Product recall - Broil King Signet 90

  I ran across this product recall and thought it might merit passing on to those of you out there.    Apparently, the Broil King Signet 90 has some high heat issues.  According to Consumer Reports,

"In one of our routine tests to determine how well each grill handles flare ups from fatty foods, the firebox of the Broil King Signet 90 986784LP melted. The result: molten metal dripped down from the firebox onto the area beneath the grill, just missing one tester’s hand. The space beneath the grill is where the propane tank is stored. We subsequently tested two other samples of this grill: in one the firebox again melted and in the other the firebox had begun to crack and deform by the end of the test"

If you read the entire article, it appears this grill is primarily sold in Canada, but I was able to locate it in a quick search at several prominent online grill retailers.  The story from the company is that a retrofit device is required to make the grill safer.  I'm just throwing a guess in here, but I'm betting the flow valve from the propane tank is letting too much propane release and they are getting temperatures high enough to melt metal.  I was a bit disappointed that Consumer Reports didn't make any mention of what the temperature was in the cooking area when these grills started to disintegrate.  If it isn't a gas flow issue, then this company used some very shoddy materials when constructing these grills.

Comments

[BBQ]

Hi there. I'm a former employee of Onward - that's just a disclaimer!

Check out the company's website, www.broilkingbbq.com and read the complete details. The problem is neither shoddy materials or too much propane. The problem was a grease fire that was allowed to continue in the bottom of the BBQ. Many thousands of these grills have been sold in the last 3 years, and from what I understand only 4 bottom castings had ever been replaced under warranty! The company has responded quickly and appropriately, but consumers were never at any real risk. I personally have several friends cooking on this particular grill. I am getting them the retrofit kit but am not worried about their safety in the meantime.