Outback Combi hooded review?

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Outback Combi hooded review?

Postby DaveJFT » 31 Aug 2016, 12:42

Hi folks,

I wrote a post on this topic yesterday but it doesn't seem to have appeared in the forums so, in case there's a moderation period for new users and my post appears in due course followed by this one, I apologise for the double post.

I was using a large Weber kettle hooded BBQ until 9 years ago when the frame mounts rotted out at which point I exchanged the authenticity of charcoal for the convenience of gas and bought an Outback Graphite 3-burner flatbed grill. It had served me well over the years but, yes, it was convenient but cooking options were limited by the flatbed design and I always missed the real flavours of charcoal cooking. Now that the Graphite has reached its twilight years I'm looking at a replacement in the end of season sales and am being drawn to the 4-burner grill + charcoal Outback Combi.

I like to read up on anything I'm about to buy so that I go in with my eyes at least partly open but unfortunately I'm struggling to find any comprehensive and impartial reviews of this beasty. Would anyone on here have one and could write a review or would anyone know of a comprehensive user review of the Combi in existence on the web?

Many thanks,

Dave

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Re: Outback Combi hooded review?

Postby TakingtheBrisket » 31 Aug 2016, 20:08

Ues your first few posts are modded
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Re: Outback Combi hooded review?

Postby DaveJFT » 31 Aug 2016, 20:40

Yeah, I wrote my original post and its repost on Tapatalk and no message came up telling me that. After my 3rd attempt but this time on the PC I was presented with the message telling me so.

I apologise for all the posts asking the same thing.

Dave

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Re: Outback Combi hooded review?

Postby love2bbq » 01 Sep 2016, 15:31

Hi Dave

I bought one of these about 16 months ago. I have written a review here: http://love2bbq.co.uk/review/outback-co ... d-gas-bbq/

It has been a good solid buy but in hindsight I don't think I would buy again. I wanted gas for convenience but since discovering chimney starters I think getting a 'natural' BBQ going can be pretty quick with minimum hassle.

Feel free to ping me back if you have any specific questions.

Cheers

Phil
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Re: Outback Combi hooded review?

Postby DaveJFT » 06 Sep 2016, 14:54

Hi Phil,

Thanks for this and your excellent review. I've now ordered one which should be arriving tomorrow and my daughter is looking forward to helping me put it together at the weekend which, from reading the online manual, is going to test her screwdriver proficiency skills - there looks to be a lot of assembly!

Dave

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Re: Outback Combi hooded review?

Postby derekmiller » 07 Sep 2016, 08:53

DaveJFT wrote:Yeah, I wrote my original post and its repost on Tapatalk and no message came up telling me that. After my 3rd attempt but this time on the PC I was presented with the message telling me so.

I apologise for all the posts asking the same thing.

Dave

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No problem Dave, have deleted them.
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Re: Outback Combi hooded review?

Postby love2bbq » 07 Sep 2016, 11:36

No problem Dave......if you have any question when putting it together just let me know. From memory it was all quite straight-forward.

Would love to hear what you think.

Cheers

Phil
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Re: Outback Combi hooded review?

Postby DaveJFT » 12 Sep 2016, 10:32

Hi folks,

My daughter and I set about putting the barbeque together but found that the body we'd been sent was badly distorted and the lids caught when opening and closing, also one of the ignition flame guides was broken. The distortion is actually so bad that the gas burners were actually diagonal front to back! Homebase, where I'd ordered it from, swapped it out with a new one at the weekend but that one came through exactly the same (different flame guide broken though). It looks like the bodies are being damaged at the factory as the cardboard boxes that the bodies are shipped in are almost pristine - certainly completely unbruised. I've spoken with Outback and they've been utterly useless and told me that any problem with the barbeque is down to Homebase to correct and they don't consider any part of the barbeque body to be replaceable - even something so small as one of the very delicate flame guides which are only held in place by a couple of screws and without them you can't light the barbeque with the igniter. Homebase are now going to send another body on Saturday.

I am really disappointed with Outback over this as, for a barbeque with a RRP of twice as much as my old Graphite flatbed, I think their design and build quality is shocking. The Graphite has individual igniters on each of the control knobs which after nearly 10 years still work quietly first time, every time, the body and metal shelves were made of machined castings, machined extrusions, quality gauge formed sheet steel and plastic mouldings, the wooden shelves were all really nicely made with good fits. Even the wheels came with washers and had compression limiters. There's even a shelf and retainer for the gas bottle.

The Combi is a real step down from the Graphite. The frame is all thin wall, box section tubing with nothing to limit distortion by 'through' fasteners (there is no cross bracing either so the frame "springs" even when all the fasteners are left loose and tightened as the last operation), the main axle has nothing to stop the wheel hubs being over compressed and the threads are too short to allow the nyloc nuts to bite, the nasty single "clang, clang" push button piezo igniter only ignites one of the gas burners and then you have to rely on those flimsy flame guides to be able to ignite each of the other burners in turn, the body and hoods are all pressed thin steel sheet which can obviously be easily distorted (or simply aren't jigged properly during welding and assembly). Given the size of the frame, surprisingly there is no internal shelving or storage, or anywhere to store the gas bottle either which means that for one person to move the barbeque you have to either disconnect the bottle or move the barbeque in repeated steps limited by the free length of the gas pipe.

Quite frankly I cannot see how this barbeque is going to last the 10 years that the warranty states, or that my Graphite has done, and then what if Outback aren't going to offer spare parts?

These are my first impressions of the barbeque. I obviously haven't tried lighting and cooking on it yet given the problems I'm having with getting a useable body. Hopefully I'll find the cooking experience redeems the failings I've found so far ...though it's now not looking like I'll get my first fire in this season.

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Re: Outback Combi hooded review?

Postby DaveJFT » 12 Sep 2016, 18:26

...having written that Outback have been useless I now have to eat my words because I arrived home to find a new flame guide in my post box

...sorry Outback!

Anyhow, I've still got a second distorted barbeque body and I'm waiting on another replacement body to arrive so I'll keep the flame guide as a spare.

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Re: Outback Combi hooded review?

Postby DaveJFT » 21 Sep 2016, 08:11

The third barbeque body arrived this weekend - bent as ever. I looked into the back of the delivery driver's truck as he opened up and my suspicions were confirmed. The drivers are ignoring the "this way up" symbols on the boxes and standing them on the ends. Thankfully they'd chosen to stand this one on the charcoal end so this one was actually only distorted on that end. My conclusion is that if they stand it on the gas end the gas sub pipe at the front corner takes all the load and the back of the body drops. This bends the whole barbeque body. One different piece of damage was the back panel of the gas side had a large dent in bottom edge, though this was a bit rusty so hadn't been done by the drivers.

Anyhow, because this is the third consecutive body I've had that's come through damaged, I'm get fed up with the situation and it was only the charcoal side that was twisted I set about dismantling it and straightening it. 5 bolts and the two halves were separated. The charcoal half was easy to straighten - stand it on one corner and push down on the opposite corner. The dent in the gas half took a bit more persuasion with a largish hammer, a wife, a couple of suitable bits of wood and a pair of adjustable pliers. It just needs a bit of Hammerite now to patch up the paintwork.

I think I'm actually going to have to place the majority of the responsibility here with poor packaging or design of the barbecue by Outback. There should be no way that the gas stub pipe should be allowed to take any load and the packaging should sacrifice itself to isolate the barbeque from any reasonable adverse loads. Clearly it does not do so as all the loads the packaging sees get transferred straight to the barbeque body which suffers accordingly. In most places the barbecue body is within ¾" of the outer cardboard with little to absorb or spread any impact or load in between and, as I've said before, the construction of the barbecue is not exactly robust.

Fingers crossed for the next season.

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