Marsh Allen 30052 Cast Iron Hibachi 10 by 18-Inch Charcoal Grill

If you grew up in the 70s, this is the grill you saw all over the place. My family had several over the years, and now that its is just me and my wife in the house, I don't need a big grill and this works perfect. Took about 10-15 minutes to put together, oiled the grills and used it that afternoon. Perfect for 2-3 people. Very happy.

In the 1970s, we use to have these really cool bar-B-que grills from Japan called "HIBACHI" GRILLS. They were cheap, convenient, durable and got the job done. I'm sure most beaches in America have at least one battleship's worth of cast Iron burried from Hibachis. What made Hibachi's so different from a Weber or Coleman grill was that the grill itself had wooden handles. So when your protein was medium well; you picked up the whole grill by the handle and took it inside the house sort of like a serving tray. They are perfect for front porch grilling. Sometimes you don't want to get out the big battleship barbeque just to grill a couple of New Yorks. What's really cool is that, since it's so small, you can cook on your porch in the rain or snow. So it seems like summer all year long. The grills were adjustable from the top. If you wanted less heat, just mount the grill a notch higher. The entire grill was 10" X 18" by maybe 10" tall. Perfect for the apartment patio. The other great thing about Hibachi's were that in the 70's, they sold for about 6.95 and were available EVERYWHERE. I MEAN EVERYWHERE. You buy them where ever charcoal was sold. The grocery store, the Liquor store, Drugstore chains use to have 8 ft. stacks of card board boxes filled with Hibachis. Try and find one now. I dare you. (without going on-line) They are no longer to be be found in the non-asian community like in the 70's. In the 70's, picking up a new Hibachi was as easy as grabbing a quart of milk. Now they're rare. My theory behind the vanishing Hibachi is the price of cast Iron. In the 70's the Hibachi sold between 5 and 10 dollars. Then they quit making them out of cast iron. Then the price went up to 15 - 20 dollars. Well for another 10 dollars you could buy a Weber grill with a lid. Today I went looking for the elusive Hibachi. I went to Home Depot, Target, OSH,CVS,Rite Aide, Safeway,I even went to an old school department store that hasnt changed much in 40 years, (except they quit carrying hibachis) I tried everywhere but with no success. I finally found one for [...] on Amazon.com . The great news? It was over 25 bucks so I got free shipping and didn't have to pay tax. COOL. BTW, Hibachi's are perfect for the "Tailgate party". And I say TAIL GATE Literally. They use to fit perfectly on the tail gate of your truck. Mine was delivered in about 4 days. It was sturdier than the liquer store hibachis from 1977. One thing that was comically the same, It came with extra long screws and shorted 2 short screws. (this was common in the 70s) The design was a little different. This hibachi is less tapered than the old school hibackis. But it's easier to clean. It looks like it will last a couople of years. (most hibachis broke by the end of summer) Overall; it's not the same, but it's close enough. The things that differ are actually better and easy to get use to. They say you can never go home. This was close. It was like going home and finding that your parents moved into the more expesive house next door.

A throw back to my youth! I've been grilling on a Weber gas grill for 10-years now (love Weber products!) however, I do miss the charcoal fragrance and taste. I purchase the Hibachi to provide me the occasional charcoal aroma to my foods. More than likely I will you this grill once a month vs. every weekend for the Weber. This BBQ set is quite simple to assemble. Pluses: - Ease of assembly. - Portable - Same quality as the Hibachi of the 1970's - The side gratings are `flared' upwards to prevent you foots from falling to the side (an enhancement from the 70's) Minus: - Parts diagram for the screws are a bit off. Two types of screws are provided, however instructions only display one-type. A bit confusing and I had to disassemble and re-assemble to fit the correct screw on the correct placement. - Similar to the 1970's models, the wooden handles are a bit `chinsey' and fragile. I look forward to changing them out w/ old broom-stick handles (w/in a year or so) like I use to do. Advice: - I recommend covering the hibachi after use and prevent additional expose to the elements. It is made of cast iron and rusts quite rapidly if left outside. I store my hibachi inside my Weber gas grill (fits perfectly).

Like others, I fondly remember the Hibachis of old. This has a good deal of the form but it’s not quite as heavily constructed. Then again, the old ones were quite heavy but also fell apart or rusted beyond recognition after a season. As assembled the grates weren’t even but the holders are stamped instead of cast so I easily bent the grates to be even. Also the wood handle of one grate had started to split even before assembly. Both the adjustable vents seemed flimsy. This may be the Hibachi for the ages but I’ll be satisfied with one season. Once assembled, I added a few old briquettes, fired them up with a propane torch and, after 20 minutes or so put the grate on to pre-heat. The grates are as heavy as the old ones ‘back in the day’ which makes for good cooking. And it did cook the ribeye well. Please see the image of it in action. There’s something satisfying in an atavistic way using this to cook over the all stainless gas fired Weber we also have. Minimalism at it finest.

Convenient, easy to store

After too many paint-flaking-into-my-foods cheapie portables I searched high and low for a cast iron hibachi like I had years ago. This and the Lodge is all I can find. The Lodge I am sure is great, I own many Lodge pans but the price is a little steep and I like this style a bit better with two separate cooking grates. Agree that the fit and finish is a bit lacking. Like someone else, one of the coal support grates is too small and falls into the bottom - I should be able to prop that up with a couple of little rocks or maybe I can bend it, for now I propped it on one side unevenly. But basically everything lined up and except for a short/long screw mistake on my part (or was given one too many short and one too few long), the assembly went without incident. I am not fond of assembling things and although competent, I find putting things together very aggravating. So this, while it looks like a lot of parts was blessedly quick to put together. I would say it took me twenty minutes once I found the English directions (that was the biggest challenge - I did have quite a search for the English instructions). I used a chimney to get lump charcoal going and the completely removable grates make that easy to dump the hot coals in. And put the grate back without having to get over the hot coals to drop a big grate on there. I did not have any trouble getting the grates to stay in place, one spot is a little roughly cast and I may take a file to it for the grate to sit better but there were no incidents. I used this in conjunction with the big public grill in the park so the small size is not a problem. Where to put it was. I had to put it down on the cement block the big grill sits on as I did not trust it on the picnic table. The feet are very short and the hot bottom is too close/too hot for comfort on a combustible surface, I think. I may see If I can pick up some broken bricks or similar to prop this guy up a bit. Otherwise, I would be using it on some flat large rocks down by the river. I took off one star for the fit/finish but overall, I am quite happy with my hibachi. Update - after about a dozen uses, one of the wooden handles became loose and a short time later cracked off. I will look for something at the the lumber yard to fix it with. Sure I can manage to patch together something for the rest of the season. Also, One corner of the other grate has cracked but does not really effect performance. Have not noticed any other cracks. Took off another star. Unless this is used infrequently I would consider it a one season item.

I see by the construction that it may be hit or miss with what you get...But come on, it's under $30 so why not give it a shot? The one I got was in perfect condition, so yay for me. This hibachi is VERY heavy and traditional. It is made out of pig-iron so you can break it if you drop it or pour cold water on it. It also will rust...so bring the grills inside when you're done, clean them and give them a bit of oil and store them inside. I don't mind a little rust on the rest of the hibachi. You can oil it down if you want but again, this isn't some massive investment so not to worry. - Keep in mind, this is a hibachi and if it's windy outside? It's not going to perform very well. You can always make a wind screen if you want to hassle...I just fire up the Weber kettle instead. Also, wrap the handles in foil to keep them from burning and don't pile coal to the edge near the handles, leave an inch gap. - I've made a ton of Yakitori on this with good results. But again, it is very weather dependent so wait for the calm days to break it out. - If this were to break or get stolen, I'd buy another in a heartbeat...In fact, for the price? I might by a spare in case they stop being sold.

Grill works well for 2 people