Sunco K8 4 burner Barbeque with Wok Burner on Cart (LPG) 2010

“A Good Looking BBQ” –  Road Tested by Ross Yarranton

Manufactured by Garth Living – available through Harvey Norman and other Major BBQ Outlets RRP $1199.00
This was sent to us for a Road Test by Garth Living, we are grateful to them for giving us the opportunity to Road Test it.

It says on the instructions to use two people to put this little Gem together and yes it would be a lot quicker and easier but I chose to assemble it myself and I reckon that with two people it would have taken and hour or so.

It features 4 burners plus a proper wok burner, which is unusual for a BBQ costing $1199 retail as normally a single burner is used to lower cost (Well done Sunco!). A lovely large glassed roasting hood with an excellent finish, a  large warming rack (they call this a warming rack but I use it for cooking and resting food), enamel burners and plates, a stainless steel grill and flame tamer. The Hood thermometer is large and very easy to read.

The BBQ is actually higher off the ground than most which means that the plates and grills are closer to you (if that makes sense!) and with 60mjs of heat there is plenty to cook with!

The instructions do need to be read thoroughly and at least twice before starting to assemble – I say “read” but most are illustrated and could have had notes now and again to ease the assembly process. The screws going to the hood handle were hard to fit as were some others and this took some of the time up unnecessarily. Make sure that you lay out all of the panels and parts and familiarise yourself with the components against the illustrations as it will make the process a lot quicker!

One thing I did notice was that it is very good for space saving as the side shelves and Wok burner shelf can be taken off or not used and this makes the K8 a very compact unit for balconies and fitting into small spaces etc.

There was no cover provided and I think that any BBQ over $1000.00 should have a protective cover enclosed as standard; there is even a sticker on the Glass of the hood, telling you to get one! This made me think there was one enclosed but I couldn’t find one….

The bottle opener on the right hand side is a nice touch and I feel that the BBQ as a whole with its great cupboard space and modern finish would compliment any new Alfresco Area.

It is easy to cook on and gets up to temperature quickly, (I had one burner on full on the right hand side and it got up to 150c within 15 minutes with the hood down), the hood is reputed to be self-cleaning and when we cooked some meatballs in it at 150c for about an hour with just the far burner on and the meatballs on the rack there was no mess at all.

Another bonus is the fact that like most Garth Living BBQs it is approved for conversion to Natural Gas. (This must be done by a licensed gas fitter though).

As I said before, assembly can be tricky with one person but the K8 has some really good points – we “flame” rate it overall at 6+ out of 10 only losing one or two points for the assembly problems

There is a 5 year limited warranty with most Sunco BBQs but it is a good idea to check out the details with the store of purchase before purchasing.

Our Flame rating is 6+ out of 10

Road Tested 13th December 2010

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