Like a lot of folks, the last grill we purchased was a big one with multiple burners, side burners, and other stuff we rarely used. The grill was entirely too large for our normal use, which was grilling for 3 to 4 people. Our large grill was needed only three or four times the entire period we operated it.
We don't have a sheltered area we can store our grill on, it must withstand the elements on the patio. A cover was deployed, but it seemed to compound the moisture problem by trapping water underneath. So, after two years, most of the burners need to be replaced and many of the heat shields. What was most troubling was that the grill exterior was beginning to rust.
After checking on the cost of parts needed, we decided maybe we should go another route. We still had our old grill, purchased in 1985, which had a cast iron body. This grill was large enough to grill about 18 burgers easily, and this capacity would accommodate us 90% of the time. After inspection and verifying the cooking unit was not rusty at all, we attempted to find a burner for it.
We have used the universal type burner before. They never cook even and were the primary reason we purchased the giant grill 2 years ago. After much searching, we finally found a source for parts. As I stated, the old cast grill was purchased in 1985 and is a Sunbeam 300 series. Sunbeam does not make grills any longer and does not stock parts.
We discovered that the folks at The BBQ Depot stocked parts. The price for the burner was about the same as the price for a universal burner. It was infinitely better! The tubes were heavy duty and pre-bent to fit the grill. The burner fit inside the grill and screwed to the bottom. As far as I can tell, the burner was an exact replacement for the original burner. We also ordered a heat deflector, which was also top quality and fit the grill perfectly.
If you are old enough, you will remember "lava rocks" came with these old grills. The rocks would absorb grease and you would battle flair ups during the entire cooking process. The heat deflector takes care of this problem.
The real test was cooking on the old grill. I can tell you that the grill cooked evenly front to back and side to side. The heat deflector prevented flair ups. I could not be happier! We are ordering new grates for the old grill next. By the way, they are priced comparable to other grill parts and according to the dimensions on The BBQ Depot website, it will fit perfectly. Did I mention the items we already purchased were shipped promptly, were packaged well, and arrived in good condition?
If you know where you can find an old cast iron grill, grab it! You will not be disappointed. Get your parts from The BBQ Depot and refurbish the grill yourself.
