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Who’s your Grill Daddy? [Product Review]

(Note: This is NOT a paid article, but I did receive a free Grill Daddy to review)

Usually I just review personal finance books here at CleverDude.com, but since my tagline includes “Life”, I leave it open to writing about anything. Also, since I own BuildingNutrition.com, I get requests to review nutritional or food-related products (although I’m really lax on actually writing the review). This time, I was contacted by public relations for the Grill Daddy (WARNING: auto-play video) brand of products to test out their grill brush.

It’s one of those “As Seen on TV”-type of products that I decided to see if it really works. Since I worked at McDonald’s for a few years, I know what a real, heavy-duty grill brush/scraper is like as far as look and feel, so I had some assumptions about what this consumer product would be like…and I was right.

Three versions of Grill Daddy

According to the marketing materials, there are 3 versions of the Grill Daddy. I just tried out the “original” version:

• Grill Daddy: The quintessential tool for camping in the woods, beachside bonfire, tailgating or a summer evening barbeque with friends. At 14 inches long, the Grill Daddy is designed for smaller, compact travel grills, great for tailgating, and retails for $19.99.
• Grill Daddy Pro: Is the ultimate dream cleaner for the BBQ competitor, serious Chef and/or the ultimate griller. The Grill Daddy Pro is both easy to use and affordable at $24.99 and is great for cleaning large grills; it is perfect for today‘s hottest restaurants or for a large backyard barbeque party.
• Grill Daddy Platinum:: For the discerning chef and design devotee. Crafted from timeless metal alloy, the new sleek design of the mid-sized Grill Daddy enjoys all the features and benefits of the original Grill Daddy and is available for $49.99. It’s the ultimate grilling tool that combines performance and luxurious design. Great gift item for housewarming, bridal shower, and father’s day, etc.

Grill Daddy Build Quality

The “magic” of the Grill Daddy is that it holds water which you can release onto the grill as you brush. More on this later.

Given the pricing point (even at $20), I assumed I would get a plastic-molded contraption rather than a heavy-duty metal device. I was right that it was plastic, but it was a little thicker than I thought it would be, which is good for its longevity. However, it’s basically just two molded plastic sides attached together down the middle. I worry that with enough accidental drops, the seams will start to separate, thus rendering it useless as it wouldn’t hold water anymore. Only time will tell though.

The bristles ARE heavy-duty. There’s a large square brush on the main head; turn it over to find a thin row of long bristles for getting gunk between the grill bars. I know if I scraped myself with either brush that I would be hurting. But I expect a stiff wire brush on my grill brush, so overall I would rate the bristles average to above-average.

Does the Grill Daddy work?

Now for the verdict. I used the Grill Daddy during two ocassions, and both times it cleaned my grill well. I filled it up with water, opened the nozzle and scrubbed away. The water hit the grill, sizzled and helped wash down the stuff I was scraped off.

BUT, it did NOT clean my black grill into a sterling silver clean finish. It wouldn’t do that because the grill was painted black to begin with. If you think the brush is going to do miracles with your dirty grill, think again. It’s a brush with water added, not a pressure washer.

Final Verdict

While the brush itself was strong and effective, and the added water did help clean the grill more quickly and efficiently, in reality there are cheaper methods than spending $20 on a water-filled grill brush. You could spend $10 on a decent brush at a grill shop, or even Wal-mart, and just buy a $1 spray bottle at the dollar store. It’s a two-pronged approach, but since I worry about the durability of the two halves of plastic falling apart, getting a non-water-filled brush would give you more flexibility in choice.

I hate to bash a product whose PR was so friendly to me, but in reality the Grill Daddy is just a gimmick. It works just as well as any other grill brush, but at a higher price. Heck, you can buy 3-4 of these Rubbermaid brushes at full price for one Grill Daddy.

Personally, I’ll still with the cheap brushes and just toss some water from a cup while I scrub. But that’s just me. What are your opinions?