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So, background... I Barbecue 6 days out of 7 mostly, sometimes 7 days
My wife loves it, and I do pretty much all of the cooking.
Yes, even Stir Fry, vegetables, you name it - I cook it (except cakes and biscuits.
So last week, my old BBQ suffered a fire. My own fault, I asked Google to give me a 1 hour countdown on a rotisserie pork loin, after a 40 minute successful start.
Never do this. I went indoors to watch some yourtube, and unbeknownst to me, the rotisserie motor siezed, and it was all on fire. The pork was a brick of charcoal. the motor fried, flames averywhere, and the glass on the hood shattered, and the bbq was a mess.
So after I convinced my wife, the financial controller and accountant that i would be impossible to live with, she accepted that I could buy a new BBQ.
I chose the Matador Ignite +4 Had all the things I wanted.
So heres' my experience, and some tips on assembly.
ASSEMBLY:
It took me about 6 hours all up, because there was a little bit of jigsaw puzzle even though I followed the assembly manual. `
For some of the assembly (Firebox and left and right shelves) I needed a second person to hold the shelves in place. Fine enough.
Putting in the Grease channel - yes quite a good addition, it's a tad confusing from the instructions. You need to slip the channel INTO the front facsia for it to stick, and you should keep the screws and washers loose so you can lock it down.
In the above you can also see the chopping board, beneath this is a "bucket" very useful for prep work.
Also, the connector for the lights is not easy to find, it's wrapped up at the front of the BBQ Firebox, and you have to feel around for it. Once found easy enough to connect to the accompanying adapter.
Putting in the 8.5 kilo gas cylinder requires a bit of manoeuvring. It looks like it wont fit, but you have to put it horizontally first, then lift it upright, and it slides in easily.
make sure you orientate it correctly so you can connect the gas, though you can easily turn it.
On that subject, this BBQ ONLY takes the NEW (Black LCC27) connector. So my old BBQ could take both the Green and the Black. Not this one, so I have a 3/4 full green 8.5 kg cylinder. I'm going to ask my local Bunnings if `i can just swap it out, even if I have to pay more. (I have 2 cylinders, one on standby and one in use).
USE and FEATURES
So this has, as noticed above a cutting board and "bucket". It also has a slide out bin, a paper towel holder, a spice rack, a side burner and trivet assembly, and for my purchase, a rotisserie (This time I wont be leaving it alone), a really good warming tray and an amazing rear burner. Thats going to be great for Shwarma Kebabs and other rotisserie things.
It also has more lights, bluetooth, and the kind of smarts that make me happy
The Bluetooth panel - I haven't figured out how to set the date yet (IT seems to come up with a date and time when you first switch it on. I think its the date and time anyway).
Heads up - it comes with a Power adaptor for this to work, so where I have it, I don't have a convenient power point, so I will be running an extension cord when I want to use the features (you don't need to have power, but if you want the built in lights and LEDs to work, yes, you need 240 volts)
I christened it after washing it with warm soapy water and cooked some simple Coles sausages. A sausage on a BBQ always tastes better than any cooked on a stove, IMHO
The LEDs tell you the level of heat, as does the Bluetooth panel.
After assembly, it worked immediately, no issues whatsoever.
BTW, the grease channel is part of the grease trap assembly, and there's a grease tray - unfortunately you access it from the back, BUT they have included a grease bowl, which you can access from the front, and slide it out to empty it. What a great idea.
Hope this helps others
I'm VERY happy, and this weeks efforts will include a Tomahawk Steak, another attempt at a rotisserie pork loin, and some burgers.
EDIT - UPDATE, the Bluetooth unit doesn't tell the time and date, LOL. it's booting up. I downloaded the Matador `app onto my phone, connected the bbq and the Ultrasonic gas Level detector** (amazing) then messed around with the temperature probes. Yep, this is promising, as the app seems to allow me to monitor the meats cooking etc, and sends an alarm to the phone.
** remember to tie the detector to the bottom of the gas stand, because you might accidentally forget to detach it when you replace the gas cylinder.
`
OK, not all gas cylinders are created equal.
So my replacement gas cylinder has a smaller "skirt" than the previous one. This results in the Gas level being squeezed by the stand that the cylinder stands on. My guess is this isn't healthy.
Old one on left, replacement on right. I tested the old one, and yes, there is a significant gap between the bottom of the cylinder and the bottom of the skirt, so the level indicator isn't squashed.
ALSO:
Here's the setup, there is no instruction manual.
on my smartphone:
Open the Matador app:
Open the Ignite BBQ:
So you should do either update or replace. Replace:
Then put the gas cylinder back in place, connect it, and "Update"
That may help some people. I'm still getting a replacement, $38.00 so not a big expense.
But hey....... interesting learning
Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community @omahonyplant. It's terrific to have you join us, and many thanks for your question about Matador BBQ's.
I do apologise, but there appears to be some confusion in this discussion.
The BBQ is not designed to use the rear burner solely for cooking when using a rotisserie. It is used at the end of the cooking process to "brown up" the roast. For cooking the roast, the rear burner should be off and the plates adjusted to cook with the lower burners. I've attached an excerpt from the instructions below.
Please let me know if you have any questions.
Mitchell
