Black & Decker G48TD Grill and Waffle Baker
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List Price: Our Price: $47.03 You Save: $12.96 (22%) Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours Buy Used: from $43.27 (click here) Category: Kitchen See more product details |
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Kitchen and Housewares Reviews of Black & Decker G48TD Grill and Waffle Baker
Customer Review: The Best Waffle Maker Out There!
Summary: 5 Stars
I have wanted a decent waffle maker for quite a while. A cheap model my wife picked up a few years ago was pure junk and didn't even have an adjustable temperature setting. Since it seems to be impossible to find anything except Belgian style models in any stores, I started doing some research online.
The Black and Decker G48TD looks like the old 1950's model my parents had except it has aluminum grids instead of cast iron like the older one. Although the B&D model had a pretty high overall rating in reviews, it did have a number of complaints about sticking waffles and poorly holding grid clips so I was a little concerned at first. However, since all the other waffle maker reviews I found were overall lower in user satisfaction, I decided to buy the G48TD - and I'm really glad I did!
I think the aluminum grid plates are great and the clips hold mine in place very securely. The browning is surprisingly even although the bottom does, as others have reported, get a little more heat than the top. I found that very minor in mine and it certainly didn't detract from the quality or taste of the resulting waffles. I also followed the grid conditioning instructions precisely and haven't had a sticking waffle yet. It does take a little force sometimes to lift the lid but there hasn't been any tearing or sticking of the waffles themselves. I do use a quick spray of a no-stick oil product before initial heating each cooking session.
Since my real interest is only in waffles, I haven't tried the grilling capabilities of the G48TD.
Pro's: Great tasting waffles and consistent cooking.
Adjustable temperature control with a useful range.
No sticking if prepped as in the instructions.
Con's: Housing does get very hot in use and can burn fingers.
Temperature knob moves a little too easily and can be inadvertently set to another temperature if nudged by accident when moving the waffle maker.
Customer Review: One HOT waffle maker!
Summary: 5 Stars
I love this waffle maker! It's like the ones our mom used, not those cheesy seeming plastic things they're making now. It's also got a lot of excellent features that make my life easier. I'll mention right now that this is a VERY hot waffle maker. They make the plastic ones to be "cool touch". I'll trade the cool touch feature for the sturdier design of this versatile machine. I'm being careful and haven't burned myself yet. But it's something to consider if you'd like your children making waffles. My ten year old could be careful enough, but I keep my five and eight year olds away.
The waffles this machine makes are great! They freeze well too. The family is very happy. When the light goes of the unit is ready to make waffles. Pour in the batter and the light comes on again--wait for it to go off and the waffle is done (however, I usually go on instinct and sometimes pull out the waffle before the light goes off.)
The open grill feature makes wonderful pancakes and fried eggs. I have a big family and it's nice to have two pancakes cook at a shot without taking up all my stovetop! I can have bacon and eggs on the stove and the pancakes on the waffle maker. (I can also have a heart attack if I keep eating all these bacon and eggs!)
The sandwich feature is nice. I can cook two grilled cheese sandwiches at one time getting me out of the kitchen quicker. Some advice--cheese might drip out the side of the sandwich. Just keep the sandwich away from the back of the unit where the cables run in and the mess just wipes off--no problem. The sandwiches cook far more uniformly than they do in a pan on the stove. They taste great.
This unit cleans up easily and changing the grills from waffle to flat is easy. I recommend it over a lot of more costly models if you want more value for your money. This is the most versatile waffle maker I've found and all the features actually work!
Customer Review: A Waffle Iron That Really, Really Works!
Summary: 5 Stars
My wife and I spent a great deal of time researching and comparing waffle irons, evaluating each on price, performance, ease of use, and durability. Part of our research involved reading other customers' reviews, which were nearly all favorable, but our evaluation, except for durability, is based upon our experiences.
First, it's great to have a waffle iron that actually gets waffles done--i.e., crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, with a golden-brown appearance. The "Done" indicator light actually works and is, incredibly, accurate, too.
Second, this waffle iron produces large, square waffles with partitions to enable the user to easily divide the waffles into four. These fit very nicely in a toaster, so it's easy to freeze them and warm them anytime you need a "waffle fix."
Third, the plates are removable for washing, and they slip easily in and out of the frame, to which they are secured by small metal clips. The only negative comment we saw on this product was that the clips did not seem to work very well and needed to be bent to function. This has not been our experience: the clips on our waffle iron work exactly as they were intended.
Fourth, comparisons with other waffle irons left them in the dust: this product was clearly superior to others costing between two and five times as much.
Since we have not had our waffle iron for a long time, we cannot judge its durability, but other customers have indicated that it is good for the long haul, and, as far as we can tell, we will eventually agree.
In sum, this is a great product! It does exactly what it is supposed to do, and does it well, and much more cheaply than many others. We highly recommend it.
Customer Review: OK Grill / Better waffles and Clean-up
Summary: 3 Stars
I purchased this grill for my dad's Christmas present and we just got some use out of it. I'm a little disappointed in the quality of the grill, but the first batch of waffles came off the grill clean and delicious.
Cons:
-My 1st pet peeve with the grill: the metal casing is rather thin. When we were fitting the removable plates in, they didn't feel too sturdy. I'd hate to have a hot top plate fall off when taking a finished waffle off.
-My 2nd one is that the temperature knob is very "dinky" not as solid as my dad's previous waffle grill. This plays into my concern of the overall grill quality and how long it will last. The optimistic me is hoping for 2 years of use.
-Last but not least, the grill gets extremely hot; not just the plates, but all over. The only touchable parts on the grill during use (or while the grill is still hot) are the black handles; there's 1 on the front and 2 on each side. We've only had it for a day and already had 2 accidental burns. The entire outside of the grill is burning hot during and after use.
Pros:
-The removable plates made clean-up so much easier than the previous grill.
-The non-stick surface also worked out extremely well as I didn't have to scrub out "leftover waffle".
-The light system is pretty accurate and should prevent burnt waffles. The light clicks off when the grill is ready, you put 1 cup of batter on (the light will click on again), and when the light clicks off again the waffles are ready.
Overall:
This grill cooks waffles quick and easy, but the issues of safety and quality are in question. I think this waffle grill is a little too expensive for what you're getting in quality.
Customer Review: CHINESE JUNK
Summary: 1 Stars
I bought this product in November of 2008 to replace what we thought to be a similar one that my wife had had for about 20 years. I cannot tell you how disappointed we were at the difference in the quality, the performance and the waffles. Although we followed the break-in instructions to the "T", the waffles continue to stick to this day. To make matters worse, the heat is completely uneven with some sections of the waffle overdone while other sections remain half-cooked. The top and the bottom temperatures are different as well as the temperature variation within each of them.
This is also the case when we grill pancakes. We have always made eight small pancakes - four on each surface. They, too come out with some cooked while others are not.
All of my life I have thought of a "Chinese Junk" as being a type of sailing ship peculiar to China; now I find out that it is an adequate description of what we are importing from that country. Unlike other Chinese merchandise, I have read about, this waffle/grill will not hurt my family's health or our home, but it is an example of the type of inferior and sometimes dangerous products the Chinese are foisting off on us with the cooperation and blessings of domestic manufacturers and vendors.
I cannot understand why customers are not clearly advised in advance that this item is made in China. One has to have very good eyes to see the country of origin blind stamped in very small letters on the underside of the grill.
I find this product quite unsatisfactory and if possible, I will attempt to find a brand or model still manufactured in this country.