List Price: $322.39
Sale Price: $185.25
Today's Bonus: 43% Off
What a great grill! I used it 4 times now and it's the best small gas grill I have ever used (and I am a grill-a-holic). The quick connect hose that comes with the grill works great with my Jayco TT that came equiped with the quick connect fitting underneath. Sure is cost effective not having to use those small LP cylinders. So far I have not found any hot spots, but I do use a piece of aluminum foil on top of the cast iron drip plate which makes cleaning a snap! Priced at just over $200.00, shipping included, it was the best bargain I found anywhere.
Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>
I bought this after much experience with Blue Rhino, Weber, and others. They were all too big, too small, too heavy, too cold, difficult to clean, low quality, all kinds of faults.With the Camco, I've found a "sweet spot". It's big enough, light enough, hot enough, and just-barely okay-priced (for me).
Pros: small/compact but enough cooking area, light weight, great heat, well-built; A unique and effective cast-iron cooking grate under the grill.
Cons: needs a regulator for using a propane tank; quirky base/stand for free-standing operation, finicky spark-lighting adjustment
The Weber Q200 was the best grill I've owned prior to this. Fairly even heat with a large cast-iron grill. But BIG, and HEAVY, it took up way too much space in my RV storage locker. The Camco fits CROSSWISE in the same cargo space and takes up 1/4 of the space for 3/4 of the cooking area. The Weber, despite its huge cast-iron grill, did have hot and cold spots. But the Camco has the cast iron just above the burner, where it effectively spreads the heat out evenly and uniformly, about 1.5" under the cooking grill.
The Camco grill is easy to remove and replace. The cast-iron heat grate is a pain, you can't fit your fingers under it and still get it in or out. As a consequence, you end up using a screwdriver (or something) to lever it out, and then you tend to drop it in not a good idea on the spot-riveted mounting brackets, which will eventually break loose under the repeated banging. I think what I'm going to do is drill out two of the holes in the grate to finger-size so I can get the grate in and out without a "tool".
Mounting: the vertical/horizontal mounting brackets simply engage a 1/2" rod-set; elegant and simple. You do have to hold the 25-pound BBQ for a few extra seconds to get the rods aligned and engaged. But this is better than setting that 40-pound Weber down into the feet-slots on its table, and easier on my back. Also, this mounting system just begs for innovation in a custom designed setup, and I'm dreaming of different ways to make a free-standing base that works a little better and is just a bit higher.
Storing: well, it's strange all right. The bottom of the unit is V-shaped, which makes for fantastic draining and cleanup, but is a pain for just sitting down on a flat surface. So you can store it on its back edge (and listen to all the clanging and banging as the internal parts bash around) and have the remaining grease in the drip pan drool out the side. Or you can build up a little wooden cradle to rest it in (my current idea), or maybe a short-rod-rack to engage the mounting brackets. I'm still cogitating on this one. Bothersome issue, but once solved it'll be fine.
All in all, I like what I've got, and look forward to a lot of outdoor cooking on it. I'll have to experiment, as with any new tool, to find the right settings and times -that's part of the fun. I gave it 5 stars because, although it has a few idiosyncrasies to deal with, and is far from perfect, a 4-star rating was just too harsh.
UPDATE October 2013
I'm still happy with this grill, moreso because I've made a custom stand for it. I used the stock steel bars and mounting points, but I drilled out some oak planks to create a slender, lightweight base. The bars and planks pivot just enough to mate all 4 feet on any flat or uneven surface. An extra bonus is that a 10-pound propane cylinder fits right under the grill and above the base, making an excellent space-efficient setup.
Best Deals for Camco 57305 Olympian 5500 Stainless Steel Portable Grill
We've got a camping trip this weekend with a crowd of 11 for dinner. This grill seemed perfect, that is until we mounted it to the camper. The tack welds for the cover and the burner broke upon installation. Even if the grill makes a great steak or burger, it's hard to justify $200 for something so poorly made.1 year later: From 1 star to 2 stars. We got our replacement with no hassle. The second grill was constructed much better. However, we bought this grill because we liked the stainless steel look. Upon first use, it turned brown on the outside because it runs so hot. The entire grill is brown and black now. It's very hard to regulate the temperature. Use your money to buy something else.
Honest reviews on Camco 57305 Olympian 5500 Stainless Steel Portable Grill
the cast aluminum model camco makes ... the Camco 57310 RV Olympian 5100 Elite Grill... does everything this one does...is much more robustly constructed... and is 1/3 the price.any questions? ;-)
Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Camco 57305 Olympian 5500 Stainless Steel Portable Grill
After unpacking and separating the parts, I started to read the assembly directions. I quickly noticed that the welding spots on the grill were broken. The welding spots were very small and inadequate for the size and weight of the grill. The prior reviews did mention this, but I thought I would give it a try. The welding spots that came loose were in two places. 1) At the bottom where there is a piece of medal that you put a screw into that holds the burner. 2) On the grill lid, there is a plate that it attaches to which pivots the lid open and closed. This plate had weld spots that came lose, so the grill lid would not stay attached to the grill.I should have returned it, but the box was in bad shape and didn't want to mess with the hassle of returning a large box. So I spent 5 hours instead drilling holes and screws into the parts where the welds were broken. After I was done, I should have just returned it.
I did hook it up to my camper and it did light and looks like it will work just fine now, if the screws I added will hold up to the heat. If they don't, it goes in the trash and I am going to buy a Weber and find a quick connect attachment somewhere.
No comments:
Post a Comment