MMG1000 30,000-BTU Master Grill, Green

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.

It's a very compact grill and the heat output is great. The footprint is small and it's well designed. However, the "flavor" bars (not the grate itself) are already showing some rust. My grill is only two months old and I've only used it half a dozen times. I'm disappointed that it's showing rust so quickly. Also, know that there are very noticeable hot and cold spots with this grill just like any other grill- but this is more so than my old Weber. This grill has cold spots closest to the knob side and it's hottest the farther away from the user.