Only one suggestion. Forget it! Buy a Weber Genesis. Everything else is a waste of money.

Where you able to find any information on the Great Outdoor grills? I'm thinking of buying one as well but I would like to know more about them.

I have a hasty bake and I love it. I can cook anything and it doesn't dry out. I took a cooking class from them and one thing they told us was after you finish cooking chicken or any meat wrap it real tight in saran wrap then in foil and it holds it's moisture. I do this and later what ever is leftover I put in the oven with wraps still on and it heats up like you just cooked it. always let your meat rest a few minutes before cutting it and the juices seem to flow better. I only use hasty bake hard wood charcoal, it lights fast w/o fluid, just a match and if I want the charcoal flavor I add cherry wood or pecan or even a regular briquet to it for flavor.I had gas grills forever and I will never go back to one now.

I love my "PYROMID". The best grill ever. I have the 12" size which I can cook for 3. This grill folds and transports compactly (-1" thick) in it's own bag. Uses 9 charcoal briquettes, or sterno(making it an emergency stove for use inside the home during electrical failures). I've also purchased the oven for it. Now I can cook a full course dinner, florentine pork roast, foil baked potatoes, and steamed veg. It is expensive but worth every penny. The oven also folds compactly (less than 2" thick). If you're an RV'r, camper this is the grill for you!!

OK, What ever happened to the original subject. Does anybody have feedback on the Great Outdoors Grills?

Thanks.

I had looked at the 8000 very seriously before picking up a 4000W for $200 at WalMart. I decided not to pop for the 8000 since I was saving up for a built-in down the road. I have no problem buying from an underdog company like this when the design, function and materials are as good as the big companies. I think this company actually has them beat in all areas.

These grills (all their models) are no frills with everything you could want and nothing you don't need. They're built like a tank and are made of materials that should last forever. No wood to split or refinish and nothing to rust. All their models are available (or are upgradeable) to natural gas except for the entry level 4000 and the 7500W. Assembly is a breeze, taking 30 minutes, a flat screwdriver and a crescent wrench.

It's not a big deal for me because I seldom use it, but the warming rack sits on the primary cooking surface instead of sitting above it or hanging from the lid. That's probably the only down side.

I actually like some aspects of my cheapy model over their top-of-the-line 8000, like the composite base, pedestool and side shelves. The aluminum side shelves on all the other models lack drink holders and tool hooks.

It's a new company, but it looks like they have a winner if they market it right. Learn more about their products or contact them at www.gogrills.com. They're very personable and easy to get in touch with.

I have recently purchased the Model 8000 that was asked about way back in December. I paid $400 at Lowes with free assembly and a full gas bottle thrown in. I've had other grills, and I believe that the GO grills should be easily the longest lasting in their price range.

Many so-called stainless steel grills use stainless cosmetically, which eliminates some repainting but does not contribute to structural survivability. The GOs are aluminum essentially everywhere (with the exception of the 4000 model, which uses some plastic). The entire body of the grill is guaranteed for 75 years. The burners are solid brass and guaranteed for 25 years. Most other parts are guaranteed for 5 years or more. All nut and bolt hardware is stainless.

I've had expensive grills that rusted at the bottom of the legs where the casters or wheels attach. That's a pretty catastrophic failure. All the cosmetic stainless in the world won't deal with that. And the GOs simply can't have that problem, since they are aluminum all the way down to the casters. The casters appear to be bullet-proof themselves.

So what are the limitations? Is this grill totally bullet-proof? I expect the paint will deteriorate -- of course many of you have repainted a grill, as I have. It's not that hard. A custom-fitted cover with zipper is available from GO and will prolong paint life. I expect that the grid that holds the ceramic briquettes just above the burners will be the first component to fail. Replacements are $12.95 plus shipping from the manufacturer.

This raises an important question: If this grill is largely bulletproof and replacement parts will be affordable, what if the manufacturer doesn't survive?

I've done some research on Great Outdoors, and here's what I've found: They incorporated in 1997. Their first products rolled off the line in 1999. Since then, they've tripled their production and sales every year. They are now retailing through giants such as Lowe's and Wal-Mart. Of course, this doesn't guarantee that they'll be around forever. They certainly won't sustain that growth rate indefinitely, and when they level off, they'll have to make serious adjustments to stay profitable. I'm betting they're here for the long haul, but I'm hedging my bet by buying a few spare parts and putting them away. (My guess is that five years from now GO be bought by one of the big boys like Weber or Char Broil. All the principles will walk away as 10-million aires.)

I forgot to mention that the grill seems to be of first-class construction. Everything works well and has a feel of quality. So far I've had no problems with flame-up, but I haven't been cooking super-fatty meat.

The only shortcoming from my perspective is lack of any temperature sensor. At GO's suggestion, I bought a Grill Care thermometer from Wal-Mart. I had to drill a 7/8-inch hole in the top casting to install it. LoweÂs sells a hole-saw type bit (a cylinder with bi-metal teeth around the bottom) for $12.95 that has a half-inch shank to fit your half-inch drill's chuck. It's a cinch to drill the hole if you have those tools. The thermometer was about $14 and is a high-quality item worthy of the grill. Drilling the hole does not void the warranty.

One impressive thing about Great Outdoors is their customer service. Send them an e-mail, and you get a prompt and courteous response. They seem to have their act together in that vein.

Is this the perfect grill, thermometer aside? No, I think the perfect grill is all stainless -- it doesn't rust, and it doesn't need paint. But such items are extremely expensive. I sent GO an e-mail saying that I wished they'd take the all aluminum design and supplement it with stainless to eliminate painting -- a bullet-proof grill at a more affordable price than end-to-end stainless. The manager, Linn Anne Rowe, said they were looking at a design like that. We'll see.

Meanwhile, you can have your Webers and similar-quality, simlarly priced grills. I believe the Great Outdoors grills are best in class -- hands down.

Tim Naff

I did purchase a Great Outdoors Grill.So far it has worked flawless.It has solid construction & perfoms well,even in windy conditions.I do keep a spray bottle with me while grilling.It has been a great purchase for me & my family!No complaints.

I saw the BOL GO grill (4000?) at Walmart yesterday. After viewing the GO website, and seeing the grill, it looks like the H-burner on this model is cast iron, not brass. There also is no rear-rotisserie burner, which may be a drawback for some (it is for me). Other than that it looks like a well designed compact grill, for a reasonable price ($200).

I am very interested in a GO grill since I live in Florida along the coast and end up replacing grills every couple of years. I was wondering if anyone out there who owns one can tell me how it cooks? hot spots or lots of flare ups? And how well does the rotisserrie work? From looking at the GO website, it doesn't seem to have a "drip guard" over the burner that you typically see on most grills.

Thanks for you help!

I just purchased a Great Outdoors grill. I've only used it once... however I can tell you that it seems to work quite well. I purchased a Model 1000, their web site does not list this model, but from what I can tell it is the same as the Model 8000, only it has a cast IRON burner rather then cast brass, everything else is identical. I purchased mine at Menard's on sale for $300, that was like $97 off the original price. To my surprize there is a grill cover included in the package, a $50 value... All in all I think this grill is quite nice for what I paid.

The cooking temperature seems to be quite uniform over at least 90% of the grill, most of the heat is concentrated in two sections that are slightly larger then one square foot each, and are located above each side of the H style Burner. Around the parimeter of these two hotest spots the temperature falls off just a little bit. I am quite confident that I can learn to use the cooler spots to my adventage being that it's really rather predictable due to the burners shape.

This grill uses ceramic bricketts, rather then a 'flame tammer' arangnment. My only esperiance thus far has been in cooking several pounds of chicken theighs, flare up was minimal for this.

My grill does not come with a rotisserrie so I can not comment on that...

I had been considering a Virco Mark VII fully stainless grill, for $400. I had previously had my in on the $600 Bakers & Chefs Members Mark grill from Sam's club as well. The grill I've used most recently at home was a Ducane "Take it or leave it" model, wich I thought was going to be my last grill purchase for many years. The Ducane turned out to be a great disapointment for me. The other grills I was looking at seem like nice grills, but in the end due to budget constraints mostly, I chose the Great Outdoors Grill I bought because of it's exceptional value and quality construction.

I would not have purchased this grill, or even the model 8000 for $400... I would have purchased the Virco Mark VII, at at total cost of $450 (after I paid shiping), as I think it would be a better value at those prices.

One other thing that pushed me towards my purchase is the fact that I beleive I can buy some Weber Stainless Steel cooking grates for $50 that will fit quite nicely into my GO Model 1000 grill... and with the $150 I saved over the Virco grill, I can do this easly, and even buy a few other things. Not to mention I acutally prefer the ceramic bricketts vs. the SS flame tammer arangements on the Virco...

Anyway... if your reading this, sometime near the time I'm writing this... and your looking for a good value in a great grill... Head down to your local Menard's and see if they have one of these on sale like my local Menard's does... I think it's simply the best grill around for $300. Heck I could buy two for the price of a Members Mark grill from Sam's Club... and almost three for the price of the Virco Clasic from Costco (which no one has in stock any longer and mail order would take another $250 (Ouch)).

Well... I hate porcelin cooking grates... too fragile for my tastes... So I went out and purchased some Stainless Steel cooking grates designed to fit a Weber Genisis Gold grill. These grates measure 12" x 17.25", there are two in a package for $45. The Great Outodoors Model 1000 and 8000 have space that is about 17.5" x 25", the Weber grates fit in these GO grills nearly perfectly... Only about one inch that is not completely covered by the Weber SS grates, and if you split the differance that is only 1/2" on each side... Close enough to a perfect fit for me...

I'll keep my porcelin grates that came with the GO grill for an emergency of some sort... Or maybe I'll sell them on ebay... :) ha ha ha...

I prefer stainless grates mainly because I can use sand paper on them if I want to, and basicly won't hurt them. I measured the GO grill before I purchased it, and I knew I could easly replace the grates with the Weber ones if I wanted too...

Another follow up on my purchase. I spoke with Great Outdoors today... I called them to find out the cost of replacment parts.

I was intrested in the cost of a venturi tube, rock grate, and also the cost of a cast brass burner.

A new venturi tube is $7.00, a gasket for it is $.50. A rock grate is $12.50. I was interested in these items, because to me, they seem like the only items on this entire grill that would likely need replacing over then next 20 years or so. I like this company and their product but I am not at all sure if they will indeed be around 15 years from now, so I figured if I purchased these parts as spares I'd be all set for a LONG time. I guess it's also true that if they are around in 15 years, these are some of the only parts that are not covered by at least a 25 year warranty. I'd also have parts to get me by while I await deleivery of replacment parts.

Mostly out of curriosity, I asked about the cost of a cast brass burner to replace the cast iron that came on my grill... $57.50 gets you a cast brass burner, and it comes complete with venturi tube, gasket, and screws.

Oh, and the price on these parts includes the cost of shipping... Heck it probably cost them $15 to ship that brass burner...

I'm seriously tempted to just order me a cast brass burner and spare rock grate. This way when my cast iron burner is ready for a cleaning, I'll just swap it out with the brass one...

My father is in the market for a new grill too, to replace the Ducane that I convinced him to buy 4 years ago... If he should buy one of these Great Outdoors grills, I'd give him the extra cast iron burner I would have...

All total the Great Outdoors Blackstone 1000 grill on sale at Menard's right now for $300 is still a better deal then buying a Model 8000 anywhere else I know of... even if you should decide to buy yourself a brass burner to replace the cast iron one... Heck it's still a better deal if you also want to replace the porcelin cooking grates with Weber stainless steel ones, like I choose too.

Anyone want to buy some once used porcelin cooking grates and a twice used cast iron burner for a Blackstone 1000? $30 pluss shipping and their yours...

I have had a Great Outdoors 1000 for 20+ years that is siting 70' from Salt Water. The exterior is as good as new. I have just replaced the cast burner and the rock grate; other than that its great and is used 3-4 times a week year round. Other grills had never lasted over 3-4 years at best, Salt got the best of them, including a Weber. I wouldn't want any thing else. You can purchase any needed parts from Clagrills in Ark. with free shipping. They are also a great company.

This is an old thread but hoping to found an answer here :-) I have a Great Outdoors 8500L grill, purchased on a close-out by my brother in 2003 or 2004. It has worked flawessly for many years but for reasons unknown, the small flame openings along the front edge of the H shaped dual flame cast brass burner deteriorated and there is a 3 inch long opening where there used to be small holes. The right side of the grill is not lighting - not sure if this is why. I want to clean the Venturi tubes and replace the burner with a cast iron part (the original brass part is no longer available - company went defunct in 2003 and those parts are long gone. I have an owners manual, which shows removing the small screws that secure the Venturi tubes underneath, then just lifting out the burner. Burner won't budge. Diagram shows no securing screws underneath. Is it just gummed up with congealed and dried grease drippings? If any of you have experience with this - your feedback will be greatly appreciated!

I believe there may be 4 phillips head screws (with a 1/4 inch hex head) that are holding it in as is the case with my Great Outdoors Blackstone 1000 cast iron H-burner. FYI, you may want to check marbeck.com for a replacement burner and venturi kit which is about $38 and similar based upon the drawings to what's selling on other websites for $10-30 more. I believe it fits the 8000 too. Make sure you get the venturi even if yours is OK because (as I found out) the screw holes are larger and in a slightly different location. Also, be aware that it's 15.5" which is slightly smaller than the original equipment but should work fine.