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| Customer Reviews: | | Average Customer Review: ( 171 customer reviews )
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
134 of 137 found the following review helpful:
 Great compact electric outdoor grill!!! Mar 29, 2001
By Edward Hearn
I've had the electric patio caddie for a little over a year now, and it is an exceptional convenience. Living in an apartment complex where gas grills aren't allowed, the electric grill was my only viable alternative, but I didn't realize I was going to prefer it. Build quality is great, it heats up quickly enough (10 mins or so) and can maintain grilling temperatures of 400-500 degrees. Though compact, it is large enough to feed 2-4 potential culinary critics, from steaks to seafood to the exotic, you name it. The only slight problem I've found is that if you keep the porcelain lid off too long, the temperature can drop quickly, but for a compact grill, that's to be expected. Cleanup is not kidergarten easy, but it's not difficult either. Learn to use it (i.e. harness the "force"), and the Patio Caddie is extremely easy to control, master, and enjoy for years to come. A gas version is also available. From this review you'd think I work for Charbroil, but I don't! Great grill - 5 stars...
76 of 78 found the following review helpful:
Very Good Grill Jun 02, 2002
By Scott A. Pierce
I live in an apartment, and was forced to buy an electric because no gas or charcoal grills are allowed. I picked this one, and I will say that I am very, very pleased with this grill. You still put charcoal briquets (included) into it, and it cooks VERY well, with no added tastes that you sometimes get from charcoal or gas grills. Top notch product, for a good price!
62 of 63 found the following review helpful:
 3-1/2 stars is closer Jan 13, 2007
By Kit Kolenda
"Beginner Yoga"
I've had this grille a number of years. You need to replace or clean the upper and lower aluminum liners. They can get greasy if you grille meat that isn't lean. If you try to do a high heat cleaning you can have a fire (I did). I found that if you cut slits in them where they go around the attachment areas, you can slide them out and clean them by hand. A big savings.
Having a cover that you need to completely remove, rather than tilt back, can be inconvenient. When hands are full that cover can be a pain. Other than that, it cooks a good steak, shrimp, veggies...just about anything. You need to make sure that the thermostat probe under the lid is clean or you won't get the proper reading outside.
33 of 33 found the following review helpful:
Super Grill! Jul 23, 2001
By L. Mckay
"lm"
We bought this grill after we burned up our gas grill. Maintainence is super easy -- just wash the griddle & clean out the drip cup. Every few years you may want change the lava rocks. Best of all, no getting into lp gas lines looking for spider nests! No lugging lp tanks! :) And this grill stores anywhere! Electric is definitely the way to go!
31 of 31 found the following review helpful:
This is a great grill for patios. Jul 19, 2007
By T. B. Smith
"smithbry"
After reading some of the other reviews, I thought I'd ad my 2 cents from my own experience.
Follow the instructions step-by-step. It will lessen the chance that you'll use the wrong screws. Remember that the smallest screws are for the legs (a point made by another reviewer and turned out to be helpful). Also in the instructions, it says to tighten the nuts on the legs where they attach to the grill to finger-tight only -ignore it. Otherwise, the legs will be wobbly -another complaint of reviewers.
The most important thing I can recommend is to go on Char-Broil's web site and locate support for the electric patio grill. Then drill down to the model number and choose any model EXCEPT the bottom one. The reason is that the current model does not include the grate and ceramic brickets (2.99 and 7.99 respectively). Once you've selected either of the other two models (it doesn't matter which one), you'll be presented with a list of parts, where you can select the grate and ceramic brickets. It makes a big difference because with the brickets the grill will get hotter and the grill temperature won't drop dramatically after you lift the lid. Check out the manual for the model you select and note the maximum number of brickets and pattern used to place them on the grill (I use 8).
I have cooked chicken, strip and flank steaks, fish, etc., and have no complaints whatsoever of this grill's performance. I do wish that they had used a steel insert instead of that heavy aluminum foil thing, but that's just my opinion.
Also, don't buy the cover sold for this grill -get the Char-Broil 4714 Heavy Duty Water Smoker Cover (thanks to yet another reviewer). It's sturdier and has an elastic bottom so it won't blow away.
-Hope this helps.
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