I have a Perfectglo S/S grill that I bought at BJ's wholesale which I like but it it beat up and I need to buy new grids, a new burner and new heat deflectors. I believe the grids that came with the unit is steel with porcelin. THat has all flaked off, so I am considering upgrading the parts so that it will last longer. The box is in good shape and I am guessing $300 in parts but better parts than what the unit came with. I do not want to spend $500 on another grill with inferior parts.

I tried researching on the web but there are not that many recommendations for one or the other. What do you guys recommend and why? Cast Iron, Porcelin, S/S, other?

Thanks.

I have cast iron grids and like them. The only downside is that they like to be used. Cooking small amounts or infrequent use tends to let them rust. I like to heat them up and throw the steaks on. Nice grill marks and non-stick when they are used regularly.

Stainless grids are around $200 per set but will last much longer than the porcelain coated cast iron ($60)
Stainless grids seem easier to clean and will not rust like the cast iron grids ($80)

Burners $20 to $30 each
Heat Shield are stainless $30 to $40 each

You could rebuild/upgrade your grill for $300-$350 or purchase a new grill with better components for $600-$800.

A few years back, I rebuilt my SS Ducane which has the SS cook grids. New burners, lava grate and ignitors were about $200. Hope it will last 10 more years.

Does the S/S grids scratch and look dull if not taken care of?

I have read that the cast iron needs to be seasoned all the time with oil/grease. Does that mean that you have to coat them with oil after each use?

Thanks for the replies.

An article I read recommended cast iron because they held the heat better than SS or porcelin. The last porcelin grates I had the porcelin flaked off and got into the food. I will never have porcelin again. SS is very expensive so I would go with Cast Iron if it were me.

I have a Weber E320 and could not replace my stainless steel grates fast enough. I bought the porcelain covered cast iron ones and love them. They raise the temp of the entire grill and hold heat significantly better than the stainless. If you use a soft brass brush the porcelain covered cast iron grates will last years.

Also look on ebay for metal workers selling heat shields (flavorizer bars) they are cheaper and will come with thicker gauge metal...which will retain heat better..thus making your grilling better.

And most importantly with grilling leave the hood down..

I have a Weber and may be a little confused.

Mine came with porcelain grids but they didn't last very long. I purchased cast iron and the difference is HUGE.

Now, what confuses me is I didn't think Weber made anything (at least for my 3-burner) other than porcelain covered steel or plain cast iron. Am I incorrect?

If they make a porcelain covered cast iron, that might be the best yet but it would be extremely hard for me to even try anything except these plain cast iron ones.....I really like them.

Weber had some sort of deal with Home Depot that a few of the grills sold there had porcelain covered cast iron.
These are for the older model and newer spirit models.

http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/product.asp?sku=15988754&utm_source=google&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=shopping

I have this grill http://www.google.com/products/catalog?q=weber+e320&um=1&ie=UTF-8&cid=5175640691195798139&sa=X&ei=pnCKTcrACMi3twf6sJW0Ag&ved=0CEMQ8gIwAg#

I love them. A lot. I bought the grates from ebay http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&_trksid=p4340.l2557&rt=nc&nma=true&item=390130278397&si=shOaPIwU9%252F2jEMWD5ADMY2Pum9Y%253D&viewitem=#ht_989wt_905

They don't say porcelain in the title but they do in the description.

Based on cost and maintenance, I went with the porcelin. I think they are cast iron with porcelin overlay. The original I had lasted 4 years. Costing $34, I can live replacing them every 4 years. S/S was way too expensive and probably would of given me a couple more years for 5 times the cost. Cast iron was same price but I am not the kind of person to clean my grill every use and was worried about keeping cast iron clean and oiled.

I used "thepartsbiz.com" and was able to get the heat shields/deflectors in S/S for $17 when all other websites were $35 each min, and S/S burners for roughly the same price (1/2 as other websites).

Thanks for all input.

I have a Weber (3 Burner...Gold B I think)...Stainless grates and they have held up very well. 7 years and still going and we grill 2-3x per week. I just let the grill heat up for 5 mins, scrub the grates with a wire brush and throw the meat on:goodjob:

I went back and forth with my Perfectflo S/S grill that needed burners. Well I was happy with My BJ's special and ordered the burners. Best 95 spent (20 each + 15 shipping). My Grill is covered but the burners had holes in 3 out of 4. I could not justify the money to get a comparably built grill with Solid Hood. Anyway I like the Cast Iron, I grill 3 times a week and I coat with oil, heat, cook, clean then spray the grids. I still get some rust which is weird because the seasoning scrapes off. But I love it, my last porcelain flaked like someone else mentioned. I did not order the triangle covers that go over thge burners mine are just rusty, hopefully not poisoning my food. Cast Iron for me and Permasteel, the company had an improved burner that will make future changes easier and easy to deal with.