TEC Sterling2 Find

[Marty in Toronto]

I have become a fan of TEC BBQ's after snagging a Patio2 LP model for $150.
The downside with the old generation of TEC infrared grills is there is only a screen to protect the infrared burners and they are extremely fragile.

Last weekend I noticed a Tec Sterling 2 NG pedestal grill on FBM for $300 CAD (It was sitting for a week as nobody out there seems to know how expensive TEC BBQ's are especially when they are buried on FBM listings with the mainstream retail BBQ's for sale).

This model has 2 Ceran Glass panels that sit between the burners and the cooking grates. The theory is the juices fall onto the super hot thermal glass and vaporize sending flavored smoke back into the food above - cleanup uses a plastic scraper and smooth top range cleaning liquid.

I couldn't resist as this is a $4K USD MSRP grill.

26" FREESTANDING STERLING II FR GRILL - TEC Infrared Grills

Available in Natural Gas or LP

www.tecgrills.com

I managed to snag it for $275 CAD. The owner was moving to a condo and couldn't take it with her.

It was a bugger to get out of the owner's back yard as it was in a downtown Toronto location with 3 ft between the houses - we couldn't roll it as there was only a gravel path.
My son and I had to disassemble the entire grill to take it out piece by piece.

It was in excellent condition except the NG hose is pretty well shot (lots of deep cracks) - it's an inexpensive replacement as there are lots on FBM for $20 CAD or less and the alligator clip match holder (a stainless steel wire with a cheapo alligator clip on the end) had a rusted/seized alligator clip.
Here's an endorsement of the durability of 304 stainless - the grill had been left uncovered for years in the backyard (including Toronto Winters) and the only rusted part was a 50 cent alligator clip - when we took the grill apart the drip tray had about 2 inches of rainwater sitting inside.

2 cans of oven cleaner later and the grill came up decently clean. The discolouration seems to be heat related and absolutely will not come off.

 

[LMichaels]

Yeah, that's how it was with my Wolf. But that thing is confusing. What are those angled grids?

 

[Marty in Toronto]

Yeah, that's how it was with my Wolf. But that thing is confusing. What are those angled grids?

The angled sides are removable for cleaning. The weird looking brackets adjacent to the sides of the cooking grates seem to be designed to hold the cooking grates in place.

 

[LMichaels]

The angled sides are removable for cleaning. The weird looking brackets adjacent to the sides of the cooking grates seem to be designed to hold the cooking grates in place.

So I will assume the burners sit on top then or over the those angles?

 

[Steve Hoch]

No matter how hard I try, I cannot master cooking on one of those TEC grills. My mother in law has had one for many years and I just don't like cooking on it. It only has two temperatures it seems, hot and really hot. I will say that it's extremely well made and can easily see why they cost what they do. She has an older model where the drippings are vaporized by the infrared burners themselves and not the glass plate. It is extremely effective at this and there are never any grease fires as a result. Hers is very similar to the one you picture.

 

[Marty in Toronto]

So I will assume the burners sit on top then or over the those angles?

No - the cooking grates sit directly on the Ceran glass panels.

 

[Marty in Toronto]

No matter how hard I try, I cannot master cooking on one of those TEC grills. My mother in law has had one for many years and I just don't like cooking on it. It only has two temperatures it seems, hot and really hot. I will say that it's extremely well made and can easily see why they cost what they do. She has an older model where the drippings are vaporized by the infrared burners themselves and not the glass plate. It is extremely effective at this and there are never any grease fires as a result. Hers is very similar to the one you picture.

My TEC Patio 2 grill that I paid $150 for behaves like that.
It's amazing for searing/cooking steaks and in the middle of a 20F Winter day, I can cook frozen burgers from frozen to table in under 10 minutes.

 

[LMichaels]

No - the cooking grates sit directly on the Ceran glass panels.

I gotta see that. Seems crazy to me. I cooked on one once MANY years ago. The burners were well below the grates. Like others I found it very singular purpose. Intensely hot then insanely hot

 

[Marty in Toronto]

I gotta see that. Seems crazy to me. I cooked on one once MANY years ago. The burners were well below the grates. Like others I found it very singular purpose. Intensely hot then insanely hot

I called TEC just to confirm and the CSR advised that the cooking grates in this model are designed to sit directly on the glass panels (which makes sense based on the carbon stains that were already on the glass when I disassembled the BBQ).
I asked the age of the unit and their trick is the last two characters of the serial number indicate the year of manufacture.
So it was made in 2010. (It's in excellent condition for a 12+ year old BBQ).

 

[Marty in Toronto]

I am going to bump my own thread - I managed to scoop a bargain yesterday
TEC Sterling II - in great shape (but filthy with years of grease inside) + a Weber Genesis E-310 in decent shape - even the ignitor works on all 3 burners but filthy with grease.
Both BBQ's are missing the side shelves + casters - the seller's father-in-law had them built into a backyard grilling center.
Both BBQ's are NG and came with covers (though I prefer a full length cover for the TEC I understand why the lid cover only since it was built in).
It took 2 trips with my minivan to pick the grills up (the TEC is extremely heavy as it's all 304 stainless and built like a tank).
Total price for both grills $150 CAD including OEM Weber rotisserie.
When we came back for pick up part 2 - the seller handed my son the optional cast iron Weber searing grate and said "I found this - it fits your grill".