Gasmate Vega Specialist BBQ BQ 8232 – 3 burners

Recommended Retail Price $699.00

‘A compact BBQ!’  Road tested by Ross Yarranton

Again ‘thank you’ to Nick Simpfendorfer from Gasmate for providing us with this BBQ.

The BBQ came in one box, very heavy but at nice to have everything all in one box! Well packed and easily accessible when opened.  I found it was easier to get to everything by pulling all the sides of the box down.

Assembling was very easy and took just over an hour, all the holes lined up I am pleased to say.

A couple of observations though, the ignition system is good and reliable but I am surprised that a flame thrower system isn’t used as it is fairly standard these days. The hood seemed a bit flimsy but I guess cost wise it does the job. A nice big hooded window is great and the overall appearance is pleasing and my wife loved the look and the ‘glass doors’ especially.

One of the advantages of a three burner BBQ is that it is ‘space saving’ and ideal for the apartment or for a small patio, having said I do know from experience that smaller BBQs still cook a lot of food if done systematically. The side burner is a single ring but works well for those frying pan jobs such as fish and chips or stir fries, as it cooks fast and keeps the smoke well away from the house!

I was given a stainless steel plate and grill to try. I personally find these a lot better to use than cast or enamel. Reasons are purely selfish; I use the plate to seal / sear my meat and then transfer it to the grill to finish. This gives that lovely ‘bbq’ flavour and is a lot cleaner than other plates as stainless steel is non porous so does not transfer flavours as easily as cast iron.

Secondly, stainless steel will get hotter than cast but will not retain the heat as well, so searing is done at hotter temperatures. Summing up….if you use the plate a lot on your BBQ use cast iron, if you use your grill a lot then get stainless steel plates and grills if you want to splash out a bit. It may cost a bit more but believe me it’s worth it!

Now back to the ‘Vega’……………….

Gasmate also provided us with a cover, which is a must extra, again pay a bit more and you will keep your BBQ nice and clean on the outside.

The heat output of the Vega is very good as the heat rating is high, 17.5mj per burner, this won’t mean much to the average punter but the highest is normally about 18mj and can get down to 14mj or lower for other makes and models. Some of the most expensive Barbeques on the market don’t get this high output.

It is a good idea to always check the MJ rating when buying a BBQ just to make sure the heat is high enough for your style of cooking.

One of the disadvantages of a three burner is that it can only use 1.5 burners for the plate and 1.5 burners for the grill, BUT keep them all on and you will be fine!

This model has been approved for conversion to Natural Gas, but should be done by an Authorised Service Agent as the Kit has to be made up to suit the BBQ.

All- in- all a great little BBQ……and worth the investment…..

It comes with 12 months warranty as most of their products do.

Our flame rating is 6.9 out of 10.

For more information go to www.gasmate.com.au

Road Tested 3rd October 2011

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