Jim, both weber and coleman DO have good reputations to uphold, so I'd imagine either one would be a good investment although I'd expect to replace the burner every couple of years. There is another brand you might check into, "Ducane", but they sell for quite a bit more than your $500 range. But considering their "HIGH-END" price tag, I'd imagine they must be really high quality in order to fetch the price. By the way, I just learned something new the other day when getting my propane bottles filled. They won't fill a bottle that is over 12 years old unless it has been pressure tested recently (which the propane guy didn't know where).

'preciate the input. I've heard of Ducane but it's a little over my $ target range, as is MHP, Broilmaster, etc. I'm afraid if I got one of those, I couldn't afford anything to go in it :-). I didn't know about the LP tests, but I guess it's a good safe policy. Don't want one blowing up on a good steak and ribs night.

Have had a Weber 1000 for several months now and very happy with it. One thing though -- my wife wishes we had gotten a model with an additional burner on the side.