Interested in Little Griddle Professional Stainless Steel Griddle For BBQ Grills - Large Little Griddle ID # 2872454 Model # GQ230

[Alabama Smoke]

Leaning hard toward the 36" 4 burner Blackstone at this point. Thing is the length (width??) horizontally anyway is about 5.5 feet and the spot I want to put it into on my porch is around 12" or a little more less than that! Wondering just how wide each of those side shelves are..........if I removed one of them I wonder how much room I would need.....betting that might solve my problem. Would someone who has one of these please do two things for me? How difficult would it be to remove one of the shelves? And how wide or long is it horizontally with a shelf removed.

Not asking anyone to remove a shelf, just take a look at how it is mounted and give me an opinion and to measure the cooker as if only one shelf were present. Thanks! Tom

ADDENDUM: I just thought of something important so new question......do these side tables fold down when not in use? If so, the I just need to know the horizontal length with the side table dropped down for storage. I believe that would be problem solved!

[Mr. Bones]

Lemme go out in my motour garage, slap a Stanley tape upside o mine, an I'll report back...
Meanwhile, shelves attach via two bolts with knurled plastic knobs, only takes a few seconds to install / remove...

[Mr. Bones]

Jus went an checked, shelves are ~13 3/16" ea, cooker is (unsurprisinly) ~36" w/o shelves, (+ handle) so total wingspan, shelves on, would be bout ~68 3/8"...
They mebbe take 5 seconds to install / remove. Hope this helps answer yer question, if not, hit me up...

[Alabama Smoke]

Thanks for those measurements Mr. Bones ! If I need to I can always remove a side shelf.......sounds like without even a wrench. So my chosen space for storage will work. Prob work for cookin too ifn (dang it I am starting to type like you!!). Don't want to steal one of your signature items here. And seriously, thanks one more time for all your input! Now I gotta go figure out my next question..............

[Mr. Bones]

Always happy to help out where I can, Brother! Sorry fer bein such a bad influence on yer typin skillz lol I can type, read an even write in perfeckly good yanqui, but it's quite borin, frankly. It's not how I speak, nor is it my native tongue...
Gimme a holler, if I can be of any assistance...

[Alabama Smoke]

My next question! Can anyone tell me if Blackstone has periodic sales, when and how often and whether it might be enough to make waiting for a while a worthwhile endeavor??? Thinking I have made a decision..........

[pkadare]

Some of their models are store exclusive, i.e. Walmart or Ace for example. You might want to keep your eye on them for sales.

[Alabama Smoke]

pkadare by store exclusive are you indicating that prices are determined by each store? Or does this possibly also mean that the models are made for a specific store chain, ie, Walmart and that while prices might be lower, that quality and features might suffer or that the unit might be made differently as a result?

[pkadare]

No, I'm not saying either of the above. Simply put, certain models are only available from certain chains. That doesn't imply that quality suffers at all. They all still have the Blackstone name on them.

[Alabama Smoke]

One more question (sure wish I could come up with all of them at one time and just make a list, but I guess I am not that organized), but REGARDING SEASONING THE COOK TOP:

Now I have seasoned many a cast iron piece and Mr. Bones went into terrific details in his most helpful posts on this subject, but I am wondering........while the cook top surface obviously should be seasoned, does the rest of the top (before installation I would think) need it also to avoid and prevent rust, or is it made of other material such as stainless steel??????

[Mr. Bones]

Yup, I did as pkadare described, but not th underside of th griddle...no rust, so far! Glad ya found my posts useful; there was an awful lotta folks buyin em, at that time, an wonderin jus how to season a griddle, so I endeavoured to make a purty clear, straighforward tutorial, to help them what was new to th wide world of flattops...nice to see it's still helpful.
As always, any questions? I'm rye cheer.

[pkadare]

Mr. Bones - I also did not season the underside of mine. I meant the inside and outside edges of the sides of the cooktop, not the underneath of it. :-)

[Mr. Bones]

pkadare Yup, that was how I interpreted yer post. :-)

[Alabama Smoke]

pkadare, regarding seasoning the top, I meant is the top, not just the cooking surface, but also the entire piece of metal that sits on top of the burners (bottom and everything) made of the same material as the cook surface. If it is, then it seems it might rust if not seasoned also in addition to the cook surface. Seems only the cooking surface would/should be made of the carbon steel because only it would need seasoning for cooking specifically and that the remainder to the material would be made of stainless steel or some other non rust material such as aluminum. Hope this comment makes more sense. Thanks for your help!

[pkadare]

The whole griddle cooktop is made of carbon steel and like Mr. Bones, I did not season the underneath of it, and if you check the Blackstone web site that is one of the FAQs and their answer is no, no need to do so.

[Alabama Smoke]

Looks like they may have gone a a spring sale. Leaning toward this unit shipped to my door. For those who have checked prices lately, how does this look to you or should I hold off looking for a better price?

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Blacksto...-204738097-_-N


This thread turned into a great source for anyone looking for a griddle thanks to several folks whom I will not name individually for fear of leaving someone deserving out, so thanks to everyone who contributed!!


***OR*** for 20 bucks more.....incudes a hard top:

https://www.acehardware.com/departments/outdoor-living/grills-and-smokers/gas-grills/8037617?x429=true&gclid=Cj0KCQjw7qn1BRDqARIsAKMbHDbgHA6zkhwLY2Oiop68_FQqkIwpp2d9760y7GiQjkavWMGAcZFsnf0aAv4sEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

Pros and Cons anyone????

[jfmorris]

I like the propane tank hanger better on the picture of the one at Home Depot. Might be nice to have a top, if you are still getting rid of the gas grill, but not necessary if you aren't, plus - the top means more rear clearance to the wall behind it when you open the lid.

[jfmorris]

The side table on the Home Depot version appear to be easily removed using two big thumb screws on the bottom, then they slide right out the end. The Ace Hardware version has the side tables mounted higher up the side, so they might be bolted on in a similar fashion to the side tables on my Weber gas grill, and require tools to remove and install.

[jfmorris]

Ok, I am thinking the Ace version is more like this one at Walmart, and that it has FOLDING side tables:

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Blackstone-4-Burner-36-Griddle-Cooking-Station-with-Hard-Cover/578992934

Look at the pictures towards the bottom of the page, and you will see one where the table on one side is folded down. Still takes maybe 4-5 inches of space folded looking at the picture.

[Mr. Bones]

Hmmmm, new things to me; never previous seen th shelves w/ utensil hooks on th end, an magnetic strip on front, much less th foldin version...keen stuff to know, many thanks!

[Alabama Smoke]

Thanks for the input jfmorris ! I agree with Mr. Bones in that these are things I had not seen before. Seems it might be time to go take a closeup look at these two. I like the places to hang and/or stick to magnets various cooking utensils, etc. Due to space limitations, I believe that a couple of easy hand mounted bolts to remove a side shelf for storage might be better for me that a folding table that then still sticks out 5 or 6 inches though......also your comment that a mounted top that folds back would take up more space when open looses appeal due to space limitations. Thinking just the soft cover would be best. After all my porch is screened in and roofed so the only weather concern would be blown rain which a soft cover would handle well enough. Oh as to the gas grill, no I am planning to keep both it and the griddle. Maybe a little tight but I need both for different jobs. Truly appreciate the input! Thanks! Tom