Grill Wizard sells the best grill scrubber on the market change my mind


 
BrunoBronosky

BrunoBronosky

New member
Update:
I ordered this one from Amazon because I could not did any way to but directly from the inventor, Ray Gessert. I hope he gets a cut from my purchase because supporting the American Dream is the best thing we can do with our dollars.

Why did I buy it? Because I find the design of the BGE version to be inferior in the way it attaches the mesh. Specifically, when the steel thread of the mesh breaks, inevitably the center of the mesh separates from the large puffy outer portion. This separation forces you to replace the mesh earlier than you would have to with the Grill Wizard which attaches via a pair of steel pins that pierce the thickest part of the toroid of the mesh. Lesson learned. Thank you, all who replied.

Original post:
Title was: BGE sells the best grill scrubber on the market change my mind

I have searched and couldn't find this design marketed by any other brand. It's killer feature is that the black knob can be unscrewed and the mesh replaced with a common steel, brass, or copper scrub found at any grocery store. Therefore you are not required to get your replacements from BGE.
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Is there anything better?
 
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Way back in 2003 and for many years thereafter, Cook's Illustrated's top recommended grill brush was the Grill Wizard, an expensive little ditty at $23.95. It used two small s/s scrubbers impaled on tines that clipped into a metal frame. It was made by a man in Cupertino, CA named Roy Gessert. He was making them by hand in his garage, about 400 units per month. Cook's named it their favorite brush, he got slammed with orders, and it took him six months to catch up on the backlog. Then they ran it again on America's Test Kitchen in 2004 and he got hammered with orders again. But he never advertised, just sold based on word of mouth.

Worked great, I'm still using mine today.

Untitled-1.jpg

51jknWv370L._AC_.jpg

Roy struck a deal with a manufacturer to make a plastic handled version that used a single scrubber instead of twin scrubbers, paying him a small royalty and selling for only $9.99. As it turns out, that brush became very popular and it's still sold today.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000216X6M/?tag=tvwb-20

81cJ4lsG4qL._AC_SL1500_.jpg

41rNqaMtwVL._AC_.jpg

So long story short...grill brushes using ordinary kitchen scrubbers have been around for a long time. Roy Gessert may have invented the category.
 
Chris,
Cool story on the Grill Wizard
I still use mine exclusively. I purchased new in 2006. I only know this because I kept the original receipt and cardboard holder.

20200803_193101_HDR.jpg
 
Chris Allingham said:
So long story short...grill brushes using ordinary kitchen scrubbers have been around for a long time. Roy Gessert may have invented the category.
Click to expand...

That’s awesome! I would have bought that if I could have found it. I still might get one if Roy still makes them or if the other company makes them in the USA. My dollars are the only vote that counts. Thanks for taking the time!
 
Jeff MA said:
Chris,
Cool story on the Grill Wizard
I still use mine exclusively. I purchased new in 2006. I only know this because I kept the original receipt and cardboard holder.

View attachment 10979
Click to expand...
Update: I ordered this one from Amazon because I could not find any way to but directly from the inventor, Ray Gessert. I hope he gets a cut from my purchase because supporting the American Dream is the best thing we can do with our dollars.

Why did I buy it? Because I find the design of the BGE version to be inferior in the way it attaches the mesh. Specifically, when the steel thread of the mesh breaks, inevitably the center of the mesh separates from the large puffy outer portion. This separation forces you to replace the mesh earlier than you would have to with the Grill Wizard which attaches via a pair of steel pins that pierce the thickest part of the toroid of the mesh. Lesson learned. Thank you, all who replied. I'll update the title and my original post.
 
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I think the BGE version is pretty good.

But the GW attachment method does look better. FWIW, the BGE screws into the center -- so the scrubber gets pressed into a donut ring shape that (I guess) puts less scrubber surface onto the grate.

Another good thing on either of these. You can flip the scrubber over after one side gets too dirty. So a pretty long use-able life from these, before you have to lay out another whole $1 for a new scrubber.
 
Bruno: did you actually get a Grill Wizard? I've searched on Amazon and can only find "Tool Wizard". Reading some of the Q&A, it appears Roy himself is answering questions and noting that it is a knockoff product. Even the packaging is practically identical. I tried to go to what I thought was his website (www.grillwizard.com), but get a 404 error.
 
JimK said:
Bruno: did you actually get a Grill Wizard? I've searched on Amazon and can only find "Tool Wizard". Reading some of the Q&A, it appears Roy himself is answering questions and noting that it is a knockoff product. Even the packaging is practically identical. I tried to go to what I thought was his website (www.grillwizard.com), but get a 404 error.
Click to expand...

I did get the ToolWizard from Amazon after being unable to track down the GrillWizard. I was going by what Chris Allingham said.
 
Chris Allingham said:
Way back in 2003 and for many years thereafter, Cook's Illustrated's top recommended grill brush was the Grill Wizard, an expensive little ditty at $23.95. It used two small s/s scrubbers impaled on tines that clipped into a metal frame. It was made by a man in Cupertino, CA named Roy Gessert. He was making them by hand in his garage, about 400 units per month. Cook's named it their favorite brush, he got slammed with orders, and it took him six months to catch up on the backlog. Then they ran it again on America's Test Kitchen in 2004 and he got hammered with orders again. But he never advertised, just sold based on word of mouth.

Worked great, I'm still using mine today.

View attachment 10834

View attachment 10833

Roy struck a deal with a manufacturer to make a plastic handled version that used a single scrubber instead of twin scrubbers, paying him a small royalty and selling for only $9.99. As it turns out, that brush became very popular and it's still sold today.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000216X6M/?tag=tvwb-20

View attachment 10835

View attachment 10836

So long story short...grill brushes using ordinary kitchen scrubbers have been around for a long time. Roy Gessert may have invented the category.
Click to expand...


I have the same one.. nearly two decades old. I think I bought in 2005. I have since replaced the handle, but it is still my go-to and favorite grill brush.
 
My wife looked at my wish list and followed The Esteemed Mr. Allingham’s advice and got me one for my birthday!
Gee, a new kitchen, restored back wall with new windows and slider AND the deck!? I have a keeper!
 
It looks like Roy’s grillwizard.com site was active until at least February 2020- that’s the last time the Wayback Machine has a record of it. Like the above posters, I can now only find the “Tool Wizard” on Amazon, which (if Amazon Q&A comments are to be believed, ha ha) allegedly is not paying Roy his royalties for the design.
 
Do you guys have a good source for cheap all stainless steel scrubbers? I love my grill wizard but the pads I got for mine start to rust pretty fast.
 
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