Spark Grill???


 
Bruce

Bruce

TVWBB 2-Star Olympian
OK guys, I am a staple on the gas section but decided to venture over to the dark side to get some advice on the "SPARK Grill". Seems it is a company that began making the SPARK charcoal grill several years ago, but didn't last. It looks like they went out of business last year. I am not sure if it was due to a bad value for the grill, marketing or if maybe it had to do with Covid and Post Covid consumer trends.

Anyway, one pops up on Facebook Market place near me and it looks in great shape. I had never seen or heard of one before, but when someone gives something that looks like quality and in good shape away for free, I have to take note. Well, I picked it up and it looks like it had been cooked on maybe 3-4 times. It still has about a dozen of the proprietary big bricks of charcoal and all the accessories. Just a little grease inside from the few cooks.

So, is this grill worth cleaning up and flipping? It seems the company is gone and likely the source for the proprietary charcoal bricks are gone as well. So, should I try to flip it or simply just use up the included charcoal bricks and then push it to the curb?

I can't imagine this thing would ever be worth more than it is right now. They seem to have gotten pretty good reviews when they were in production. What do you guys know about the grills and what do you suggest.

Here are the photos from the FB MP add and here is a link to some back ground on the grills. https://www.derrickriches.com/spark-smart-charcoal-grill-review/364093432_6152310221539999_3595612487583620066_n.jpg364222501_9883646175042605_801475954666613213_n.jpg364222507_9951814674889484_116749561353181473_n.jpg364160654_6267636476695452_4879847012357549593_n.jpg364044854_9584759348260593_6231084952307670381_n.jpg362907091_9716649375042655_678947480731106836_n.jpg
 
FREE, is the key word here. Give me a free quality grill and free fuel and I have no problem playing with coal.

Any way, I did see on a review where you "could" use regular briquets, but that it was "designed" to use the blocks. So, I guess the temp control and other controls might not work quite as well.
 
Bruce said:
FREE, is the key word here. Give me a free quality grill and free fuel and I have no problem playing with coal.

Any way, I did see on a review where you "could" use regular briquets, but that it was "designed" to use the blocks. So, I guess the temp control and other controls might not work quite as well.
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Ok yeah I missed the “free” part.

Flip it is my vote.
 
So, just clean it up and list it for sale? I don't even know how to test drive this thing. But, yah, I figure I can get it ready and see what happens. If it doesn't sell, then I guess I will be walking on the dark side for a while. There is hope for me yet, right?

I am hoping someone has one or has used one that can give me some first hand advice on them.
 
amazingribs.com

Spark Grill Review

Spark is Out of Business! Read our review to learn why we didn't recommend this product from its inception. Everyone is talking about the sexy new Spark Grill. It catches your eye and draws you in, then throws roadblocks in the way. We wonder if Spark's uncommon effort to improve on the simple...
amazingribs.com

Buy a Kettle or a Performer.
 
I have rehabbed both along with a Summit coal burner. I did cook on the Summit, just to say I did. It went fine but I didn't use enough coal probably. Still got the job done though. I am just lazy and fine gas a lot more convenient.
 
Nothing wrong with gas but its days like this I really enjoy doing a butt on the Performer using the SNS pulled pork on the menu tonight. Carolina Gold BBQ sauce wife likes the Chipolte Sweet Baby Rays. Started at 9 am hopefully eating around 6 pm with a rest of about an hour in the cooler.
 
I think you got stung with Weberitis and picked up a grill you have no use for. Keeping it is a little silly because you are happy with gas. Flipping it seems a little disingenuous because it is only good for a few cooks before it runs out of nonexistent proprietary fuel.

Not sure what to tell you, especially because other than the fuel, it seems like a great piece of equipment. I would potentially look to exchange it to someone offering an old Weber grill you want or even gifting it to your next flip purchaser to sweeten the deal.
 
I am sure anyone buying it would know what they are getting. I didn't pay a dime for it, so if all I do is use it with the 25 bricks of coal that came with it, I am way ahead of the game. But looking at some reviews and youtube videos, it sure seems like using regular briquetts is a definite possibility as well.

Does anyone know anything about the app for it. I don't see it on Google Play store and I think it is crucial to operating the grill.
 
Scott Smith said:
I think you got stung with Weberitis and picked up a grill you have no use for. Keeping it is a little silly because you are happy with gas. Flipping it seems a little disingenuous because it is only good for a few cooks before it runs out of nonexistent proprietary fuel.

Not sure what to tell you, especially because other than the fuel, it seems like a great piece of equipment. I would potentially look to exchange it to someone offering an old Weber grill you want or even gifting it to your next flip purchaser to sweeten the deal.
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There’s always a nut case like me to give it a home knowing full well all those issues😎!

I actually think they are really cool and would love to have one to give to my son if he ever can move to a place where he can grill outside. It would fit him perfectly!
 
Bruce said:
I am sure anyone buying it would know what they are getting.
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Pretty sure you are correct the question is how many people actually know about it. Until Jon posted about this thing not sure there were many of us who ever heard about it, for sure I did not. Not sure what the market is for something like that in your neck of the woods but heck give it a shot. Pretty sad people were paying 900 bucks or whatever and giving it away for free.
 
Brian B Atlanta said:
Pretty sad people were paying 900 bucks or whatever and giving it away for free.
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Yes.

It’s also sad that this company folded up.

It didn’t seem like a bad grill.

They tried keeping some (proprietary bricks) manufacturing in the US.

And yeah, everyone who forked over the moolah for that system are now SOL.
 
Thanks JSaus and Mack.

But I didn't see where the BBQGuys video mentioned the Spark at all.
 
Bruce said:
I am sure anyone buying it would know what they are getting. I didn't pay a dime for it, so if all I do is use it with the 25 bricks of coal that came with it, I am way ahead of the game. But looking at some reviews and youtube videos, it sure seems like using regular briquetts is a definite possibility as well.

Does anyone know anything about the app for it. I don't see it on Google Play store and I think it is crucial to operating the grill.
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It appears the app really did not do much and was not needed to operate the grill. All it seemed to do was monitor the temp if I understood this correctly.

"The Spark Grill doesn't have a Wi-Fi radio, which means it doesn’t support Alexa or Google Assistant voice commands, nor does it offer any kind of true remote access. Instead, it uses Bluetooth to connect to a mobile app (available for Android and iOS) that lets you order supplies, view recipes, and monitor cooking temperatures as long as you’re in Bluetooth range (around 16 feet). Unfortunately, you can’t adjust the grill’s cooking temperature from the app, but the company plans to add temperature control along with a Wi-Fi radio to future grills."
 
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