MMG1000 30,000-BTU Master Grill, Green

I absolutely love this grill. Looks great, works great, if it weren't for one small problem it'd be the perfect thing. When I got mine, I took my time setting it up exactly like the instructions said. Unfortunately, the flange joint that holds the top onto the base was mismanufactured - the holes don't line up. I was sure it was my error, but the more I looked at it the plainer it became. One side fit perfectly to the base, the other simply did not. I've managed to use it thus far without much issue, but it really makes moving the unit difficult. From what i've read this should be pretty rare, but it was the one I got.

The WORST grill ever. The first one I ordered rusted out while being covered in my shed for one winter. They sent me a replacement, and it is currently falling apart in my backyard and holding on by threads. The rivets broke on the top, so now I can't even move it. Pure garbage and terrible customer service. No wonder they went out of business...

*****See Update Below****** Having now had this grill for over a year, I would describe it as a decent quality grill for a fair price. I use this grill frequently, probably twice a week or more, even in winter. If you are an occasional user, you may find this a more ideal product. The Good Points- 1) It looks great and is perfect if you don't want and over testosteroned massive stainless grill on your property. 2) The quality and functionality is decent. 3) If you get a hold of a real person at Minden, they are very nice and will go out of their way to help you. 4) Heats up very quickly. The Bad Points- 1) You MUST purchase separately the stainless steel grate. The included enameled grate will wear out in less than one season. 2) The wood handle will also become moldy in less than a season. I extended it's life by using some spray varnish on it, but I would still prefer the stainless steel one (which I've seen at Williams-Sonoma on a version of this grill that only they sell). 3) The spatter plates become quickly rusty. Minden was nice enough to send me (essentially for free) 3 stainless steel ones. 4) Some of the bolts which hold the unit together become rusty over time, they should be made of stainless steel, but they aren't. 5) The grill does not evenly heat, and has hot and cold spots, which over time if you understand where they are you can compensate for them. They really have the makings of a great grill with some small modifications, I would encourage them to change some parts to stainless steel (described above) and attempt to resolve the unevenness of the heating surface. ******UPDATE April 8, 2012******** After having this grill for about two years, I sadly have to conclude that it's not something I would buy again. The rust has continued to the point where critical functioning parts are failing. The bracket for the trough which supplies gas from burner to burner has failed, causing the trough to fall off. I've managed to stick it back using some rocks so I can still use the grill. The hot and cold spot issue seems to have gotten worse, and it's also now hard for me to get the grill started without pressing the start button 10 or 15 times. Additionally, the threaded plastic gas tank hookup broke in half, and I had to replace it with a new one. After doing some math, I've concluded that the cost of ownership of this grill is simply too high. At 479, lasting two years, means 249/year (this does not include the MANDATORY cost of buying the Stainless Steel Grate) ***Conclusion: I've pretty much settled on purchasing the American Outdoor Grill Model 25PC (with back burner). It's basically the same physical size, but at 1650 is considerable more expensive. However, nearly every part on the grill is guaranteed for 10 years, with some parts being guaranteed for longer. Even if one figures that the all stainless steel, made in America grill will last for 10 years, the cost of ownership per year is only $165.

I bought this grill from Amazon 2 years ago. It cost a lot less than today (30% less and was sent via free ground shipping even with its 130 lb. weight). I saw it on display at a Smith & Hawken store and I liked its compact footprint and clean design. I grill only occasionally and I did not want a huge grill taking over my patio space. It looked nicer than most other grills I found on display in stores. I liked that you could use both side tables. Many grills I saw used put the dials on the side table, which renders one table useless. I liked that there are options to further customize the grill with a side burner, ice bucket, plastic or bamboo cutting board/surface, but even today I have not ordered these. This is the first grill I've purchased. Assembly was not easy, but it was certainly not difficult. It took about 90 minutes and some very heavy lifting. I also considered the Weber Genesis grill but its schematic looked like the Space Shuttle and I envisioned wasting two days to assemble it. It was frustrating to get this thing to light at first. I later discovered that I needed to put the dial about 1/2 inch left of the 'IGN" mark. I found that cooking is uneven, particularly between the flame lines. It's important to note that the flames do not extend the full width of the firebox, which means the front 1/5th of the grill will not get very hot at all, so you actually lose some cooking surface. Today I read Consumer Reports' June 2010 review which put this grill last in the small/portable category with just "good" in all categories. I have to agree. Note on delivery: The company is based in Nevada and I live in California. I incorrectly assumed that this product would ship either from the manufacturer or Amazon's Reno warehouse. Wrong. It was shipped from PA which meant it took about 10 days to arrive. No big deal since I was not in a rush. However, when it arrived there was large dent on the bottom and the back side was bent. The box looked like it had fallen off a truck or been kicked around like a soccer ball (a 129 lbs ball). Amazon replaced it without any problem or hassle and they even answered the phone and a very courteous agent emailed me a UPS pickup label. But it took 5 days for UPS to pick up the return and another 10 days to get the replacement.

I received the product with the incorrect item inside the box. I ordered a red grill but there was a green one inside the box. The outside of the box indicated the item inside should be red, so this was obviously a packaging problem somewhere. I had little time for the exchange as I had ordered the grill for an upcoming party. When I called Amazon to discuss the issue, at first the customer service rep said that they could just ship out a replacement for us with quick delivery( I don;t remember if it was next day or 2 day delivery but it was a short period). Then she said no she could not do that because Amazon no longer stocks this product. Later the product manufacturer told me they just sent a huge shipment to Amazon for this product when I called about a question on the setup. When I asked the Amazon Customer Service Rep whether Amazon could arrange a shipment from one of the other online vendors that it advterises this product for on Amazon which indicated they had the item in stock, she said no. I had to explain myself several times before she understood my request. When it finally came down to it, she said they could make those arrangements but that she could not guarantee next day delivery...even though she never even contacted one of those vendors to ask if it was possible...Then she told me we would have to pay extra charges if we wanted the correction made with a quick shipment. I finally ran out of time to deal with the person on the phone and the incorrect item and decided to keep it. It was a very frustrating 30-45 minutes of my time with the customer service person who was a very bad listener, kept interrupting me and talking over me and was not willing to attempt to look for creative solutions to the problem. Putting the grill together was a moderately sized task. It was designed for everything to fit together precisely and if there are any deviations in the alignment or if the product is slightly bent in spots, as mine was, you have to try to bend the parts or redrill bigger holes... All in all it took about an hour and were unable to get at least one of the screws into the product ...The final product is great though. We use the grill at least 3 days a week and love it. It heats up very well and fast and it looks great. I would suggest one enhancement to the product, if the left and right 'side tables' could collapse down to the sides or tuck into the back somehow, it would be ideal for making it less obtrusive in smaller spaces like ours.

This is a very good bare bones grill. It is compact and doesn't take a lot of room. This was important to me as I have a small patio. I didn'twant one of those monstrosities with the side burners you never use. This is all they seem to carry at the major stores. It was easy to assemble (less than 1/2 hour). It works perfectly and cooks just right. I am very pleased with the purchase and would recommend this product to anyone needing a compact, no frills grill for a reasonable price. Also from what I understand and for what it's worth, Minden is owened by Char Broil.

Don't do it, this grill always heated VERY unevenly. The gas hose is custom and you can't get a replacement. They have retired their website.

I ordered this but dreaded assembly. I'm not too good with such things. The website said box to grilling in 30 minutes. I have to say this is close, but it tool me an hour. 16 screws, one tool (provided) are all that's needed. Really. The actual hardest part was getting the fire box open as it was stuffed with the side tables and other parts. It did open eventually. Once unpacked, it really took 30 minutes. A couple final good things. The box sat it my back yard for two rainy days. I kind of dreaded opening it, but all the interior parts were plastic-bagged, so the rain did no damage. Second, the ignitor worked immediately on the first try. Never had that happen with a grill before. I cooked burgers and dogs for Father's Day that evening and the grill gets very hot and seems even. I was impressed. Now we see how it stands up, but I am not worried given all the quality items above, and the fact that I bought and will religiously use the canvas cover.