Breville BGR400XL Ikon 1800-Watt Removable-Plate Grill
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Our Price: $399.00 Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Category: Kitchen See more product details |
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Kitchen and Housewares Reviews of Breville BGR400XL Ikon 1800-Watt Removable-Plate Grill
Customer Review: I really wanted this one!
Summary: 2 Stars
This is my lst review on anything so please bear with me. I did extensive research on Breville's grill and I decided on this one just for the fact of removable plates and it is a little smaller than the other one. SO, my husband bought this past Monday 31st for my birthday 3rd of Jan-Yeah!!! Anyway, we opened the box up and the temp. control knob fell off which he re-inserted just fine. Thinking everything was ok I preceded to cook some sausage. Had it on sear and the sausage would not brown, had the indentations but would not get "crispy". It was as if it was not "hot" enough. So I decided the cook an egg on the griddle and it ran all over the place. The whites of the egg would not cook. Yes the grill was not tilted. So last night I decided to try a boneless chicken breast on sear. Let it preheat for 15 or so minutes. Put the chicken on it and you could barely hear the "sizzle". It cooked it,had the indentations but would not get browned. It was not very "appetizing" to look at to say the least. I will save it to make chicken salad. I wrote Breville which they responded..very nice. I could either ship it back to them or take it the retailer. So I am going to take it back and hopefully they will have another one in stock. I am going to try it again, maybe that is the only one defected. I hope it is not that whole lot shipment. I wanted something better that will last longer than old GEORGE. That is really the only complaint:>(
Looks great,feels solid, easy to clean, like the plug, think the "ready" light could be bigger and/or brighter. Thanks.
UPDATE: I returned the product back to the store and they were very nice. I exchanged it for another one. I LOVE IT :>) Talk about getting hot...sears beautifully. The handle stays cool but the rest gets hot so be careful. The only complaint (small) is that I think the green "READY" light should be bigger/brighter. You have to get up close and personal but that maybe my 57 years old eyes. By the time you use your discount coupon, send in for a rebate it is so more expensive than good old George and it looks much nicer. So far I am pleased! :>)
Customer Review: Good until it breaks
Summary: 1 Stars
I purchased one of these grills about three months ago. I loved the design for cooking and liked that it would store standing vertical so took up less counter space. I cooked chicken, pork and beef on it and I was very pleased with the way it cleaned up. A few minutes in hot soapy water and the plates were just like new.
The problem came when after about 20 uses it simply ceased to function in the middle of grilling some steaks. All the lights just went black and it cooled to room temperature and remained inert.
I cleaned it up and then disassembled it in an effort to determine what failed. I quickly discovered that a small device in line with the black power wire (it's so small it's easy to miss but it's near where the wire first enters the unit) no longer permitted the passage of electricity. I believe the device is some sort of thermistor, intended to either prevent the grill from drawing excessive current or to limit the intial surge of electricity when the thermostat contacts close. Regardless, this component showed a complete open circuit (infinite resistance).
As a short term fix I wired past it and the grill functioned once more, we even cooked another round of meat on it. However, because I'm not confident of the original design intent of the device I wired past, I don't have confidence that this "fix" is safe so I'll be tossing the grill.
Again, I really liked it, but it didn't last long before failing. I didn't save the receipt, but if I purchase another one (I'm thinking about it), you can be certain I'll retain the receipt and the box.
One comment to those that have had problems with the plates not attaching firmly. I noticed the display sample in the store had a bent/broken plate latch, so I always made a point to press the release button when attaching the plates on mine rather than just pressing the plate against the latch to force it to open and accept the plate. In my opinion, the latch isn't designed to stand up to repeated "forced" attachments and it will eventually bend and become unreliable.
Customer Review: Pretty good grill
Summary: 5 Stars
I just bought this as my first indoor grill hoping to cook some tasty and healthy food quickly in my busy life.
My sister owns a George Foreman grill and mentioned that to me. She has a non-removable grill so cleaning was a bit tedious. So I wanted one with removable plates to wash them in sink.
From what I read on George Foreman's removable grills, they are not very well built and don't get very hot (see their reviews). Then I found about Cusinart GR-4, their highest end model. While it has many fancy features, I also heard they are cheaply built, the handles are easy to break. Anyway, the last one I found, this Brevile Ikon Grill seems to be perfect for me. The size is not too big, neither too small for one to two people.
I went into Bed Bath and Beyond compared all of them. This one is definitely the best built one. To be honest none of them are what I consider "well built". But this one is much more sturdy than others. I've grilled 1 inch thick steak no problem (I tried 2 inch thick steak and that's not going anywhere, but it's expected I'd say). It can get very hot. Takes about 4-5 min to warm up depending on your setting.
Oh, before I decide to purchase this grill, I called Brevile USA to check if they have replacement plates in case the non-sticking coating gets worn out (they don't list this on their web site). They told me they do sell it and it costs $35 (Cusinart replacement plate sells for $30). These plates should last for a while if you take care of them.
I actually like it requires you to pull the plug to turn it off. It's much safer this way and has not been an inconvenience.
Overall, I'd recommend this grill over others.
Customer Review: Dead After 4th Use!!
Summary: 1 Stars
Bought the Breville Ikon 1800-Watt Removable-Plate Grill on March 14th received it around the 20th and used it ONLY four (4) times since it arrived and it cooked pretty good for hamburgers and steak, although grease ran out the back all over the counter behind the unit somehow (from the lid being lifted?). The Panini we made was not grilled well in the center and a bit soggy. I could live with that however, since it did well with meat.
I read the reviews that gave it "1 Star" and hoped I'd get lucky and receive a good unit, but it was not to be. For a total cost of $169.95 (including shipping) this product should have lasted longer than this.
It's too late to return it to ABT Electronics, Inc. because it didn't break fast enough **within 30 days**, so I will wait and see what the manufacturer will do. I want a refund, not a replacement so we will see... I am already on hold for over 18 minutes without a human person answering the call!
Can't recommend this item AT ALL. Too bad I bought another Breville product the same day and haven't had a chance to see if that will break too, after only four uses.
***UPDATED***03/11/11
Okay, so the manufacturer insisted on sending a new one, which we got really quickly in May 2009. Had that one about 15 months, used it maybe 10-12 times, and it died in the Summer of 2010. Tossed it away like the garbage it was. I hate when expensive (and good) appliances break so quickly. I don't mind paying for something that works well AND lasts longer than these two Breville Grills did...
Customer Review: Great grill!
Summary: 4 Stars
After having tried and returned a George Foreman grill with removable grill plates, I was leery about this grill. The George Foreman grill didn't get anywhere close to hot enough to sear meats. I read in the negative reviews (of the George Foreman grill) that this was in part due to the removable grill plates.
My concerns about removable grill plates all went away once I cooked on this grill. It is an awesome grill that sears very well. It actually got a little too hot, so I turned it down. Sorry George. This grill beats yours hands down!
My reason for the 4 stars instead of 5 is that I wish it were a little larger. Other than that, it's perfect!
***Update***
After having used this grill for about 2 months, I've had to return it twice for the same reason. The top grill plate falls off very easily when closing the grill. This is VERY dangerous, as you can imagine. I thought that I got unlucky with the first unit I received, until the second one started doing the same thing. I'm hoping that the third one works better. If not, I'll be returning it for a full refund.
The grill cooks great but because of this flaw, I wish I could change my rating to 1 or 2 stars.
**2nd Update**
BUYER BEWARE!!!! In the time I've owned this grill (about 2 years now), I've returned 4 of them! Yes 4!!! Only 1 has worked for longer than a few months. Notice the other reviews because it's true. This grill just suddenly stops working. Deserves no stars at all.