Unhappy with Virco Stainless Grill

23 years ago

After reading many threads about the Virco Stainless Gas Grill from Costco in this forum, I finally gave my trusty Weber Genesis grill to a friend (with a truck) who helped me pick up my new $800 stainless steel grill.

That was 3 months ago. Since then I have not been able to get a blue flame, and most things turn into a conflagration as the juices hit the hot steel flame spreaders and ignite. The little smoker box did nothing but trap drippings and it was flame ON!

The final straw for me, was when all the lettering, instructions, toll free number for support, and such peeled off. This was after 2 months. My old 8 year old Weber still has the intstructions which are white porcelain on black porcelain.

I picked up a U-Haul trailer and hauled that grill back to Costco. They had just closed, but let me take it back without any hassle.

Costo is a great place to shop, but the Virco Kirkland Grill does not compare to a good old Weber Genesis!

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Comments (5)

jasavak
23 years ago
. I have been reading the threads too. I had my suspicions about the Virco and some of the other brands. I also thought that Weber was just brand name hype. However, it seems that Weber out performs other grills that cost more than three times the price. I now realize it doesn't make sense to buy a $200 Charbroil or an $800 Virco loaded with shiny steel if they don't cook as well because of flare ups, hot and cold spots, and other problems. I think the Weber Silver series will be fine for me at $450. I was surprised how people have been trying to impress their neighbors with the stainless steel fad. Since I don't have any neighbors, it won't make a difference. However, I did like the looks of the Weber Genesis "B" with the blue top.
LiveBlues
23 years ago
I'm very happy with my Virco grill. My flareups have been minimal and easy to manage. The thing I am most unhappy about is the thermometer. Not a big deal once I got an oven thermometer to sit on the grill when temperature control is important.

Sorry to hear about your bad experience. I hope you have better luck with your next grill.
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FYI for all you Costco/Virco skeptics. First, thanks for the info on the temp! I appreciate it. I would assume that temp is from the hood thermometer, so the actual grate temp would vary slightly. Last night I wanted to check this grill out first hand, so I went to my local costco where they had 6 on hand (hawaii, if you are wondering). I have been looking at grills from Weber ($400) to high end DCS ($4000). For $879 (locally in Hawaii, little P'od that it isn't $799 like on the mainland but that is life in Hawaii) I am not sure you can get a better bang for your buck. People have been worried about the name brand, and the availibility of parts down the road. So I asked Costco about it, and they said "Just return it to us." I said what, just return it to you. The manager of the store specifically told me it is a indefinate return policy, so 5 years down the road if a burner goes bad and you can't get replacement parts, bring the whole grill back and we will return your money. They said the stand behind their products 100%. Now can that beat the Samns club MM? Not sure, not a member of Sams, but if they back their product like Costco does, it doesn't matter if Virco only lasts a year to 50 years, Costco will always be around, and will back you up 100% no matter the time. So needless to say, I am getting a Virco!
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Yeah, I suspect this is a troll... but on the off chance that lew needs help... What are you trying to cook Lew? If it's something with very little fat in it, it's going to tend to stick on any cooking grate that is very clean and has no oil or 'seasoning' built up on it. I think all the advice given so far is very good... I have a brand new grill, not a Virco but I am confident the Virco is not the problem in Lew's case. Last night I put some brand new stainless steel cooking grates on my Great Outdoors grill... First I cleaned them in soap and water, let them dry, brushed some olive oil on them, cranked the grill up to high for about 5 minutes and closed the lid. When I came back to put the food on, the new grates had a nice dark brown color to them, from the Olive oil getting cooked onto them. I cooked two steaks, two skewers of shrimp, a peice of corn on the cob, and two zuchini halves, and none of it stuck to the grill. When I fliped the steaks for the first time, there was some minor sticking so I used a spatchula and slid it between the meat on the grate and fliped. The corn never stuck a bit, nor did the zuchini. The shrimp I had basted with butter, and it too never stuck. Afterwords I used a stainless steel brush and cleaned off some of the BBQ sauce that had baked onto the grates... The new grates are now a healthy brownish black color, and are ready for my next grilling session. A perfectly spotless cooking surface, free of all oils is your enemy... If you should ever clean your cooking grates that well, you'd better put some cooking oil on them and let them heat up with the oil on it, to season the grates... Your better off never cleaning it to that degree again. If you still have problems with food sticking too much... by all means take your grill back (if you can), and go out to eat at a nice resturant, or go inside and cook on teflon coated pans, if they are not all scratched up.
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GrillMeister
Original Author
23 years ago
Thanks,

I did go ahead and purchase a large Big Green Egg and the results are amazing. I've had it since Wednesday and have smoked beef brisket, pork spare ribs, a whole chicken, grilled steaks and have grilled burgers twice. I still have some lump charcoal in the first 10# bag.

I'm disappointed that the Virco did not work out as it looked great (till the lettering peeled off), but in the end I am very happy with my Big Green Egg purchase. I only wish I would have tried one sooner.
cookingrvc
22 years ago
Maybe someone can help me, I just saw a mention of flareups on the Virco.

I haven't cleaned the grease tray in a while so perhaps that is the root of my problem. I was grilling some rib eyes tonight and had a huge flareup where it appeared the flames were coming from the flavor bars (is that what they're called?). So much food has accumulated there I guess it just caught fire. I was quite concerned when I could see the fires glow through the lower door crack.

I turned the burners off and moved the steaks, after which it finally simmered down. Had one hand on the phone dialing 911.

Anyone else have this type of flareup? Will turning the burners on high for 20 minutes burn everything off so I don't have this issue again (I WILL clean the grease tray too).

Sue
User
22 years ago
Sue, a really good way to clean off the grids is to lay a piece of heavy foil acrossed them and turn the burners on high. Close the lid. Everything on the grids should turn to white ash if your grill gets hot enough. Should help clean your flavour bars as well.

Ann

Unhappy with Virco Stainless Grill

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jasavak

LiveBlues

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Unhappy with Virco Stainless Grill

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jasavak

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cookingrvc

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