Guys, thank you all for the suggestions!

What I've been doing for the last year or so is I place two large, aluminium casserole pans in the bottom of my Weber Genesis gas grill and dump a chimney of lump charcoal in each pan. It works pretty well and is easy to clean up.

I think I'm going to continue to do that until I can do a little more research on some of your suggestions.

Thanks again!
JP

Spend some time researching these SNS kettle grills. They have some very good accessories available that make it probably the most versatile kettle grill out there. Other than the PK grills mentioned in other responses I don't know of a rectangular grill of any quality.

I rarely use a grill so I was reluctant to spend the money on a SNS so I picked up a used Weber off CL. Never can go wrong with a Weber kettle but that SNS is a sweet grill and if I used a grill more often I would have gone with the SNS

I need to correct myself. Hasty Bake makes a rectangular grill/smoker. They will set you back some $$ and might be more than you need but also very versatile.

I was going to stay out of this because the OP was specifically asking about rectangular grills and I don't have anything to offer there (other than I used to have a Weber propane camping grill that I loved, until I made the mistake of lending it to a guy who proceeded to completely ruin it).

I've been using Weber kettle grills, the 22" variety, for a long time. My first one got crushed in a back yard accident. It had a 3-pronged rotating deal mounted in the bottom of the lower half, with a handle on the outside bottom. When you moved that handle back and forth the inside part would rotate back and forth and sweep the ash out through the vent holes in the bottom. Made cleanup easy. The one I replaced it with doesn't have that, so you have to do it by hand which is pretty messy. I didn't notice the lack of the ash sweeper until I had already disposed of the carcass of the first grill, otherwise I could have salvaged the sweeper from it and drilled a hole in the new one to mount it in. I can't imagine why Weber would eliminate that feature, other than to reduce cost / increase profit margin.

I'm frequently tempted to get a gas grill just because it's so much more convenient than lighting a chimney full of charcoal and waiting for it to be ready to cook on. I'd probably grill more often if I had one. But patio space is limited and adding a 2nd grill (NOT going to get rid of the charcoal one) would just give the blind dog one more thing to bump into.

quote:

Originally posted by Expert308:
The one I replaced it with doesn't have that, so you have to do it by hand which is pretty messy.

Are you sure that’s a real Weber? Unless it’s 20-25 years old, IIRC, all Weber kettles 22” and 26” have the ash sweepers as standard equipment and it’s been that way for years.

I assumed so but I suppose I could be wrong. It was given to me by my next door neighbor when he moved out of state (right after he bought it, his wife decided they needed a gas grill instead). It was in a Weber carton, still stapled shut. Yeah I guess that doesn't necessarily prove anything. I went and looked at Weber's site this afternoon and sure enough all their kettles have the ash sweeper on them.

OP, If it matters to you, the Primo grills are US made, near St. Louis if I recall. BGE are made in Mexico and I have no idea where KJ is made. I had 2 BGE's which were destroyed in last years' inland hurricane.. I replaced them with Primo for the oval cooking surface which is closer to a rectangle. Have been very pleased so far. If the ceramic grills are out of the question regarding cost, I would consider modifying a gas grill to use charcoal. Might be kind of neat to light charcoal with the gas burner.

quote:

Originally posted by Expert308:
I assumed so but I suppose I could be wrong. It was given to me by my next door neighbor when he moved out of state (right after he bought it, his wife decided they needed a gas grill instead). It was in a Weber carton, still stapled shut. Yeah I guess that doesn't necessarily prove anything. I went and looked at Weber's site this afternoon and sure enough all their kettles have the ash sweeper on them.

A pal of mine had a very aged Weber that had a vent on the bottom that looks like the vent on the top of the newer grills. Works great but harder to clean out.

quote:

Originally posted by Expert308:
I assumed so but I suppose I could be wrong. It was given to me by my next door neighbor when he moved out of state (right after he bought it, his wife decided they needed a gas grill instead). It was in a Weber carton, still stapled shut. Yeah I guess that doesn't necessarily prove anything. I went and looked at Weber's site this afternoon and sure enough all their kettles have the ash sweeper on them.

Does it look like this one? That’s the 22 inch Premium Jumbo Joe, sold only IIRC by Walmart:





This is the regular Weber Kettle with the One-Touch ash sweeper system, note that the body is taller: