Ducane 12007101 436 Square Inch Cast Aluminum 2 Burner Propane Gas Grill Stainless Steel
The cooking system features 2 stainless steel burners, 25,000 BTU-per-hour input, as well as our La-Va-Grate and briquets. The rotary ignition system features Vis-U-Glo observation ports. Total cooking space is 436 sq. inches (310 sq. inches primary, 126 sq. inches secondary) with stainless steel Sear Grid cooking grates, 1 side shelf with polyethylene insert, and a cast aluminum lid with side-mounted hood handles. Comes with a black or stainless steel base with 4 locking casters. Available in liquid propane (tank not included) or in natural gas. Limited lifetime warranty.
User Ratings and Reviews
5 Stars Great Design. Very Well Made. For Grilling, Not To Look Fancy.
Purchased February, 2006
I did not need a giant grill to cook for dozens of people at a time. I did, however, want a grill that performed like a thousand dollar monster grill, but for less than half the price. A lot of research led me to the Ducane 1200 and the price led me to Amazon. As usual, Amazon delivered it ahead of schedule. Arrived in one box, well packed. The stainless panels have a protective coating on them to prevent scratching during shipment. There is an assembly manual for the base unit and one for the grill. There is also a detailed owner’s manual and cooking guide.
Assembly took me about 90 minutes, taking my time and not rushing. Could easily be done in less than 1 hour if you’re in a rush. Instructions are very clear and written in plain English. The components went together very nicely as everything lined up where it was suppose to and fit and finish is impressive.
As I assembled the unit, my expectations for it were exceeded several times. I thought the base of the unit with the casters was plastic. Wrong. It is cast aluminum powder-coated black. I thought the shelf brackets were thermal plastic. Wrong again. They are cast aluminum. Everything on this grill except the control knobs, hood handles and casters is either cast aluminum or stainless steel. Very impressive. I was extremely pleased to find that the screws in the hardware bag were all marine-grade stainless steel and the washers are teflon.
The stainless steel pedestal panels are beautiful. The casters are the big heavy duty type plastic. The control panel is cast aluminum with stainless serial # plate and information plate.
The P-shaped burners are heavy tubular stainless. The lav-a-grate is two layers of stainless offset “grates” to support the 35 ceramic briquettes. The two stainless sear cooking grates are thick, rolled ribs with small openings between, unlike the usual “wire-type” grates. They remind me of some high-end grill grates I’ve seen. They look like they belong in a chef’s kitchen. The main grates provide a cooking area of appx. 20X15 inches. The warming rack was bigger than I thought. It is appx. 17X8 inches.
Hooked up to LP tank and the rotary ignition knob cranked up the burners with a twist of the knob. You can easily see the blue flames through the view holes. The grill also has a match port on each side if you like to light it manually. I left both burners on high with the hood closed for 20 minutes to do the recommended “break-in”. Can’t wait to cook on it.
There are two things the grill has that the above picture doesn’t show…It came with a chrome towel bar that attaches to the front of the side shelf and there is a nice metal Ducane logo that is on the front of the pedestal panel in addition to the metal Ducane logo on the hood (not shown in picture above).
Everything on this grill looks and feels professional grade. It is clearly better made than many of the big flashy units you find at the hardware stores for under $300. I am very pleased so far.
5 Stars Great Style, Great Cooking
The quality of style and materials is top notch. With a cast aluminum body and all stainless parts inside, this grill will last and last. The heating is incredibly even across the entire grilling surface and it does put out plenty of heat.
I was worried that this grill might be a little small, but found it to be as large as my 3 previous cheapy grills (such as charbroil) that rust out after 2-3 years. It should be ample to grill for a family of 3-4 every day. You can easily cook 6-8 large steaks or 12 burgers plus a whole package of hotdogs/brats on the upper rack.
Also, as a side note, the shelf can be mounted to either the left or right side of the grill.
5 Stars Excellent Grill for the Money
I purchased this grill and couldn’t be happier with it. My last grill was a Weber Genesis Silver and it seemed underpowered at times. This grill cooks! It is very well made of high quality parts and the fit and finish is first rate. I purchased the stainless steel base option and the base panels were protected in the box by a plastic film coating that had to be removed but it kept the panels from getting scratched in shipping. Assembly took me a little over an hour and the directions were easy to understand & follow. The hardest part was peeling the plastic film off of the stainless base panels. The grill is very solid and substantial because everything except the casters and handles are made of metal. It should last a very long time. I also like how the propane tank fits neatly out of sight in the back of the stand. For me, having only one side side shelf is a good thing because the grill does not take up as much space on my patio as many other grills. Even the $100 el-cheapo grills at the home improvement stores are wider. This grill has a smaller footprint but it has a larger cooking area than those cheapo grills. So far I have cooked steaks, butterfly pork chops, hamburgers, & grilled salmon and everything cooked excellently. I like the fact that this grill uses ceramic stones rather than “flavorizer bars” over the burners because I feel that they do a better job of adding that outdoor grilled taste when gas grilling. Just be sure to follow directions and pre-heat the grill for 15 minutes. This will give you nice sear marks on your meat and will give you a very even fire to cook over with no real hot spots. The burners seem to be very fuel effecient because I have used the grill at least 15 times and have done the 15 minute preheat and 15 minute post cooking (to burn off everything after cooking) every time. After all this cooking there is still over half a tank of propane left! The only feature this grill lacks is a thermometer. This was an easy fix as I just purchased one for less than $10 at the home improvement store and drilled a hole on the lid to install it. It looks professional and works great.
Needless to say, if you are looking for a high quality grill without spending $1000 or more than this is the grill for you.
