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  2 out of 2 members found this review helpful

  Γιάννης M.

  2024-07-04

  The Unimac Basic Gas Grill with Cast Iron Grates 48x42cm and 2 Burners 6kW is an excellent tool for every grilling enthusiast who seeks quality and performance at an affordable price. This grill stands out for its ergonomic design, durability, and ease of use.

  First of all, the 48x42cm grilling surface is spacious enough to accommodate a large amount of food, making it ideal for family gatherings and parties with friends. The cast iron grates are of exceptional quality, ensuring even cooking and maintaining a stable temperature for perfect results. The cast iron construction also provides durability over time and ease of cleaning.

  The 2 burners with 6kW provide powerful and consistent heat, allowing you to adjust the intensity according to your needs. You can grill with precision and cook various types of food simultaneously, without worrying about uneven heat distribution. This capability is ideal for preparing meats, fish, vegetables, and other delicious dishes.

  One of the great advantages of this grill is the use of gas, which ensures immediate and uniform heating, eliminating concerns about lighting and maintaining the fire. Temperature control is easy and precise, giving the user full control of the grilling process. The ignition system is simple and safe, allowing for immediate start-up of the grill.

  The design of the Unimac Basic is modern and functional. The sturdy construction ensures stability and durability, while the built-in wheels facilitate the movement of the grill to different spaces. Additionally, the integrated thermometer provides accurate temperature measurements, allowing you to have full control of the cooking process.

  The Unimac Basic Gas Grill is also equipped with practical details such as folding side work surfaces, which provide additional space for food preparation and placement of grilling tools. This adds comfort and functionality to the grilling experience, making the whole process more enjoyable and organized.

  Overall, the Unimac Basic Gas Grill with Cast Iron Grates 48x42cm and 2 Burners 6kW is an excellent choice for those who are looking for a reliable, efficient, and user-friendly grill. The quality of construction, powerful performance, and ease of use make it essential for every grilling enthusiast. If you want to enjoy exceptional grilled meals with comfort and style, this grill is the ideal solution for you.

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• 1

  6 out of 6 members found this review helpful

  paganaki

  2020-11-07

  2 and a half bottles of propane have lasted... they have dissolved from the heat, the heat distributors have broken, and one of the two burners has punctured. It would have been better to invest this money in a grill that would last longer. The thermal performance has not been satisfactory from day one...

  The temperature it reaches with the lid closed without any wind is about 150 degrees Celsius, not higher...

  Update: The two burners with their protectors cost around 100 euros, and as I was told by the company, it is normal wear and tear.

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• 4

  2 out of 2 members found this review helpful

  kostaskoyrniotis24

  2020-10-16

  I don't give it 5 stars because it has many ignitions, resulting in having to hold the water in your hand almost the whole time to extinguish the fire. Of course, the ignitions are greatly reduced when the lid is closed. Other than that, the grill does what it promises. It grills very well. I have grilled chicken thighs, sausages, beef steaks, and sausages. The best grilling was done on the chicken. However, there is absolutely no comparison in taste to charcoal grilling. None at all. It's relatively not very easy to clean, but not difficult either. Overall, a decent grill

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• 5

  13 out of 13 members found this review helpful

  johnspan1965_hotmail_com

  2020-05-13

  The grill was purchased in April 2020 and has been used about 10 times. Assembly was easy if you have some experience, but if it's your first time, it will take you a little longer. The sturdiness is very good, better than you would expect for the price category. They could have saved on materials everywhere, but they didn't skimp on the basics. For example, the grates are made of heavy cast iron, the liquid collection tray is of good quality (others I've seen are cheap and flimsy), and even the collection container where most people put something cheap or plastic is made of satisfactory metal. No liquids or anything spill below, the design is impeccable. The switches have a good feel and the burners light up instantly. Speaking always for under 200 euros, I consider it an excellent choice. I left the grilling part for last, not because it's secondary, but because I'm not very experienced. It seems to me that it grills well and with enough power, but I can only compare it to 2-3 others, I don't have much more experience. Oh, and a friendly advice, stay away from grills with stones, I made that mistake, even if they are a little cheaper, prefer cast iron with reflectors, even if it's a cheaper option, you'll thank me later!

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• 4

  111 out of 113 members found this review helpful

  veneths

  2019-10-09

  Verified purchase

  Greetings to all grillers everywhere.

  First of all, I should mention that the 4-star rating is for the value for money purchase. I would have rated it lower because it has its issues, but they are negligible compared to the vast price difference from branded grills.

  The purchase was made at the end of September 2019. I managed to get a combination of discounts and bought it for 119 euros, while I also had free shipping. This model with 2 burners had just been released as a replacement for the 661304. The only difference I noticed is in the tray that drains the fats and the small dish that collects them.

  The necessary gas regulator-reducer (code 661062) is not included in the package and costs 7 euros. (edit: it malfunctioned and I replaced it with an Italian one after 12 months). Additionally, I bought a cover from the same company with the appropriate size for 18 euros (code 661391) and a cast iron double-sided plate (ribbed and flat) for 17 euros (code 661390).

  Setting it up is quite time-consuming. The instructions included are not the best I have seen, and things get worse due to several irrelevant holes scattered across the parts that make it unclear where exactly to screw. A Phillips screwdriver was needed for assembly, I used some washers that were not included in the box, one large screw was missing, and I summoned a lot of patience—if you're alone, you will easily spend three hours on it!

  Despite the many angles and curves, at no point was there a risk of cutting fingers; everything was smoothed and rounded.

  Sturdy construction from steel. The side shelves are metal, do not fold, and can hold a good amount of weight. There is a secondary rack for warming meats. Practical hooks for grilling tools and a front shelf for spices. The handle is made of metal and rubber to avoid burns. The wheels are plastic with stainless steel-colored stickers. It also has a thermometer.

  Its construction is (like almost everything today) Chinese, while there are readily available spare parts at good prices from the local distributor. The burner, for example, costs 19 euros.

  If you buy a similar grill from a store, seriously consider having it delivered pre-assembled. It usually costs around 10 euros, but you will save yourself the hassle and potential mistakes, minor damages from excessive tightening, etc.

  The Unimac 661311 with two burners with the lid down and at full power reaches 270~280 degrees Celsius in 7-8 minutes. With the cast iron plate, it takes 12-13 minutes to reach that temperature. The grates need 4-5 minutes to cool down (with the lid open), while the plate retains heat for almost 35 minutes! *The above measurements are with an ambient temperature of 15 degrees.
  Update: The performance of the grill is also affected by the gas regulator. After 12 months, the one I had purchased significantly reduced performance, and I thought the grill was to blame. When I replaced it, the temperatures were even higher!

  This particular grill is suitable for grilling flat pieces of meat and fish. If you want to grill a whole chicken, pizzas, or bread, it would be wise to look for grills with more than 2 burners because the cooking should not be "direct," meaning the food should not be directly above the heat sources, but rather between them.

  Lighting the fire is very easy with Unimac. You press the switch inward to release propane and turn it to the left, at which point you hear the sound from the mechanism that creates the spark and the combustion begins.

  1. To cook the food, we turn the flame up to full and close the lid for up to 10 minutes to heat the grates.

  2. Depending on the type of meat and its fat content, you lower the flame, oil the grates, and preferably cook with the lid closed.

  3. We check for flare-ups when grilling fatty meats. Frequent opening and closing affects the temperature.

  4. Get to know your grill! To perfect your cooking, you will experiment a bit with the temperatures and where the fire is strongest so you can move the meats around. On Unimac (and other cheap brands), the intensity is not exactly the same across the entire surface of the grates. I noticed that in this one, the back part is stronger. This happens because the lid has a 3-centimeter gap at the back when closed, causing some of the heat to escape outward and, as it moves to the back, creates higher temperatures. This is generally a manufacturing flaw because we lose heat and the temperature is not distributed correctly.

  Be careful with the heated parts. The lid naturally gets very hot, and we do not touch it - I would prefer it to have an extra metal sheet to protect it and act as a reflector. We open and close it from the handle, which stays cool. The shelves heat up to the point where they have holes, so it’s best not to place plastic bags on them. If you have a platter or casserole, you will keep it warm on those points.

  Strong winds affect the burners. They do not extinguish the fire, but they do not allow the flames to come out evenly from the burners.

  In the first test, I chose drumsticks from medium-sized chickens, which have a bit of fat, not something too fatty or too dry. On the left side, I placed the plate with the ridged side, and on the right, I left one grate. In 10 minutes, we reached 270 degrees. We test the temperature of the plate by throwing a little water on it, and if it sizzles and evaporates, we are ready.

  I did not reduce the intensity on the plate side. On the grate side, I reduced it by about 25%. The plate takes longer to cook compared to the grate. There are flare-ups from the grate side that extinguish if you move the meat. As a beginner, I opened and closed the lid to check and turned them 7-8 times. No piece stuck.
  The pieces from the grate side were ready in 30 minutes. At 35 minutes, I also took out the pieces from the plate side.

  Trying from the grate, it was one of the best chickens I have ever eaten :)

  3 sea breams with a total weight of 1150g were almost perfectly cooked at 220 degrees in 24 minutes (12 on each side). Before cooking, they were oiled, salted, and peppered, and inside each one, I placed two slices of lemon and 2 sprigs of thyme. When they came out, I drizzled them with oil-mustard. WORTH EVERY PENNY!

  When I "pushed" it a bit more, fats started dripping outside the tray.

  So far, my cooking conclusions: Chicken thighs are A PAIN. Of course, they are a pain on charcoal as well when you grill them. If you have a large group, they will expose you in terms of time. There are generally many flare-ups; maybe I am doing something wrong... Almost 30% of the surface DOES NOT COOK PROPERLY. Especially with the lid open, it barely heats the meat.

  For fish, the grill is just right! With country sausages, there are indeed flare-ups, but it doesn't burn or dry out the meat.

  I was worried if the meat would smell fishy after grilling the sea bream, but after burning the grates and cleaning the tray, I didn't detect any fish odor.

  I tried thinly sliced pancetta and pork neck chops, and they grilled perfectly. What surprised me is that there were no flare-ups compared to other meats!

  In spring-summer, the grill reaches temperature faster (and cooks faster).

  The cast iron plate helps a lot; you avoid flare-ups and perhaps cook faster because with opening-closing and moving, you lose heat. However, it also requires attention. For example, if the meat releases fat, you need to wipe it so that the grilled food doesn’t essentially fry. Different types of meat on the plate mix the flavors since the fats on it blend. Also, if you have many meats, it requires good scrubbing-cleaning in between so that the next grilled items don’t stick or blacken. -This can be a hassle during high-temperature grilling.

  On this specific grill, when I grill with the cast iron plate set vertically on the other grates, the dripping fats lick the walls and fall outside the drainage tray.

  A good solution to limit flare-ups is to place the cast iron plate at the back and grill the meats there until most of the fat has dripped off. Then I move them to the bottom and between the burners (not directly on top).

  Overall, in terms of total time and effort for up to 4 kilograms of meat, I will use this one with propane. Above that weight, which for me means a lot of different meats, I will use charcoal.

  Since I got the propane grill, I haven't grilled with charcoal again. 3-4 kilograms of meat for 4-5 people is ready in about an hour :)

  The time you save from lighting the charcoal, you lose on cleaning the propane grill.

  The 10-kilogram bottle I started using was about 80% full. It gave me around 14-15 hours of operation (grilling + cleaning). Of those, at least 12 were at full power.

  The main disadvantage of this model is the very wide diffusers because the fats falling on them create flare-ups.

  If I had the opportunity to choose a new grill in this price range again, I would choose the Unimac with 3 burners (+30 euros) and grill indirectly on 2 burners (keeping the middle one closed) and at full flame intensity, thus avoiding flare-ups.

  UPDATE AUGUST 2024: Guys, the grill after 5 years still holds up and works perfectly! I use it about once a week, either for fish or for meats. The burners perform like on the first day, and it's significant that I changed the diffusers, which are protected from fats and juices. I haven't had a hole open anywhere in the body, and the colors remain excellent. The cover has also done a good job and still holds up, even though it’s constantly in the sun. The price of the grill during the difficult years of the Coronavirus had skyrocketed (I saw something like 200 euros minimum), but now it has dropped to good levels of 140 euros).

  I have created and continuously update an article with many photos for this specific grill:
  https://krasodad.blogspot.com/2019/10/unimac-basic.html

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• 5

  6 out of 6 members found this review helpful

  jackson_greek

  2019-06-08

  It's great for its price, fast cooking, very tasty, easy to handle, plenty of space for cooking. Don't be fooled by the photo, it's big

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  29 out of 30 members found this review helpful

  Mike_Vri

  2018-11-18

  I have had it for over six months, grilling almost once a week. Very controlled grilling without the mess of charcoal. Also controlled and easy to extinguish without having to worry. Sturdy lid with a thermometer and when closed, it cooks like an oven. The grilling surface is enough for 4 people. I have a cast iron grill on one side and a ribbed cast iron griddle on one side and a flat one on the other. For moderate frequency grilling that I use it for, and for over six months, I haven't had to change the bottle of 10-kilogram butane propane mixture. It's worth every penny and more.

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• 5

  1 out of 1 members found this review helpful

  Aristeidis_Papagiannakis

  2021-03-09

  The best value for the money I spent!! Definitely worth it!

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• 5

  ANASTASIOS_DIMITRIOU2920

  2021-06-10

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• 5

  ΕΥΡΙΠΙΔΗΣ ΤΣΑΤΣΟΣ

  2020-09-18

  Verified purchase

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• 4

  manieroaggel

  2020-07-07

  Verified purchase

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• 5

  matina91

  2020-05-17

  Verified purchase

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• 4

  christos.ziogas.21

  2019-09-10

  Verified purchase

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• 4

  thpegios

  2019-08-13

  Verified purchase

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• 5

  dimilaio

  2019-05-25

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