy for a few years. I am just concerned about beyond that, and don't want to see you have to spend another $600 a few years down the road. However you decide to go, let us know how it works out, and give us a review of the grill if you get it.Comment
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