Question for Blackstone (or other manufacturer) flat-top grill owners

[Haertig]

I have a question for Blackstone (or other brand) outdoor flat-top grill owners. Do you have problems with rust?

I have been researching these things and believe that I want one. But the topic of rusting comes up fairly often. Is this really a common issue, or is it just an issue for people who don't do basic maintenance and prevention?

I imagine if you use the grill often, it's going to be constantly treated to oil/grease coating and thus continuously seasoned and probably less susceptible to rust. But that's just my guess. I grill often, all winter long - cold and snow don't bother me. But with a flat-top I imagine I might use that a little less in the winter. When I say I grill a lot during the winter, that entails running outside, flipping what ever is on the grill, shutting the lid, then running back inside for a while. I get the impression that flat-top grilling is more of a "you're constantly there" type of cooking. So maybe not so enjoyable during a snowstorm. And you have the issue of snow getting all over the stuff you're cooking and the grill surface itself. I don't think you use a flat-top with the lid closed, do you?

Anyway, I can see that I might be using a flat-top less in the winter than I do my regular grills. So it might be more prone to rust. On the bright side, Colorado is an arid state so we don't often have fog or high humidity hanging around us to promote rust. I would think covering the flat-top device (regardless of a lid being present) would be paramount. All kinds of grill covers exist for that.

I don't want to have to do hours and hours of routine maintenance to keep a flat-top ready for use. But I'm thinking routine maintenance would be not much more than scraping residue off the grill and wiping it down with a light coating of oil after use. Like I do with my cast iron skillet.

So, from a rust/maintenance standpoint - are flat-top grills (stored outside on the deck under a cover blanket but not under a roof) a pain in the neck, or a non-issue?

Thanks in advance for any feedback!

 

[Mountain trapper]

Yes rust can be a problem on Blackstone griddles. We put extra greese on ours after each use and wipe it in all over the griddle. Plus we keep it covered with a Blackstone fitted cover. We see little to no rust on ours anymore.

 

[Bacpacker]

Yes rust can be a problem on Blackstone griddles. We put extra greese on ours after each use and wipe it in all over the griddle. Plus we keep it covered with a Blackstone fitted cover. We see little to no rust on ours anymore.

AGREE with Trapper. Keep it well greased and covered as best you can. It's very humid here, but I don't have big problems with rust. Keep it clean, oiled up well, and covered.

 

[Haertig]

Blackstone just arrived. Sitting in the box. I don't know how the delivery driver got it up to the top of my front stairs. I could barely drag it into the house. Weighs 97 lbs per the shipment info, and the box is not small.

I did a lot of research on covers. Initially I thought totally waterproof was the way to go. But it appears that if they aren't breathable that's just going to trap more moisture and condensation inside and do more harm than good. The secret appears to be to tent the cover upwards. I was going to just put on of those plastic buckets that plants come in from the nursery on top of the grill to raise the cover to a point so water can run off, but I found a cover that comes with a tenting device. I'll probably just use the plant bucket though - less chance of scratching the grill top. Mine grill has a hard cover on top of the cooking surface, so that should help in keeping water drips away from the griddle. I bought a cheap cover to start out with. With plans to make my own out of super heavy tarp material (22mil) later if need be (although that would be waterproof rather than water resistant/breathable, so maybe not a good idea. I also bought some "corner protectors" that I'm going to try out. The cornets of the grill cover and shelf look mighty sharp - cover slicing sharp. So we'll see if the corner protectors will work. The top cover is not supposed to be used during cooking so it shouldn't get terribly hot. But the shelf will. I don't expect the adhesive on the protectors to work. But a little duct tape or sheet metal screws should hold them in place if they prove to be useful in the first place.

I've bought some accessories that are typically recommended. Except for the squeeze bottles - I have those on my list but wanted to check locally first. Evidently there is a large range from **** to good out there and you just can't tell looking at Amazon pictures. I got the spatulas and bench scraper that YouTubes "Flat Top King" recommends.




Being a retired engineer, OF COURSE I put all my purchase choices into a spreadsheet as I compare them! Engineers just do stuff like this. We can't resist! Then as I make my choices, I remove the items that didn't make the cut. Do any of you experienced flat top grillers have any other recommendations for what would be a good and useful starting tool set? What I have, and have purchased (shipped and on the way) is below. Well, the price of the grill setup definitely increased with all the additions. Still a cheap project though. I'm looking forward to trying it out. I';; wait for a string of predicted sunny days before assembling the thing. I want to make sure the cover arrives first so the grill will be protected from day one.

 

[Bacpacker]

Glad you found the Flat Top King. Hes a local boy and has some really good recipes.
About all I've used are spatulas and the scraper. Squeeze bottles too. A good deal of the stuff on your spreadsheet we already had.