After 30+ years of purchasing various advertised smokeless indoor grills I am convinced there is no such thing. The same goes for this West Bend indoor electric grill; I thought it would be different given the lid and a grease catch basin that is filled with water. My wife and I purchased the West Bend indoor grill in December 2008. From past experiences I knew to lay out a three foot square of newspaper on our kitchen countertop island to absorb the spray of grease coming off the grill. We started off simple by grilling some hamburger patties. Within a few minutes the smoke alarms in our home were going off and this was with the glass lid on. Now we only use the grill during the summer when we can plug it in outside. We used the West Bend grill in the garage twice during the winter with the door open, but it stilled filled the garage with smoke. The garage smelled like grease for weeks afterwards even after laying down newspaper to absorb the splattering grease. Clean-up is difficult. First, there is no easy way to empty the grease catch basin that is filled with water other than dipping it out a little at a time with a small cup or scoop and pouring it into another large container you can then dispose in the trash. You cannot pour this grease laden water down the kitchen sink unless you want to be paying for a pipe cleaning within six months depending on your frequency of using the indoor grill. The grill size makes it awkward to wash up in the kitchen sink, you really need to use a laundry tub or clean it outside in a large bucket and using a water hose. Even pre-spraying the grill with a non-stick substance only helps a little. You still have to dig out the burned on food and grease that gets stuck between the grill grates. I now skip filling the base with water and just line it with aluminum foil which I dispose of after cooking. The unit does work well and having the glass lid ito keep in the heat works great. - You just cannot use it indoors.

DB-1

Dayton, OH