Showing posts with label outdoor gourmet grill. Show all posts
Showing posts with label outdoor gourmet grill. Show all posts

Friday, May 2, 2014

Discovery Products Carbon Off Cleaner (19-Ounce Can)

Discovery Products Carbon Off CleanerWe have used this product in our restaurant for some time. The kitchen staff loves it. Reduces their cleaning time and keeps the equipment looking like new.

This is an excellent product even if the shipping is expensive. It is very corrosive if not handled properly so therefore it is more costly to ship. It does its job extremely well.

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This is a good product for removing heavy baked-on residue, but the aerosol package is the wrong delivery method. Because it is very corrosive you have to be careful not to get it on anything other than what you are cleaning and this is difficult with the spray can. Generally that means putting it on newspaper outside in order to spray it. Next time I will purchase the brush-on version which will make it much easier to use.

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It would be helpful if the product information indicated, as the can does, that this is not to be used on Calphalon cookware. I'm sure I'll find some use for it, but I did buy it to remove build up on my primary cookware, which is Calphalon.

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Like the "Grease Bullet" that Billy Mayes sold, the claims for this are highly overblown. I tried this out on three cleaning jobs and found it to be NO better than the spray oven cleaner from CostPlus/ I gave this a try with a French steel fry pan, a commercial aluminium saute pan and our barrel type BBQ/Smoker.

First, the can of Carbon Off I got sprayed VERy eratically and would frequently plug up, which made for a really slow process. But on the thte cleaning

The steel pan had a modest amount of carbon built up on the inside rim and a fair amount on the outside. Starting with a warm pan, I sprayed the interior and exterior, leaving the pan to sit for 8 hours before going after the crud. The result was a pretty good loosening of the stuff on the interior, even around the rivits, but it had a hard time with the material around the lip. LOTS of hand scrubbing to lift it off.

The aluminium pan was much dirtier, but came clean faster. However the botrtom, where the stuff had been baked especially hard barely moved. A real waste of time and materials.

The smoker worked the best and the Carbon off took off a lot of acumulated smoke, grease, oil, soot, and other crud.

Overall, I got 5 pans cleaned and the BBG (it is a small one) for about $13. Not a really good deal.

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Friday, January 10, 2014

Rosle 25060 9-Inch Barbeque Poultry Shears

Rosle 25060 9-Inch Barbeque Poultry Shearsall Rosle products are extremely ergonomic, but this specific item feld uncomfortable to both me and my wife. At $50 I expected the shears to be the best out there. A little dissapointed with this Rosle product. I own about 10 Rosle products and very happy with other ones.

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Sunday, December 29, 2013

HPI Racing 17540 BMW M3 E30 Body, 200mm

HPI Racing 17540 BMW M3 E30 Body, 200mm
  • HPI faithfully recreates the BMW M3 E30 for RC cars with this 200mm body that fits wide 1/10 sedans and features the usual HPI attention to detail
  • Included with the body is a pre-cut decal sheet that include window lines, headlights, grills, tail lights, official logos and more
  • Body is clear so you can paint it your favorite colors
  • Fits 200mm touring cars and can be used on 190mm touring cars with the use of wide offset wheels

This kit comes with decals, the body and two pieces that you can replace for the stock front and rear sides to give the car a more radical look. The quality its super, every detail has been take in consideration, every line, contour, everything. Working with the kit has its ups and downs. To paint is easy, to cut is where you will have to spend more time. I start with a hobby knive, almost kill myself, then switch to a scissor, man, cutting that body is not an easy task, then I use a dremel and that's when things started to look better. Its a job that you wont get in a hour, that's if you want to do it right. Once installed, the car looks beautiful, my kid ask for lights for the headlight and under the car, that took me some more time but it was fun.

Saturday, November 2, 2013

Vornado 530B Compact Whole Room Air Circulator

Vornado 530B Compact Whole Room Air CirculatorIs the new model 530 as good as older Vornados that established the company as a quality innovator? In this review, I compare the new 530 to two older compact models that I own. These are the excellent model 180 compact fan(infinite speed, no longer available) and the very good 510 compact (3-speed and in very short supply watch out for merchants who substitute the current model 530 for the 510). These (and the larger, venerable model 280) have great features, quietness, quality, and durability. My comments should apply to the model 530 regardless of the color of the plastic case, since color has no bearing on performance in this product.

FEATURES

The 3-speed compact design is similar to that of the older models (note that some slightly more expensive Vornado models have infinite speed control instead of 3-speed but are otherwise the same). But the 530 has one major disadvantage that you're likely to miss in the promo copy. The fan head doesn't tilt as much as those in the older models. This model tilts only about 50 degrees, while the older fans tilt about 80 degrees. The older design is much better at getting air from the floor to the ceiling.

QUIETNESS

The whirring fan blades make as little noise as the older models (whisper quiet on low, moderate amount on medium, a lot of "whoosh" on high), but the 530 has an irritating low-pitched motor noise the older models don't have. Because it's low frequency sound, it will even go through walls.

QUALITY

Personally, I think the motor, because of the noise, must not be up to the quality of previous models. One of the fan blades on my 530 still had plastic from the molding process that hadn't been removed. Definitely a quality-control problem. My older models were all manufactured in the US; this one in China (judging from a recent visit to a store that had a number of Vornado models, the company's moved manufacturing of most, if not all, of their consumer market fans offshore).

DURABILITY

We'll have to see. Comes with a limited 5 year warranty (you must get an RMA and ship to Vornado in Kansas and other reviewers have complained about shipping and handling costs nearly equaling the cost of a new fan).

BOTTOM LINE

In my view, this fan departs from the Vornado tradition of quality and quietness. I don't recommend using the model 530 in a bedroom or other place where you need quiet due to the low-pitched motor noise. Note that the user manual pictures both the model 530 and the R2D2 looking model 630.

The quality on this Vornado product is not as good as in the past. The product is no longer made in the USA but is instead made in China. Whether or not this is the reason for lower quality I don't know. Like a couple of other reviewers this unit is not not near silent on low speed and unless aimed directly upright has an irritating rhythmic "burmpt, burmpt" to it. On higher speeds this noise goes away but the air noise increases significantly as reported by others. $40 is a high price for a less than perfectly executed small "air circulator."

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This is the third Vornado fan I have purchased. I also own a 783B "whole house" fan that I use to push cool air upstairs during the summer and a 733B "whole room" fan that I use to circulate air in our living/dining room areas. I have been very pleased with these fans since purchasing them two years ago. I don't know whether they have had a discernible impact on our energy consumption, but they certainly make the house more comfortable by evening out the hot and cool spots, just as they are designed to do.

I hesitated before purchasing this fan for my 3 y/o daughter's room based on some of the critical reviews. However I have been very happy with this fan. Despite its compact size, it circulates air very effectively throughout a large bedroom with very little noise on its medium setting. The High setting sounds like a typical fan's high setting, meaning you could have a phone conversation sitting next to one but might find it distracting. Medium, however, is barely audible (soft white noise), and low is truly whisper quiet.

Perhaps I could find flaws with the 530B if I put it under a microscope like some of the more harsh reviewers have, but it fits my needs perfectly and exceeded my high expectations.

Read Best Reviews of Vornado 530B Compact Whole Room Air Circulator Here

I own two other Vornadosa "mid-sized" model (6xx), and large (7xx). The small continues in the Vornado tradition of excellence, and I'm very pleased with it. It moves air like no other fan of it's size, and appears to be very well made. It's perfect for a small room.

Vornados are not particularly comfortable to have pointed directly at you due to the speed and concentration of the air stream... it's more like an air gun. You are supposed to point them across the room, and they project a beam of air to the opposite end, creating a mild breeze throughout the entire room.

However, this small fan does have a "low" speed setting that is tolerable for direct use, and is very quiet on low. The noise it makes is pleasant... it's worth noting that fan collectors prize each fan's distinctive sound above almost anything else, and Vornado's HQ is home to a museum of vintage fans. They clearly design their fans to create an attractive sound.

However, I will say that the high speed setting is somewhat loud, and a bit more intrusive than the sound of the larger models. The fan blades are spinning quite a bit faster in order to achieve such a massive air movement for such a small unit. However, I don't run mine on highvery oftenit works best in a small room on medium or low. It's perfect for our young daughter's bedroom.

About price: in addition to the quality of the construction and design, it's worth mentioning that Vornado actually manufactures in the US... you can be sure these things aren't being built by children in a sweat shop. This certainly makes the more expensive, but I certainly feel better about buying them.

-R

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No offense, but the previous review is a bit shortsighted. I had a similar, skeptical initial reaction when I saw a Vornado. At first glance, it looked very similar to other low-cost, plastic department store fans. Upon closer inspection, there is no comparison.

The 530B, due to its unique blade and housing design, and superior motor (see their site for details), blows WAY more air for its size than any other fan. Take a close look at how shallow the average fan blade is. Then look at Vornado's deep, sculpted blades. It blows as much or more air on the low, quiet setting than competing fans do on their high setting. It's pretty amazing, actually.

The 530B blows enough air for my bedroom, whereas competing fans this size I have to aim directly at me. As advertised, the fan is well used as a room circulator, in that you feel the gentle breeze throughout the room, rather than sticking it on a table and pointing at you.

People often gripe about "paying for the name" when it comes to consumer products. This is usually an unfair assertion with most products. You are not paying for the name, like you are in designer jeans, where only the name counts. Instead, you are paying for the superior quality and design of the manufacturer whose name is stamped on the housing. Simple market princples here -if there was nothing to back up the name, the name wouldn't be valuable. They sell at the higher price because you get what you pay for.

Thursday, September 5, 2013

Char-Broil TRU Infrared Urban Gas Grill with Folding Side Shelves

Char-Broil TRU Infrared Urban Gas Grill with Folding Side ShelvesHad this grill for a year so far and I wanna address some points people brought up:

"Cleaning it is a pain" Not really. In fact, it's pretty easy since the grates come off and the infrared panels come out too. I clean it after every use and is very easy. I could see it becoming a pain if you: use lots of sweet/syrupy sauces and NEVER clean it. Then yes, things could get crusty. If you don't have time to clean it after EVERY use, just leave it on high heat for about 10 min after cooking and all the crud brushes off pretty easily.

"It Rusts" Still no problem here. If you don't clean it, let it sit in the rain, and never treat the grates, yes, you will get rust just like every grill. If you take care of the grates by wiping them/spraying them with vegetable oil after every other use, they will hold up just fine. Same with the infrared panels. If you keep your grill outside...clean it, oil it, COVER IT.

"Flair-ups still happen" No. They don't. This is one thing that I really like about this grill. No matter how many greasy burgers you have going, you don't have to worry about opening the lid and being surprised with a huge bon fire. This grill doesn't "catch on fire" like others.

My Thoughts: The only reason I'm not giving this a full five stars is because of two things:

First: it takes about 10-15min to get it hot enough to start cooking...which is pretty standard for most grills. However, Some people say that it can't produce a good sear. If you want something seared, best to wait over 20min...it works, you just have to be patient.

Second: The heat is a little uneven. Granted, it only takes one or two uses to grasp the heat distribution, it can be a tricky at first. The back edge gets hotter than the front but the center is very even. If you're cooking something, just keep an eye on what's happening in back...you'll probably have to swap the front meat with the rear stuff half way through cooking. If you wanna visually see how the heat is distributed, go out an buy a cheap loaf of white bread. Turn on the grill and then line the entire grill surface with the bread. Give it a few minutes then turn it off and flip over your now toasty bread. Now you can see where the heat is.

I am a grill fanatic so when it was time to pick out a new one, research was a borderline obsession of mine. I settled on this IR grill from Char-Broil.

The major, most important thing to consider about this grill is that it cooks much more quickly than your standard LP grills and is a lot more like charcoal in that sense. You need to "relearn" grilling times to an extent but once you do, you'll have the best grilled foods you could possibly imagine! Here are the things I love most about it and really helped make my mind up about this one over its competitors.

Best Features:

-Temp gauges at the grilling surface: I've never seen this on any other grills before and helps to keep an eye on the temperature where it matters: at the surface. You don't measure your stove top temps at the hood, do you? Exactly.

-Folding shelves: this allows the grill to become extremely compact and makes for easy storage out on the porch. It also makes it an ideal choice for people in smaller residences like apartments, condos, townhomes, etc.

-Infrared: By far, the most important thing! It's not all "marketing hype", it truly makes a huge difference! IR will sear the outside of the food and "trap" the juices inside, making EVERYTHING more juicy than you can even imagine! Plus, it makes really cool sear marks. Like I said, pay attention to cook times, though, as stuff cooks extremely quick on this. If you don't have one, I'd suggest an instant read thermometer as well.

There simply isn't a better grill in this size or price range. Period, bar none. And if you need a bigger grill, I'd look at Char Broil's Quantum grills that are bigger instead of straying. One of the best purchases I've made in a LONG time!

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Pros: Very well designed and manufactured~ Good fit and finish~ Sturdy, solid grill~ The infrared is a completely unique cooking technique that works and works well~ The top, front door, grates, burners and infrared emmiters and hardware are all stainless steel~ Seems to use less propane than conventional gas grill~ Temp gauges seem to be accurate and solid~ Allows you to burn woodchips or natural wood charcoal directly on the grates its amazing and soo easy to do!!~ The best grill I have ever owned....or used for that matter!!~ If your in the market for a $300 grill, buy this thing!

Cons: Not too sure about the Surefire start system as of yet. The button has to be pushed just right but once it is... click click boom its lit!~ Ikea has nothing on Char-Broil in the "Uhhh I have to put ALL OF THIS together?" catagory~ If your not a handy person with a good set of basic tools, you better hope your friend or neighbor is!~ I am a handy person and this was a pretty long build to do by my self(3+ Hours). I don't know if this is really such a con, but for some it may be so i figured I would mention it. One reason it takes so long is because it is a well built grill with a lot of heavy duty hardware and support brackets ~ LOTS OF PARTS TO ASSEMBLE!

Read Best Reviews of Char-Broil TRU Infrared Urban Gas Grill with Folding Side Shelves Here

This grill isn't going to cook 30 steaks at once, but if your space and/or budget is limited it really is a good option. Electronic ignition works like a charm, grill heats fast, easy to use, easy to clean. Very sturdy and good looking.

Another reviewer has noted the assembly required. The cover of the instructions says 30 minutes. I doubt it!! The two of us accomplished it in 2 hours 15 minutes. That included unpacking and inventorying the parts. The grill parts are well packaged and arrived in perfect condition.

The instructions could be improved, but we were able to figure it out. A couple of places are very difficult to get the screws into--especially at the top of the fascias. The caster wrench provided doesn't really do the trick.

We needed 3 sizes of Phillips screwdrivers, one right angle screwdriver, pipe pliers (to attach the casters), small crescent wrench and a pocket knife.

Great grill for the money, though. The burners heat hot and fast and you may find grilling times shorter depending on what you were using before. We are very happy with our purchase and highly recommend this grill.

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How can I begin explaining how awesome this grill is! After a couple years of having rust as a condiment I began the search for a new grill. I was intrigued by this "Infrared" stuff and decided this was the way to go. I decided on this one because of its size; after all, it's just me and my wife. We were hesitant at first because we've always owned the larger grills but we went ahead with the purchase. All I can say is WOW!

Assembly: A little more involved than other grills but not complicated. I'm not a rocket scientist and did well. However, if you buy it somewhere that will assemble it for you, it's worth a couple extra bucks.

Cooking: MAKE SURE YOU FOLLOW THE DIRECTIONS AND SEASON THE COOKING SURFACES! This is the first time I've ever done that and it truly makes a difference (more on this later). It is true that if you're used to cooking on an open flame grill you'll have to re-learn your cooking times. The first thing I cooked on it was steaks and I swear. . .they were better than any I've had before. Ruth's Criss has nothin' on me! I cook my steak medium and usually this means warm pink in the CENTER. My steaks were warm and pink THROUGHOUT! The searing capability of this grill is phenomenal! Nothing but a good, melt in your mouth, juicy steak! No flare ups meant no charred corners or fat. When we were done there were no little burnt pieces pushed to the side.

Clean up: Another huge plus! This is where seasoning the cooking surface comes in. While cooking, nothing sticks turning your food does not mean tearing your meat apart. We all have cranked our grills on high in the hopes of burning off the crud. Well with this grill, it truly turns everything to ash! Clean up is quick and simple!

So if you value your grilling get this one. Infrared will help make you a true master! Infrared cooking is simple and almost worry free. If this size is too small for you they do make larger ones.

My hat's off to you Charbroil!

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Thursday, July 18, 2013

Zojirushi EB-DLC10 Indoor Electric Grill

Zojirushi EB-DLC10 Indoor Electric Grilli have attempted to find a viable indoor grill for several years; unfortunately for me, the search has been conducted by purchasing unsatisfactory products.....less expensive electric grills, the finest cast iron grilling pans the gamut failed because of inadequate heat or tendency to stick or both.......then, the elation of zojirushi the heating element is much heavier and thicker than other electrics, and the resulting searing and grilling power approximates natural open pit cooking and nothing sticks better engineering is worth the extra money.

I like how hot the grill gets and the size of it. I dislike how greasy everything gets and the fact that I cant put the tray in a dishwasher. Instructions suggest to wipe it with soft cloth but its pain to clean all the grease off.

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,The indoor electric grill is easy tomuse and clean. Using the grill Ids me in eating healthy.

I use it just about every day.

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This is best indoor grill we have ever used. The ONLY negative thing I can find to say about it is that you have to clean it right after it cools off. Make sure you have a soft scrub pad and some q-tips. It will make clean up a lot easier.

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It was more money than I had planned to spend, but when I read that it was 1500 watts that sold it for me, as I really wanted to be able to sear meat on high heat. It cooks great with beautiful grill marks and surprisingly very little smoke. As another review said, if you following the cleaning directions, it cleans beautifully! I have back problems so it's difficult to stand at the outside grill. I put it on a rolling cart and it works perfectly. I will look at other products made by this company as well.

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