BLACKSTONE 1620 3-in-1 Kabob Charcoal Grill, Barbecue, Smoker, with Automatic Rotisserie

This is an initial review.. the package arrived well protected no scratched or broken parts. Assembly was fair low to moderate effort. The structure is strong and really heavy for its size. The grill works great for kabob meal. If your main meal is smoked then this is probably not the right grill for you. If it's kabob then this is the perfect grill. In between comes all types of meal and meats. The idea works great. Not sure why nobody thought of this before. Few minor no problem remarks. The motor has asymmetric mounting casusing some irregular motion. I believe this is intentional to allow easy plug in. Could be better though. The size is slightly less than medium for a grill could be bigger. The wheels are small for the weight , more effort to push. These are very minor and don't reduce my rating. I gave them 5/5 for the functionality and the built quality and the successful implementation. This should encourage other manufacturers to diversify their grill lines. Yet to be seen is how long term usage affects the grill built and durability.

I was looking for the grill that would perfectly match my needs for grilling steaks and shish kabob or shashlik - in an Eastern European and Arabian/Asian style of grilling. This grill perfectly matches my need and even exceed it. First of all - quality is great - had no any issue described by other buyers during assembly. Second - design - is peace of engineering with user oriented approach. All the grill does not have any useless stuff lake most of the grill have. Every detail in it made in purpose. Regarding quality of meat - going to heat very quick , but I am using chimney to light up my coal, temperature is high enough to make a perfect stake. Shish kabob functionality - put it, turn spinning rotisserie and forget for twenty - thirty minutes, make it a big deal, comparing anything else in that segment. And price- what a joke less then $200 - you getting great grill , rotisserie, 11 premium skewers and cast iron grates - unbeatable! I would highly recommend this grill to anyone who want to use it for kabob and other meat cooking on a natural coal.

I've had my kabob grill for almost a year now, The grill has so much potential, big skewers and a motor that can handle the workload. However, there are too many problems to make this grill worth it. First, the grill grates are junk, they rusted over after the first cook, I seasoned them properly but unless you're going to take them inside after each use, they are going to rust. (I called Blackstone to get replacement grates and they're 10.00 each, Blackstone refused to warranty the grates). The surface on the grates are incredibly rough and makes it almost impossible to get a good seasoning. I used a grinder on my second set to somewhat smooth out the surfaces. Secondly, the thin metal on the bottom of the grill isn't thick enough to absorb the heat from coals, my grill started showing heat damage almost immediately on the bottom. Third, the base the coal rests on has the ability to be adjusted up or down. This is a great idea but in reality, it only moves about 6 inches, not enough to make any difference. I have two other Blackstone products, I love my flat top griddle and use it at least three times a week, the problem with any Blackstone product is although they have great ideas, they seem to cut a lot of corners when it comes to manufacturing. There customer service is also horrible.

i like the grill overall for what it is, all parts showed up on time like they promised. when opened, I noticed some dents and dings on the cover and on the main body, but that most likely happened during shipping. during assembly, the chimney would not fit in the hole (due to weld point for chimney) I had to grind and bang away at the hole to make the chimney fit flush. the cover also was warped and bent, which I was able to un-warp and un-bent and make it fit. had it all together, checked everything, the charcoal basket rises and lowers like it should...that is until i started to use it. the ash pan warped really bad, due to the charcoal falling through the basket onto the ash pan. the handle to adjust basket height is stuck and wont spin (i was hoping it was because of the heat, but it still stuck next day). other than that, the kabobs and electric motor did work perfectly (rotisserie chicken wings were the bomb!). overall, it is what it is, im still going to use it, but I wouldn't spend $200 if i saw this grill at a store.

i have been doing Kabobs for quiet some time now, and cant stress more on the fact that in order to get the great taste for meats you MUST grill on charcoal , actually any grilling on gas compared to charcoal is a JOKE!!! having said so, its not easy because charcoal is very hard to manage and hence come the above blackstone product to solve the issue. for the following reasons : 1- skewers spacing is ideal , more or less wont help 2- Motor speed is suitable for ground and raw pieces , so Kabobs or Kafta would grill evenly and nicely with such speed 3- MOST IMPORTANT, it does not leak lots of air, of course its not a tight seal smoker, BUT it doesnt leak huge amounts of oxygen like others which make it impossible to manage burning charcoal flames due to fat dripping like every other charcoal grill i tried.. this means that even with the drippings, if you close the dampers , the oxygen would be enough to keep the charcoal burning with no flames ruining your food... for me that's the killer selling point! 4- customer service is great.. had a minor issue with gear box , 1 email sent with order details and complain, 2 days later they responded stating they sent me a replacement gearbox! no questions asked.. for me that was surprising specially that i read customer service was bad on one of the reviews here. 5- Piece of mind.... YES piece of mind.. because you put the skewers on... close the lid.. 10, 20, 30 m later (According to what you are cooking) you will smell the heavenly goodness of the meats.. you go.. open the lid and see the magic done.. as simple as that.. i used to do batches of 5 skewers in a row because you need to keep close eye on it to avoid burns, but with those 11 skewers now i get double the capacity with no effort, no charcoal smell sticking to my body what so ever (not that i hate it but sometimes i feel my neighbors dog will invite himself to take a bite :))) in brief this is very well built, space efficient, easy to assemble and most importantly WORKS.. Thanks Blackstone. NOTE: inserting the skewer inside the rotating holes is challenging, and needs some practice, thats why i gave it 4 starts.. if they find a way to make it easier i would give it 5 and would certify that this is the best product i ever bought on amazon.

For long time I was looking for a charcoal barbecue auto rotisserie grill like this. Thanks, I found one. It came in one nice strong heavy packing. First problem started to move the hy package inside the house. Such heavy package should be in two boxes. Assembly was easy. I recommend four wheels instead of two. This way it will be more mobile. Now actual grilling part. It was some what difficult to fix the front tip of rods into the front holes specially when already rotating. Hope electric motor is strong enough to last long, This is very good to barbecue kabob. & tekka etc. Over all nice grill & I like it. Would recommend to all the grill lovers. can some one advice me how to purchase extra kabob rods?

I use it every other day, it makes grilling very easy and self bastes your meat! I leave most meats spin for 20 mins, basically unattended, my bbq turns out delicious, better than anything I can get at a restaurant. The grill does require a significant time to install, around 2.5-3 hours so be prepared to work. It does have some minor quirks, the spinning of some skewers is not consistent and the grill lets too much air in, even when you have all the vents covered, however this is only a problem if you load it with too much charcoal, which then starts to get flare up. It's a solid performer, day in and day out, highly recommend.

The unit does not have ability to adjust heat or close off air to preserve charcoal. The grates do not clean well - even though I scrape with grill brush each time. Even though I use a cover after every time I use it, including storing it under a covered deck, the grates began rusting on the 2nd or 3rd use. Overall, the grill is a novel idea, but the tightness and charcoal / heat control is majorly lacking. I would not recommend this product.