Sureheat Sonoma gas grill review

[snapshotmd]

I was at my sister’s place this past weekend and to my surprise she had bought a new SS grill. Well, I just had to cook on it! I did a once over on the grill and it seemed very well constructed with 304 stainless (I did the magnet test, and it didn’t stick) however, most of the joints were held together with rivets. It had a sideburner that didn’t have a cover. The cabinet was made for an LP tank, but the grill was converted over to NG. On the inside were 3 SS tube burners, a solid SS cooking grate, an infrared back burner, and rotisserie. I was asking them both questions about the grill but all they knew was they paid $500 at Costco for it and they could cook burgers with it. I thought it sad that my brother-in-law didn’t even know how many BTUs it put out; “what kind of man are you?!?!?!” The way the thermometer was labeled is interesting. Although I was impressed to see the thermometer’s top temp was 900*F, the identifying zones such as "warming", "grilling", "searing" were IMO wrong. The searing zone corresponded to 700* to 900*. Not only that, but after a half hour of preheating, it maxed out at a little over 600*. According to the meter, I couldn’t sear my steak which is pretty funny. I looked in the back and found that the grill cover didn’t have a back. There was one big hole measuring about 3” tall and went the length of the grill, releasing a lot of heat. Anyway, during preheating, I soaked a frozen NY strip in some warm water just to make the rub I prepared (salt, b. pepper, paprika, garlic powder, and oregano) stick to the meat. I put the steak on and decided to make it look nice with crossing grill lines; I had to impress my sister. After a total of 10 min cooking the steak turned out a beautiful med-well, looking like the steak on the Applebee commercials; it was so juicy and delicious.

After I got home I researched the grill and found that it is a 39K BTU under 480 sq” of main cooking area. It’s made in the US and sold exclusively at Costco.

Compared to my Weber Summit I feel it’s a tad underpowered since it took a while for it to get up to 600*. However, IMHO this is a great grill for the price. It’s pretty much got everything you could ever want in a grill.

Here is a professional review (http://bbq.about.com/od/gasgrillreviews/gr/aa040605a.htm).

snaps

[sharky]

Good review!

[TomKattt]

Nice review, but Derrick Riches, who wrote the review you linked to, says the grill is made in China. The box at Costco, however, says it's made in the US. It sounds like Sureheat is in violation of the law.

Also, I am curious why you would compare this to a Summit. Wouldn't it be closer in comparison to a Genesis?

I talked with the head of marketing for Sureheat and he told me that the grill was made in China in a factory owned by Sureheat. They bought the factory last year so they would be in a position to make mass market stainless steel grills to compete with the likes of Nexgrill and Grand Hall. I'm not too clear on the law but I was personally told the grill comes from China. He even gave me specs on the cargo containers.


Derrick



Derrick Riches
About.com Barbecue & Grilling Guide
bbq.guide@about.com
http://forums.about.com/ab-bbq/messages?msg=2118.27

[snapshotmd]

tomkatt,

You're probably right, but my intent was to compare with something I have experience with. I don't think it's fair to compare numbers and heresay without actual experience.

snaps

[dominogold]

Thanks for posting this. I just saw this grill tonight at Costco. It definitely is a bargain. It is absolutely loaded with features and quality parts.

Here is a link to it:

http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=11045968&whse=BC&topnav=&cat=236&hierPath=114*236*

Note it is sold for $499 at Costco stores on the website it is $679.

It's made by SureHeat and is strikingly similar to the Altima 30" Grill - AGR30PF with several more features added on. The box says both made in the USA and Made in China. lol

I'm thinking about picking one up. With Costco's return policy why not...

[burnsey33]

I received the Sure Heat Sonoma grill for my b-day about three weeks ago. I've had no complaints with the grill. It works great for everyday grilling purposes and I've even used the infrared burner w/rotisserie and have no complaints. The only minor complaint I have is that the side burner is uncovered. The grill does come with a good quality cover, so that's only a minor issue.

[snapshotmd]

As a follow up to my original post, I was just at my sister's place last night and had the privelege of being grillmaster. Her Sonoma grill is in sad shape!
Part of it was from neglect since she hasn't cleaned her grill since she bought it, but she did keep it covered. What I found was sad. After only 2 years of use, 2 of the 3 burners had succumb to rust. The igniter was also rusted out of existence. The middle burner blew out on the far end and acted like a torch. Needless to say, the heat was all over the place with cold and hot spots. She's wondering where will she get replacement parts. I'm so glad I got a Weber.

[sharky]

It's interesting to read how the grill faired over 2 years. I too have seen plenty of "nice looking" grills go the way of rust. I've had a few of them myself. Unfortunately people buy based on size and looks. "Hey if it's this big and $500 it has to be good!" You should tell your sister to take it back to costco and complain. I'm told they will replace it no questions asked.

[TomKattt]

Costco will take that grill back, even after two years of neglect.

I'm glad you posted that followup. I remember a lot of discussions over at the About.Com barbeque site about the Sureheat and other Chinese made grills. They seemed like such good bargains, and it was hard to recommend Webers since feature for price, the Chinese grills offered such a better value.

Sureheat seemed like one of the best of the lot with a reliable American company selling them. But it looks like they are junk. That 304 stainless should not have rusted in just two years.

[TomKattt]

Sharkey, refresh my memory. Didn't your father or FIL get one of these, too? I think you posted about it when it was new. How is that grill holding up?

[sharky]

My dad has a Jenn Air. It's holding up OK but the burner covers/heat diffusers have rusted out and he's pretty prone to flair ups now. I cooked burgers on it a few weeks ago (the cheap frozen kind) and it was a disaster... Though I think it had more to do with the high fat content of the burgers than it did the grill.

[TomKattt]

You're making the Webers sound better and better.