Grillbot Automated Grill Cleaning Robot REVIEW Takes care of the grunt work
Grillbot does the cleaning so you can enjoy the cooking.
I grew up in a grill using family. When the weather was nice we would spend a lot of time on the patio while my dad grilled up hamburgers, steaks, chicken…pretty much anything that you could grill. I remember watching him scrub the grill grates clean before each use and thought what a dirty job that was to do. It was even dirtier when it was my turn to take over as grillmaster in my own home. As much as I love grilling, I hate cleaning the grill even more. No matter how I’ve tried to go about doing it, it always seems to make a huge mess and I just don’t feel like going through the trouble every time I want to grill out. Fortunately, there are others who feel the same way I do and they happened to create Grillbot, an automated grill cleaning robot.
Grillbot is a fully automated robot that cleans your grill at the push of a button. It is designed to use with any style grill and Grillbot even provides different options for brushes. It comes with brass brushes pre-installed but stainless steel and nylon brushes are available as well. The bot is powered by a rechargeable battery and a CPU that controls its movement, speed, and direction of brushes. There is a small LCD display that shows the cleaning time and battery level. The default timer is set for 10 minutes, but you can add time in 10-minute increments up to 30 minutes total. The brushes rotate and move around your grill to scrub off the grease and grime left by your food. The brushes are designed to be removable so that you can replace them when they’ve worn down. They are also washable. You simply remove them and place them in your dishwasher.
When I was first introduced to this little robot, I really didn’t think it would do a good job. I thought it was ‘kitschy’ and that it would just touch the surface of the grill. I was quickly proven wrong when we did a quick demo on our personal grill (see the video above). We have a medium sized infrared grill that has non-stick grates to it. At the end of last season, we did not clean it off before covering the grill for the winter. Needless to say, there was plenty for the Grillbot to clean. We set the Grillbot on the grill and started a 10-minute cleaning cycle. Since we were testing the device, we did open the lid of the grill a couple of times to see its progress and I have to admit that it does a really good job of cleaning the grates. I did notice that there was still some muck left in between the grates, but I would expect longer cleaning cycles might knock some of that off. I would also recommend that you carefully clean your grill between uses so that the dirt doesn’t build up as it did on ours.
Grillbot is really a great device and I’m really glad that I’ve gotten the chance to use it. I love the idea that there is a tiny robot doing the dirty work for me so that I can enjoy the fun of grilling again. As easy as the Grillbot is to use, there are a few tips that I want to pass along.
- Be sure to fully charging your Grillbot before its first use. The manual states it can take up to 8 hours to complete so don’t expect to use it out of the box.
- Clean your brushes between uses. Since they snap off and can be cleaned in the dishwasher, there is no reason not to drop them in the next load.
- Look after your brushes. Grillbot recommends replacing the brushes once a season or after 100 uses. That said, if you notice that the bristles are starting to break away, you should replace them immediately.
- Close the cover to your grill when you are running Grillbot. Even though some grills have a lip on them, Grillbot could still hop off the edge and cause damage or even injury. Remember, those spinning brushes are sharp and can hurt!
- You can use the Grillbot on a warm grill, but not a hot one. It’s suggested that the easiest time to clean a nonstick grill is when the surface is still slightly warm. This is ok, but make sure that it’s lower than 250º or your Grillbot could get damaged. Grillbot is equipped with sensors that will alert you when it’s too hot for operation.
I have been really impressed with Grillbot. It makes the most of my time and is an efficient assistant on the grill. At $130, this robot is a really strong investment if you like to grill. Grillbot comes in four colors – black, red, orange, and blue. The standard package only includes the Grillbot and its charger, but you can order extra brushes or even bundle the Grillbot with a case through Grillbot’s website.