My new Blackstone 36" With Air Fryer

[Alan Brice]

I would call that half priced! Excellent score! Shame on you Panhead John ; - ))

[Panhead John]

I’ll never forgive myself for that…..😢

[Panhead John]

Bruce…..😂

ACTUAL TEXT EXCHANGE BETWEEN ME AND DAVID…..

[Alan Brice]

Sheesh PJ, you nearly broke his arm off n beat him with it. lol

[58limited]

Talked with Blackstone customer support. They normally do not warrant the demo units but they made an exception and are sending the entire gas manifold with the four valves for no charge - they don't have individual replacement valves. I'll be able to keep the original for spares.

[JoeDorn]

They were preventing a potential very costly law suit due to poor quality control or engineering... Sometimes bad things aren't so bad...

[fzxdoc]

Sweet!

[xrodbob]

An epic score with spare parts to boot! Buy a lottery ticket!!!!

[58limited]

The replacement manifold came in on Friday and I installed it today. There were no instructions and, since I'm a man and I was already outside, I didn't try to find any instructions on Blackstone's website or youtube. The process actually went pretty smoothly.

Take the front panel off which also involves removing the front two shelf brackets on each side. Take of the rear access panel (no pics) and then disconnect the rubber hose and the flexi-hose from the manifold - a lot easier than trying to feed everything through the small gaps.

Tools: Phillips and slot screwdrivers, a 5/32 Allen wrench for the bracket screws, two 14mm and one each 16 mm and 19mm wrenches, and a crescent wrench to remove the plastic retaining nut from the igniter.



Front panel off, easy access at this point. On the right side a flexi-hose attaches to supply the air fryer. It is held on with a 19mm nut and has a 16 mm hex on the manifold to stabilize while loosening the nut. On the left the rubber hose from the propane tank connects - same fitting. The flexi-hose feeds down the right side and you can access the air fryer orifice to connect or disconnect the flexi-hose from the back.



The orifice for the air fryer has a 14mm nut and 14 mm hex to stabilize for removal. Note that Blackstone said that they do not have a natural gas conversion for this model because of the air fryer. I think it would be very easy to convert and now that I have an extra I think I'll try it.



The valve body looks just like the ones I've rebuilt on antique stones. I'm going to take it apart and see if it can be fixed.



First seasoning - I used avocado oil.

[jfmorris]

Looks good! All I use for my griddle is avocado oil.

[58limited]

First cook: Force of Nature brand Wild Boar Chorizo (honestly, too much clove and cinnamon for my tastes), store bought frozen diced potatoes, and diced onions and jalapenos. Before you ask, the store didn't have O'Brien-style potatoes.



OK for a first cook, I need to learn the burner settings better.





I scrambled an egg in my wok instead of on the Blackstone. Topped with Kent Rollin's Cowboy Chutney (sweet and smokey chipotle) and some mozzarella.

[jfmorris]

Looks great!

Don't be scared of doing the eggs on the griddle. The biggest thing is to pour slowly and build a "dam" of eggs that holds the rest in. And sometimes use your spatulas to dam things up until the eggs start to set. They get done fast too as they tend to spread out pretty thin.

You can also put a small skillet on the griddle top if you have room, to do the eggs in, and keep them contained.

[58limited]

I'm impressed with Blackstone's customer service. The LPG hook and associated screws were missing so I called them up to order. They are sending them out for free as well i offered to pay but they said no.

Ordered a cover for the griddle on Amazon - Blackstone and Walmart are both out - and it arrived today. Just in time for forecast rain tomorrow thru Friday.

[58limited]

I ordered some wind guards off of amazon and installed them this weekend, made a difference in the heat by the shelves and the griddle got hotter closer to the right and left edges.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BV9WDF7Q?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details&th=1

[jfmorris]

I kinda wonder if they vent that excess heat at each end just to keep the griddle temps more even. On my griddle (Camp Chef) I also find the two ends to run hotter than the rest of the surface, so I put the end burners half a setting lower than the rest of them. I usually run the ends on Low, center burners on Med-Low, and it works out pretty evenly.

[58limited]

jfmorris It was windy when i was seasoning the griddle and during the first cook. The left end was cool and the right end was hotter but not as hot as over the right burner. The wind did blow really hot air over the right shelf. With the wind guards the griddle starts smoking even on low but everything cooked pretty evenly. Blackstone was out of 36" wind guards so i bought the ones on amazon.

[rlozinak]

Congrats on the new cooker and glad that Blackstone took care of you.