Sunday, June 16, 2013

Chargriller

Fran bought me a new grill to replace the  Martha Stewart kettle grill that has served us for ten years or more. It is starting to show its age.

The new grill came from Menards. It is a model 2929. This model does not show on the Chargriller website, but it appears to be the same as a model 2222 with a metal side shelf instead of a wood one. Maybe they make it as a different model for Menards.

I had Fran order a side fire box attachment as well. It is being shipped to the store for pickup. They refer to is as a table top grill but you can also bolt it to the side of this grill to get a side fire box instead of direct heat.  Also good for smoking apparently.

It went together pretty well. I did not take any video of the assembly. The instructions were pretty good and the small parts such as nuts and bolts were in a blister pack and clearly labeled.

I read some online reviews of the grill. A common thing mentioned was that the wheels are not so good. I agree. In fact, the only part of the assembly I had trouble with was the wheels. At one point it said to put a washer on the axle but no washers were included, so I assembled it without one. I may or may not add one between the cotter pin and the plastic tire. I won't use the wheels much so it may not matter. Initially I installed the wheels backwards. Nothing in the instructions mentions that there is any particular orientation. One side of the wheel is flat with an indentation in it (maybe for the non-existent washer?) and the other side has a nub that goes out about 3/4 of an inch.

When I first put it together, I installed it nub out thinking the nub was supposed to line up with the plastic caps they give you to dress up the outside of the axle. This caused the side of the tire to the inside to rub up against the frame to the point where it would not rotate with the weight of the grill (38 kg according to the package) sitting on it. I turned them the other way and they worked as well as they are going to. I think the nub keeps the wheel away from the frame.

The little caps they give you to cover the ends of the axle are not real swift either. The instructions say to hammer them on. The first tap I gave one it broke. I ended up throwing them away along with the springy clips they hang on. They don't seem to serve any real purpose anyway.

There were two left over lock washers, 3 hooks, and a metal plate. No idea what the lock washers are far. The hooks are to screw into the side of the wood shelves this model does not have. The metal plate appears to be a duplicate of the plate the side vent is mounted on. No idea why it was added.

It also came with a handle for picking up the grates. When I first saw it, it was just sitting in the box. It took me a few minutes to figure out what it was for.

There was also a roundish piece of wire along with some kind of note about hanging a can under the grill to catch grease. I couldn't figure it out so I just set a can on the bottom shelf when I noticed grease coming out on the deck.

Overall, I think it is a solid grill, other than the wheels. Well built and fairly easy to put together. Best thing is it was one sale for $99!

Kind of a long video review.

1 comment:

martin-bbq said...
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