Hey Y’all!

Grill Girl here! The sun is starting to melt that snow all across the country and I’m back, ready to fill you in on what you need to know as you start grilling in 2017!

Throughout the winter, I spend a lot of time researching the most popular grill models from the previous year.  This helps me make sure our website is up to date and ready when you come looking for parts and accessories. Here are some of the most popular names that you may have heard of, or even have on your back deck!

BACKYARD GRILL

These grills are sold at Walmart and Walmart online. With the majority of these grills falling between $100 and $200, they have been very popular since about 2013. The model number system begins with the letters BY, followed by a 2 digit number that seems to correspond with the year the grill was sold. Those first four digits are followed by 8 more numbers that are unique to each grill. For example, BY13-101-001-12 was a popular model from 2013. Some of the popular more recent models include BY14-101-001-01 and  BY16-
101-002-05. The grills have 3-5 burners and a large cooking area, but at such a low price point, the quality of parts and material is low. The good news is that there are already replacement parts available for these grills and the knowledge base is growing. You might need to start replacing parts in the first one to two years, but you should be able to find the parts you need to keep your Backyard Grill on your deck or patio!

MEMBER’S MARK GRILL

This is the store brand sold at Sam’s Clubs. Grills with the Member’s Mark name have been popular for the past decade and many have lasted for that long! The best-made Member’s Mark grills were made in the early 2000s with cast iron burners. Those older grills had model number that looked like this: Y0101XC. However, grills being sold in the most recent years have long stainless steel tube burners. This is a pretty common grill style in the past few years, and while they don’t usually last as long as cast burners, they are pretty easy to replace. More current models are made by a different manufacturer and some have models that mix letters and numbers like this: M3206A or a series of all numbers like this: 720-0586. With a price point between $300-$500, you can expect a Member’s Mark to be made to a higher quality in both parts and material. These grills should give you at least 2-3 years before you need to start replacing parts. Even so, we carry burners, heat plates and cooking grids for a large variety of Member’s Mark grills and even have some grease trays available for older models.

MASTER FORGE GRILL

Master Forge is the branded name for grills and other appliances sold through Lowe’s. It makes it difficult to find support because Lowe’s has different manufacturers for different kinds of machines. That being said, Lowe’s has had a huge variety of manufacturers make these grills with the name Master Forge and likewise, a pretty big discrepancy in quality. You’ll see models of all types from Master Forge. Some of the most popular have been 2518-3, MFA350,  or SH3118B. Another of their most popular and long-standing models is the built-in modular grill BG179A. Master Forge grills seem to be pretty well built, however, when you look at a modular set up like the BG179A, the cost is between $1000 and $1200, it’s good to keep in mind that you can buy a lot of other brands in that price range that have a better history of customer support and quality. Of course, after you spend the time and money of installing a built in grill, you want to keep it running. We are working very hard to have the parts you need to keep these grills working year after year!

CHARBROIL GRILL

Charbroil has been making grills for decades. You can expect a mid-line price point and a mid-line quality from a Charbroil grill. They make a much larger range of grills to cover basically any price point you can afford. Charbroil’s less expensive grills don’t seem to sacrifice quality as easily as other brands. Instead, you’ll find the cheapest Charbroil grills have only two heat zones with smaller cooking area. The more expensive grills will provide increasingly more burners and space. Every year Charbroil comes out with a wide variety of grills spread across dozens of new models. Charbroil is always looking to provide the next innovation in grilling as well. They add flashy ideas and branding to make their grills seem like they have an edge over “regular” grills. My suggestion here is simply to do your homework. Grilling is grilling. It doesn’t need bells and whistles or flashy marketing gimmicks. To give you an example of this; their newest electric smoker corresponds with an app for your phone! In my grill girl opinion, that seems to take the fun out of it. 🙂

What do you think? Do you have any of these grills on your deck? Maybe you love the idea of using a smoker with a phone app. Feel free to leave comments or questions below!

Happy Grilling!
-GrillGirl