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Grillbot – the new BBQ cleaning king?

Grillbot – the new BBQ cleaning king?
The Grillbot is a cute, single button operated bot that perches on your grill and lives to clean
The Grillbot is a cute, single button operated bot that perches on your grill and lives to clean
View 18 Images
The Grillbot is a cute, single button operated bot that perches on your grill and lives to clean
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The Grillbot is a cute, single button operated bot that perches on your grill and lives to clean
The Grillbot is a cute, single button operated bot that perches on your grill and lives to clean
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The Grillbot is a cute, single button operated bot that perches on your grill and lives to clean
The Grillbot features push button operation
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The Grillbot features push button operation
The Grillbot is a cute, single button operated bot that perches on your grill and lives to clean
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The Grillbot is a cute, single button operated bot that perches on your grill and lives to clean
Grillbot is available in four colors
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Grillbot is available in four colors
Three electric motors allow for a light or deep clean
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Three electric motors allow for a light or deep clean
A built in LCD alarm and timer let's you know when the job is done
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A built in LCD alarm and timer let's you know when the job is done
The Grillbot will be available in mid-June
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The Grillbot will be available in mid-June
Grillbot features three replaceable brushes
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Grillbot features three replaceable brushes
Grillbot features three replaceable brushes
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Grillbot features three replaceable brushes
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A hanging storage case, extra brushes and extra batteries and chargers are also available.
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A hanging storage case, extra brushes and extra batteries and chargers are also available.
The Grillbot is a cute, single button operated bot that perches on your grill and lives to clean
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The Grillbot is a cute, single button operated bot that perches on your grill and lives to clean
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View gallery - 18 images

It doesn’t matter if it’s called a BBQ, a grill or a Barbie; those char-grilled steaks leave a thick layer of grease and grime behind. And while cooking is fun, cleaning is not. What you need is a neat little R2D2 to scrub the filth away, leaving you to crack a beer and get ready to fire up the next BBQ. Enter the Grillbot, a cute, single button operated bot that perches on your grill and lives to clean. It works automatically on both gas and charcoal grills (hot or cold).

A built-in LCD and alarm allows you to choose a light or deep clean and signals when cleaning is complete. Each Grillbot comes with a rechargeable battery pack, charger and LCD screen. A hanging storage case, extra brushes and extra batteries and chargers are also available.

A hanging storage case, extra brushes and extra batteries and chargers are also available.
A hanging storage case, extra brushes and extra batteries and chargers are also available.

The Grillbot is the invention of former real estate agent Ethan Woods. Woods had his eureka moment while scrubbing his grill with a wire brush. He attached the brush to a power drill and the idea for the Grillbot was born.

“It's been a dream of mine for most of my adult life to invent a product and bring it to market,” says Woods. “After some research it was clear there was a very large market for something like this. So I started by contacting engineers and prototype development companies and they all said it couldn't be done. It was just too difficult with the heat issue on a grill and you can't make anything move around well enough to cover this type of surface.

“Never taking no for an answer, I finally found some very smart German engineers in California who said they could do it. They develop high tech medical equipment, among other things such as pool robots so I decided to give them a chance.”

While pleased with the results after a year, Woods reports the costs were “out of control” so he sent a few existing prototypes to an engineering firm in China. It was a huge risk but one that paid off as after another year of work, design and functionality of the Grillbot improved to Woods' satisfaction.

“So here I am two years into this project and a small fortune gone," he says. "My wife thought I was crazy to invest so much time and money in this venture. She was very worried the first year and a half and only recently with all the attention has become a believer. But finally the launch of the Grillbot is just weeks away. Very exciting!”

Grillbot features:

  • Push button operation
  • Three electric motors
  • Three replaceable brushes
  • Built in LCD alarm and timer
  • Smart CPU or computer brain to regulate speed and direction
  • Rechargeable battery with AC adaptor
  • Four colors
  • The Grillbot will be available in mid-June. Approximate estimates put the RRP at US$99.95 for the premium model and US$69,95 for the base model.

    Product page: Grillbots

    View gallery - 18 images
    11 comments
    11 comments
    douginoz
    Looks interesting, but without a video seeing it in action I would never think twice about buying it. A dozen pretty pictures does absolutely nothing to instill confidence or interest in the product.
    - How does it operate? By hand or like a robot vacuum cleaner? - Does it sound like a cheap wind-up toy? - Does it apply any real pressure to the grill, or just scrape superficial gunk off the top surface only? How does it deal with the stuff between the grills? - How do you clean it?
    For those in the world can't / won't be going to see it at a show, a video is the >minimum< we'd need to decide its a 'must-have'. I'm surprised even their website gives no information on the product.
    It degrades gizmag's reputation to display products like these without providing anything more substantial than a simple text description. You should be slamming them for not providing a video if they ever want to generate real interest.
    Or perhaps a video would convince most people not to buy it?
    Jetwax
    Here you go DouginOz . . .
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=APjxiEKX4ak
    d'-)
    Mike Rex
    Looks like a wonderful idea! Where do we go for trade inquiries?
    douginoz
    Omg, I had no idea it was that big! Now it makes sense. I can easily imagine throwing it in after a BBQ and closing the lid - on the mess, effort, and interruption.
    Now if someone could invent a little cleaner-cleanerbot!
    thanks for the vid btw - I'll buy one when they come to Oz
    Arahant
    This is cool, good on this guy.
    i think there is definately a market for it, I would buy one, and i dont think the price is to much if you have a real nice bbq.
    fatalflaw
    Nope. Just scratches from what I can see. 30 seconds of a real brush on a still-warm grill and $100 to buy ribs with.
    Dave Yuhas
    A fool and his money...
    Erik Guilfoyle
    In the video, the before and after is two different grills. Probably just an example, but not ideal in a video.
    I wonder if it's any good on ceramic grill surfaces.
    bcbbq
    nice idea, but if the grill bot uses the fine brass bristles the the brass wire can come off and get stuck on the grill and when you use it it has a chance to make it to the food and bad news for your digestive track.... lot of people go to the hospital each year because of that ..... good luck i prefer to heat the grill to hi heat and use a pumice stone to clean...
    RubricsCubed
    Wishing the entrepreneur all the best, but as it's half the size of my $10 cast iron hibachi I'll have to give it a pass. Agree with the question about how one cleans the bristles... trading one thankless chore for another? "Kids! Come soak and clean these for Dad." I'd be curious how much replacement bristles will cost. They look pretty substantial and considering the beating they'll take and the cost of replacements for anything these days, an avid Kiss Me Cook could quickly go broke over a long hot summer. Finally, the close-ups of said bristle wheels suggest that someone would probably break a tooth before they accidentally swallowed a chunk of those surprisingly thick "bristles," so I don't think they're the threat fine wire bristles on hand-held scrapers can be. OTOH, if you did swallow a sharp chunk thinking it was just a piece of bone from the cheap mechanically-picked cow meat, well, that might indeed do some damage.
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