Grills & Smokers

Coleman CL6000 Grill Coleman CL6000 Grill Product Technical DetailsTechnical Details:CL6000 Key FeaturesT...

Looks great, actually poor quality Coleman CL6000 Grill Last year (6/04) I set out to buy a top of the line gas grill, all my friends said go with weber but I found them ...

We got really tired of assembling outdoor grills over the years. We also got tired of seeing a bright, shiny new grill go to a rust heap in three or four years. We got tired of replacing the wimpy burners every year or so. We got tired of seeing the cheap assembly hardware turn rusty and the grates start flaking. We got tired of chasing down a cover after every storm. We got tired of spending two or three hundred dollars for something that had lots of frills but no real staying power.

That is all in the past now. Three summers ago, we purchased what may be our last propane outdoor gas grill. I was at a big box store, worrying about which of the name brand grills to get to replace the Weber that had rusted through where the casters met the legs over the winter and was ready for a burner replacement anyway. I spotted a grill from a no-name company called Great Outdoors. It looked rugged so I looked a little closer.

I made some notes and headed for the internet. On the way home I passed by a propane gas supply place and saw some grills in their display window. I stopped in and got an earful about this great grill they had been selling for the last year. It was a Great Outdoors, but a higher end model. They said they couldn’t keep this four hundred dollar plus grill in stock. They guessed they were selling thirty or more a month all through word of mouth advertising. Now this is in a town with a sales area population of about 30,000. All models of their Weber grills, their former best sellers, had total sales in the low 20s.

I found the company web site and took a look. They were a new company but indicated they had hundreds of years of grill building experience in their staff. Their warranty was impressive. Their sales growth was impressive. They had incorporated in 1997 with their first product release in 1999. And now, in 2000, their production and sales had tripled. Another plus was that they were located in Joplin, Missouri. I know this area pretty well. I have several relatives who spent their life there and had spent some time there myself before moving out of the area. The work ethic in this town at the edge of the Ozarks is still that of the early forties in the larger population areas.

I headed back to Wal-Mart and made my purchase of the Great Outdoors Gas Grill Series 6000. We have never looked back. When I brought it home I remarked to my honey that this was our retirement grill. Nothing in the three years we have owned it has changes that opinion. It works and works and works, little maintenance is needed. We don’t even have a cover for it, although a good one that won’t blow off in every storm is available.

What It Is

This grill is heavy for its size. It comes in a single box and is mostly assembled. Assembly, as I remember, took under thirty minutes. There are no wimpy parts to this grill. Even the drip pan is an easily replaceable small throw away aluminum loaf pan, available at most grocery stores.

Here are the features from the Great Outdoors web site:

350 Square Inches of Primary Cooking Area

150 Square Inches of Secondary Cooking Area (Warming Rack)

Cast Brass H Burner with Heat Output range of 350° to 800° F

Heavy Weight Porcelain Cooking Grid

Heavy Weight Porcelain Warming Rack

Aluminum Top Casting

Cast Nameplate

Aluminum Bottom Casting

Aluminum Pillar Shroud

ROC™ (Rugged Outdoor Composite™ ) Base

Aluminum Side Tables

Aluminum Handle Stanchions

Stainless Steel Hardware

Rotary Split Fire Ignition

Heavy Duty Rock Grate

Factory Assembled Knobs, Valve and Gas Train

Factory Assembled Base with 4 Casters

Ceramic Heat Distribution System

20 lb QCC-1 OPD Cylinder; LP tank may, or may not, be included.

Modular Design for Assembly in Less than 30 Minutes

Let’s talk about what some of these features really mean to the owner. A cast brass burner is, I believe, unique in this price range. Its value is both in even heat distribution and longevity. The porcelain cooking grids are, next to solid stainless steel, the best out there. We simply knock off the big chunks and put them in the dishwasher. The aluminum castings for top and bottom are rugged and, again, aid in even heat distribution. This is thick aluminum, not aluminum sheet goods. The base will not rust. The ignition system is better than average and has never failed to fire. The casters show no signs of deterioration after three years of sitting on the ground. The side wings are also cast aluminum.

The Warranty

The warranty starts with the aluminum castings. It is seventy-five years. The warranty protects against punch-through, rust, and structural failure (except paint).

All plastic parts, like knobs, called Rugged Outdoor Composite (ROC), are warranted for 50 years against structural failure.

The cast brass burner has a 25 year warranty. This is a pro-rated warranty with free replacement for the first 5 years, at 20% of cost for the next five years, 40% for the 10 to 15 year period, 60% for 16 to 20 years, and 80% for the remainder. Try to find that on any other grill in this price range.

Everything else, except paint, is warranted for five years. In addition, if a part needs replacement under warranty, shipping is free. We have never found a warranty to match this. Have you? What if a part out of warranty fails? Let’s take the ceramic briquette grate as an example. Replacement cost is $12.50 including shipping. The burner is $57.50 including shipping.

I think you can see why we call this our retirement grill.

Will It Hold Up?

I think so. It has sat, unprotected, in our yard for three years now. The only maintenance so far has been a general clean up each spring. It sits through snow, wind, hail, rain, and sun. It has not yet failed to start with a simple twist of the igniter knob. The flame is still clean and even. The paint was beginning to show signs of oxidation this spring so we waxed it like we would our car with a liquid cleaner/wax. It shines again now. The paint is thick enough to stand up to this treatment a couple of more times before a spray can of high temperature black will have to be used. We scrub the burner with a brass brush a couple of times a season to get the drippings off and we will probably replace the ceramic briquettes next year.

Is the Warranty Really Useful?

A seventy-five year warranty isn’t much use if it comes from a company with a ten year life. Last summer, after we had already had the grill for two years, we had an opportunity to stop at the Joplin, Missouri factory during a driving vacation trip. We were impressed. Most parts are manufactured in the US by good name companies. The principal who took us on a factory tour tried to answer that concern for us. Their sales have tripled each year and their brand recognition is still marginal at best. They have infiltrated the big box stores, managing to keep their quality goals intact. That in itself is quite a feat. They still have lots of room to expand, both in space and workforce. They are going to start concentrating on improving brand recognition as soon as the growth shows signs of slowing down. The operation at the plant is impressive and the staff seems content. I won’t hazard a guess as to the 75 year mark, but I feel comfortable that the 20 year mark will happen. It will likely outlast us.

If you are concerned, you can buy a set of spare parts most likely not to survive past 20 years and be safe. Purchasing a rock grate, a venturi tube, and a gasket will set you back $20.00 and shipping is free.

In Use

One of the early things we noticed was the lack of hot spots and cold spots. The temperature smoothly tails down toward the edges of the porcelain coated grills. The heat control knobs are infinitely variable to give a heat range of 350 to 800 degrees. These still work as smoothly, maybe a little more so after a break-in period, as they did out of the box. Each half of the cooking surface can be independently adjusted.

We like to sear our meats to hold the juices in. We usually marinate them first. We can set the grill temperature to high with the lid closed and in about ten minutes the grill is ready to sear the meat. With the lid closed, a 1” thick boneless steak at room temperature cooks to medium in about fifteen minutes at a medium temperature. We turn it once about five minutes into the cycle using tongs.

The only time we use the warming rack is when we are cooking hot dogs and burgers for a crowd. It sits on the grill and is not as convenient as one hanging from the lid. It is at a good height, however, to keep the food warm without drying it too much. We often cook tender foods on or in foil and the even temperature works well here too. Sometimes we throw a handful of wet wood chips on the briquettes to add a touch of smoke flavor. The short cooking times on a grill, however, make the smell as it cooks okay but doesn’t add much smoke flavor to the meat.

Cleanup is pretty easy. We wipe down spills with a damp cloth; we wipe off the porcelain grills and sometimes run over them with a brass brush. We put the grills in the dishwasher. That’s it. We did wax the painted surfaces this spring.

In Conclusion

There are a lot of mediocre and just plain bad grills out there. There are a few good brands that can cost an arm and a leg and have nifty features. If, however, you want your next grill purchase to be your last, find an outlet where they have Great Outdoors.

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Tags: AMI, Coleman, Gas, Kay, Propane, The Great Outdoors, Town, Weber, Wood