Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Like other reviewers I did quite a bit of reading on pros and cons of grills prior to purchasing this DynaGlo grill. Consumer Reports gave it an OK rating overall. For me, it's replacing a grill that is entirely stainless steel including the base/cabinet, etc. A few things to consider: 1. There is a pretty big hole in the back of the grill where the lid meets the base. Another review mentions this and that owner devised a way to cover it. Prior to addressing this issue, I ran the grill for 15 minutes to determine how hot it would get. About 650 degrees. I then bought an Aluminum Kickplate for a door from Homedepot and cut it down to an an upside down L and installed it on the lid to cover the hole. The grill got to over 700 degrees in about 8 minutes. I am sure it's fine without this modification, but I prefer high temps for searing. 2. The pictures make this grill appear to be ALL stainless steel, including the base/cabinet. However, that is not the case. The base/cabinet is silver painted steel. The doors have decorative stainless around the edges, but the face is painted brown (not stainless). This is fairly obvious from the pictures, but you should know that those brown panels are NOT stainless. 3. The inside of the grill is not stainless. The bottom part where the burners are is a dark color painted steel. I imagine it will eventually rust (UPDATED SEE BELOW). 4. The decorative Bronze painted panels for the lid and doors will rust. Despite being covered with a grill cover and placed under a covered lanai, my lid began rusting within 4 days. I think this is partially my fault but anyone could do it very easily. The handle has two "washers" that separate the handle from the face of the lid. The edges of these washers are sharp. Tightening the screws down on the handle even a little too much will cause these sharp edges to puncture the paint and the lid will then rust very fast. Be very careful about scratching these surfaces and over-tightening the lid handle. Customer Service: I contacted customer service regarding the rust. They replaced the grill top. They shipped it within 4 days of my phone call. I called them 3 times to check on their status of sending the lid and asked each time for an email confirmation about shipping. This never happened, but they did provide a tracking number via the phone. Overall, the customer service seems fine, but then again it's very new and I admitted I would send it back to Amazon if the issue wasn't addressed quickly (I was within the 30 days for Amazon returns). In the manual it specifically states the grill is NOT covered by rust. So I would imagine after the initial 30 days, you'd just have to deal with the rust. Some Pros: - Solid stainless grill grates (UPDATED : Not Solid - See Below) . My old grill had these and after 6 years they were rusted, but worked perfectly. These are nice and typically outlast the grill. - Solid construction. Very sturdy grill once assembled. - Gas-Tank pull out is a really nice back-saver and prevents you from banging the grill against other surfaces that would cause scratches (rust) - Leaving off the Tank Exclusion Bar on the right side provides you with a nice spacious area for storing other grill related items. - Assembling was time consuming--as it's a big grill. But the instructions are great and items are labeled very well. Instructions for installing the side-burner and side table are poor, but if you look at the holes it's fairly straight-forward on what is required. - 5 Burners | BTUs | Gets hot fast - Price : Nice large grill with a good deal of stainless parts for a reasonable price in contrast to Brinkman, Charbroil, and other cheap brands. Also, it's at nearly 1/2 the price of most Weber grills in comparative classes. - Nice looking unit - Customer Service OK - Even heating. Great cooking - Missing Parts on 1st order; Amazon is amazing as always, taking care of the issue Some Cons: - Not all stainless. Painted steel in many places (Cabinet, bottom part of grill, top of lid, and doors). While it looks beautiful, be careful about nicking these areas as they rust fast. Other Thoughts Personally, I would keep this grill covered. My last grill was entirely stainless steel, including the cabinet, lower basin of the grill, and burners . But, I learned the hard way and left it out in the rain. The burners rusted away within two years despite being stainless. Since many parts are painted steel this grill is best cared for by being covered. Amazon sells a Classic Accessories Veranda Barbecue Grill Cover (Medium fits this grill - http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000HCNEWM). I've owned this cover two times. It's excellent. The first time I stored the previous grill in the weather and sun and this cover only lasted two years. But, I have had several mower covers and grill covers over the years and they just don't last long in the Florida sun and rain. This one is now two years old with this Dyna-Glo Grill and is in great shape; however, it is used under a covered lanai. Stainless Steel Cleaner: It's a bit hard to find, but reading up on stainless cleaners and polishes over the years has led me to this product (not on Amazon unfortunately): Superior High Shine Stainless Steel Cleaner & Polish. Really keeps the grill looking glossy, clean, and beautiful. Oil based too. UPDATE 5/22/2014 Grill still in outstanding shape and working condition. Kept under a lanai and covered. The large back hole can easily be covered with foil rather than a plate. I also covered the smaller horizontal vent holes to test temps and itt gets dangerously hot (800+ degrees). Nice searing if monitored. UPDATE 5/29/2015 ISSUE : Grill Grids / Grates These grids/grates have deteriorated and have metal flaking (began a bit over 1 year old). Evidently these are not solid stainless steel and are instead coated iron cores, perhaps. The welds have also come apart in places and some bars have come completely loose. I looked through some recent reviews and saw this is a common problem, even with new purchases. Perhaps the deterioration is exacerbated by the additional heat, but we're only talking 50 to 100 degrees. Regardless, I am disappointed. My previous grill's stainless grates outlasted the grill (roughly 6 years) and never "flaked" - They were solid stainless bars. That old grill was treated horribly, left in the rain uncovered for 3 years and was frequently forgotten without a cover--still the grates remained in excellent condition. Water has never touched these Dyna-Glo grates and the unit has remained covered with a grill-cover and is situated on a covered lanai. While I really like this grill, this grate issue is a big one. Amazon Sells 1 grate for $40. (http://www.amazon.com/Dyna-Glo-105-13002-Cooking-Grate/dp/B00OQ1RUZ2/) The unit requires 3 of these grates -- a $120 repair at the age of only 21 months. So, I am downgrading from 5 to 3 stars. $40-50 and I would have left the rating intact. But Dyna-Glo clearly engineered these grates to appear as solid stainless to mislead the consumer. Not only do they degrade quickly to create a revenue stream for Dyna-Glo, they are also poorly constructed. Two grates have come apart with several bars detaching completely. This is a quality control issue as evidenced by looking through other reviews. Overall Aside from the grates, this grill is still cosmetically in like-new condition and its performance is still like-new. Oil-based Stainless Cleaner Sams Club caries an oil-based stainless cleaner / polish that is stocked in the industrial cleaners section and is very reasonably priced. Easier to get than the other brand I mentioned in the review a few years ago. Images Uploading a few photos since I saw some comments asking about the kick-plate modification. One shows the grill at 2 years old. Still looks new. One image shows the flaking and deterioration of on of the 3 grids. Two images on the back show the plate modification and how it hangs from the lid (piece of sheet metal, aluminum, etc.) With the lid off, you'll see some screws along the bottom edge (that face down toward the ground with the lid installed). I drilled holes in the L shaped metal plate at the same location of these lid-holes and attached it with the lid's existing screws. -- Foil is just as effective and easier to use for plugging the hole (just doesn't look as good). UPDATED: 5/31/2015 Just a couple of days after updating this review I have gone out to grill and the tank was exhausted. Much to my surprise I found two major problems. First, the bottom inside of the cabinet is bubbling with rust. This grill is NEVER wet. It is under a covered lanai and also it is covered with a grill cover always. There was an item sitting where the rust is emerging. However, it is beyond unacceptable for an item's contact with a painted surface to cause rust. Second, there was a lot dirt / debris in the cabinet area. I looked up above the cabinet floor to the bottom of the grill where the grease trap sits (See image with rusty hole). The entire bottom of the grill basin is rusted out, crumbling, and falling apart. Again, aside from moisture from cooked food, this grill is not subjected to any moisture or rain at all. Cheap, thin, metal. Final Thoughts This grill is junk. I am so disappointed that at the time of this writing over 100 people have found this review helpful (when it was 5 stars). I am sorry I helped positively influence your purchase. This is an unfortunate problem with Amazon's limited feedback system. We want to help out and give feedback about products. However, we really just don't know what they're like until some time has passed. Amazon I hope will invest in a more modern approach to reviews with weighted influence given to years owned and other influential factors. Still, consumers will always be vulnerable to reviews that are not tempered with time. I apologize to anyone that got burned by this review. July 11 2015 - Last update Final update: I went out on July 4th to find the entire bottom of the grill had fallen through to the cabinet area below. I added two more photos. One shows the tank with a rusty object behind it. This object is the floor of the cooking area of the grill--the part with the grease trap. The final image shows this piece pulled from the grill. I realize Dyna-Glo's deception now. The faux stainless steel grates along with these inexpensive metal pieces painted to look stainless. All of which have an incredibly high iron content that makes them disintegrate quickly. I have constructed a new bottom for the grill's cooking area. However, the floor of the cabinet (storage area where the tank sits) is rusting as depicted in the other images. The bubbling and rust has advanced a great deal in the month since I discovered its presence, despite remaining covered. Frankly, I would not mind a grill rusting away if it were very obvious that the pieces were inexpensive iron based metal. However, the images of this grill in the product descriptions here at Amazon tout its stainless qualities and very convincingly manipulate your confidence in believing this is a quality product. On Amazon the images and product statements are all we have--replacing the experiential process of interacting with a product first-hand in traditional stores. So when statements such as "Stainless steel rod grates..." turn out to be outright lies we are left with a an inferior product obtained through a dupe perpetuated by Amazon. Sure, we can hold Dyna-Glo responsible and we should. But for several types of product categories such as these, Amazon has proved itself inadequate and incapable of protecting the consumer. If I were to haul this thing down to Home Depot or Lowes even with the time passed since the purchase, I would imagine a manager would intervene. Face to face, empathy has a chance. Not possible with Amazon. Of course, Wal-Mart wouldn't give a damn but neither does Amazon.