Built-in Grills

[Happiness]

Get the Lynx.  It is a bargain at $4,700 (see discussion of Kalamazoo below).  Lynx has a cast brass burners, just like commercial restaurant grills which are used every day 12 hours a day for years.  The only other consumer grill that has cast brass burners is Kalamazoo which starts at $10,000.  Fire Magic has cast stainless burners which are also good but Fire Magic costs the same as Lynx so why not just get the Lynx and the restaurant grade build?

Sedona by Lynx, Wolf, DCS, and all the other brands have sheet metal tube burners.  These WILL corrode over time, especially if you use a lot of marinades (bulgogi, etc) or the stuff you cook has a lot of drippings.  For a built in, you want something that will never corrode.  A couple thousand bucks amortized over ten years is nothing.  Corroded burners are expensive to replace assuming the particular part you need is still available.  I've used a Lynx for many years and have great results. Lynx has a lifetime warranty.

 

[Happiness]

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[irvine buyer]

I agree with Happiness in that if you are installing a built-in BBQ, go with something that will last a long time.  While there are numerous makes of 36" grills, the cutout sizes do vary and it would be a shame if down the road when you needed to replace your grill, you could not get a replacement to fit without having to alter the countertop and/or front opening.  The cost of doing that would negate any up-front savings.

All the high end grills sell replacement burners, grates, ignitors, etc so you theoretically never need to replace the housing of the grill.  Fire Magic has a lifetime warranty on the stainless steel housing, and I believe the other high end brands have comparable warranties.

Built in BBQ's are expensive, primarily due to the cost of the island.  If you're spending the money on a good quality prefab or masonry island, then it seems appropriate to buy a good quality built in to put into the island.  Otherwise, the cart BBQ's work great as well.

 

[Ready2Downsize]

I agree with Happiness in that if you are installing a built-in BBQ, go with something that will last a long time.  While there are numerous makes of 36" grills, the cutout sizes do vary and it would be a shame if down the road when you needed to replace your grill, you could not get a replacement to fit without having to alter the countertop and/or front opening.  The cost of doing that would negate any up-front savings.

All the high end grills sell replacement burners, grates, ignitors, etc so you theoretically never need to replace the housing of the grill.  Fire Magic has a lifetime warranty on the stainless steel housing, and I believe the other high end brands have comparable warranties.

Built in BBQ's are expensive, primarily due to the cost of the island.  If you're spending the money on a good quality prefab or masonry island, then it seems appropriate to buy a good quality built in to put into the island.  Otherwise, the cart BBQ's work great as well.

We go to a weekly bible study and the leader decided we should have a bbq at the homeowners home before one of the studies. The homeowners are laid back older people and they just start chuckling. So I said, oh, nice he volunteered your home and your bbq? And the wife says, we don't have a bbq! Husband says well we have one but it doesn't work. So turns out it's a built in bbq (their home is probably 25 years old) and they can't find a replacement for the built in unit that will fit in the space that is allocated. So yes, make sure it's a standard size.