Infrared grill or conventional gas grill ?

I am not sure what the differences are and the Pros and Cons of either.
But, we need a new propane grill, looking at the double deck ones from Magna.

I seek guidance from TF

Infrared all the way for me.... https://tecinfrared.com/product/cherokee-fr-24-grill/ I have owned this longer then any of the boats. It aint pretty, it aint cheap ( bought mine from the scratch and dent section) this going on it's 12 th year. There is no flame so no flare ups, never goes out in wind and I have never had to replace or repair any part on it. The burner is a ceramic catalytic design with thermal glass over it then the grates sit on top of the glass. The grates can be removed to make a g.lass cooktop

I'm a little unlcear on how it turns propane into light in the IR spectrum...

And how cooking with light works...

??

-Chris

ranger42c said:

I'm a little unlcear on how it turns propane into light in the IR spectrum...

And how cooking with light works...

??

-Chris

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Haven't you ever sat around a wood fire and felt the heat on the side facing the fire? That's the IR radiation component of the heating. Propane just another fuel.
Ever seen a " heat lamp" again heats the surface it shines on via radiation not convection. In that case the fuel (source) is electricity.
The temperature of the source determines the wavelength and is why bulbs are rated as " temperature"... warm, cool, daylight

Wonder if they are still considered open flame grills per marina regulations?


Would be nice to grill in Marina's, can't believe how many break the rules though.

psneeld said:

Would be nice to grill in Marina's, can't believe how many break the rules though.

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Not a problem in San Diego...

I've been continually disappointed with the magma grills .the stainless turns black and is almost impossible to clean even with their very expensive cleaner. In My experience The Regulators fail regularly and once again are expensive. There is no generic regulator that will fit

Bacchus said:

Haven't you ever sat around a wood fire and felt the heat on the side facing the fire? That's the IR radiation component of the heating. Propane just another fuel.
Ever seen a " heat lamp" again heats the surface it shines on via radiation not convection. In that case the fuel (source) is electricity.
The temperature of the source determines the wavelength and is why bulbs are rated as " temperature"... warm, cool, daylight

Click to expand...

Hmmm... yeah, guess so... just never sunk in that IR frequencies (related to wavelengths) produce usable heat, too. Or that other-than-electricity fuel sources could produce IR. I'm more used to think about those higher frequencies for vision/detection and communications...

-Chris

motion30 said:

I've been continually disappointed with the magma grills .the stainless turns black and is almost impossible to clean even with their very expensive cleaner. In My experience The Regulators fail regularly and once again are expensive. There is no generic regulator that will fit

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Same here. Could never easily tell if the thing was lit, constant regulator problems, hard to clean... A flimsy tabletop grill for $29 at Walmart was far less of a hassle.

Check out this thread:

Weber Q1200 Grill on a boat - Cruisers & Sailing Forums

One quarter of the area of my home gas grill is infrared, and I use it for searing, but the head is too intense for cooking thick cuts all the way through. It is analogous to the broiler function of a typical oven. So, unless you want to severely limit what you can cook (or rely on sous vide, but even then . . .), IMO you will need both to cover all of your bases.

Another option would be an electric grill. The Kenyon is quite expensive (about 1 boat buck) but seems pretty common on some of the newer boats:




Jim

I guess that not all infrared grills are the same?

My previous home grill was a Char-Broil infrared grill. Always had a devil a time trying to keep it clean. The tiny slots in the heating plate would always clog up with grease, as they were not big enough for the grease to fall through.

When it was time to replace my grill, last year, I went old school, without infrared and am much happier with the results.

Jim

rsn48 said:

Check out this thread:

Weber Q1200 Grill on a boat - Cruisers & Sailing Forums

Click to expand...

I am 100% in favor of anything Webber. The product and support is great

I have an IR grille on our boat and like it a lot. It heats up very quickly and cooks quickly if you want to (saves propane). You can also turn it down and cook slowly. I wouldn’t try a roast or something that took hours because I don’t know if it would go that low. I wouldn’t do that on the boat anyway because it burns through propane. This is the first one I’ve had and I really like it for the boat. We grill frequently so it matters to us.

Have had a Magna Newport IR for a year. No problems. Meats and other Grilled foods retain their moistness.Wife loves it - so that’s all that actually matters. I like the rod holder adapter so that I store the grille below, off the transom ( less likely to walk away, and no impediment to dock lines).

Weber Q1000

rsn48 said:

Check out this thread:

Weber Q1200 Grill on a boat - Cruisers & Sailing Forums

Click to expand...

I have had a number of overpriced under performing marine grills. Bought a Weber Q1000 put it on a fish cleaning table that fits into a rod holder. Done. Always stays lit and with the fish cleaning station you $275 into it. Priceless

Tom K
43’ Ocean Alexander

Another CharBroil Infrared grill owner here (2 actually - yeah, I like them that much). I have mine converted to natural gas so I don't have to fill the propane and I could swear LNG burns much hotter than propane.

In any case, these are - by a long shot - the best grills I have ever used or owned. They hold up great, are solid, sturdy, and, to answer your original question, cook fantastically. My wife keeps saying how "I" cook so nicely now thanks to the new grill.