BLACK+DECKER GD2051B: problems, parts and running costs

Checked: 2026-10-05

Summary

The cooking surface rarely causes trouble: the one test outlet that cooked on this exact model found even, quick cooking and no faults to report, so the complaints that do repeat sit in the removable plastic parts, in uneven heating reported by a minority of owners, and in a short fixed cord. Yearly running cost is little more than cooking oil, because there are no filters or cartridges and oil or butter is optional on the nonstick surface. It is an easy buy at $50 or less and hard to justify above roughly $60.

Common problems and fixes

Removable plastic parts break or fit badly — the lowest-scoring attribute in an automated summary of the owner-review pool is durable construction at 43%, with breakage mentioned in the remarks, and one Home Depot reviewer reports that the drip tray falls out too easily and leaves a wide gap between the griddle and the frame that is hard to clean; BLACK+DECKER’s consumer service replied on that page acknowledging a design complaint. A separate roundup lists breaks easily among its cons. Workaround: check the tray early and keep it seated while cooking. The unit carries a two-year limited warranty, and the fit complaint drew a manufacturer acknowledgement as a design complaint rather than a defect claim. [5][6][7]
Hot spots and uneven heating — the tested unit cooked everything evenly and quickly, but the same owner-review summary splits 76% praising even heat against 24% reporting hot spots, a retailer review page shows a BLACK+DECKER service reply documenting a customer complaint that the griddle is not heating evenly while citing the two-year warranty, and a roundup lists uneven temperature as a con. No measured heat map or dial-to-temperature table has been published for this model, so there is no calibration workaround; move food around the surface instead. Covered under the two-year limited warranty. [1][5][6][7]
Short fixed power cord — the test outlet names the short plug cord as the model’s only real downside and says it decides where on the counter the griddle can sit unless you add an extension cord, and a roundup lists short cords independently. The manual says the short cord is supplied deliberately to reduce trip and entanglement risk and that longer detachable or extension cords may be used with care. Not a defect to claim on: the cord is fixed and is not one of the three numbered replaceable parts. [1][2][7]
Cleaning is a hand-wash job — 83% of the summarized owner pool call it easy to clean, and one of them puts the two underside drawers in the dishwasher and runs the unplugged body under warm soapy water, but the manual’s rule is that the unit must not be immersed unless the probe is removed and the probe receptacle must be completely dry before the probe goes back in. The test outlet submerged the whole griddle once the removable heat controller was off. Use a rubber spatula rather than metal utensils. A care rule, not a defect. [1][2][3][6]
No built-in timer, and a fixed surface that does not store flat — a roundup lists the missing timer as a con, and the 22 x 13 in cooking surface is fixed rather than a removable plate, which the test outlet counts in its counter-space and storage scoring. Workaround: time the food yourself, and if a plate that lifts out and stores flat matters to you, buy that class of griddle instead. Neither is a warranty item. [1][11]

Parts and consumables

Slide-out drip tray (part GD2011-01) — numbered in the manual’s parts diagram as a consumer-replaceable piece, and it carries the GD2011 prefix because that tray is shared with the GD2011 family. It is also the part owners complain about most, on fit and breakage. No store price for this part number was found in October 2026, and no replacement interval is documented, so treat it as replaced on failure rather than on a schedule. [2][5][6][7]
Click & Lock removable adjustable thermostat (part GD2051-02) — the probe carrying the adjustable temperature knob that locks into the receptacle on the base, so a replacement probe is the fix for a dead temperature control. No store price for this part number was found in October 2026, and no owner report describes swapping one. [2]
Warming tray (part GD2051-03) — slides out at the back and holds cooked food while the rest of the group eats, which owners mention when they describe keeping pancakes warm. Numbered replaceable in the manual. No store price for this part number was found in October 2026. [2][4][5]
Cooking oil or butter — optional rather than required: the test outlet found the nonstick coating needed only a trace of grease, and one owner cooked pancakes with no oil and no sticking. There are no filters, cartridges or proprietary consumables on this griddle. [1][6]

Yearly running cost

Add up only three things, and none of them has a published figure. There are no filters, cartridges or proprietary consumables, so the consumable line is cooking oil or butter, which the test outlet found optional. Electricity cannot be computed from what was published: the manufacturer rates the unit at 1500 W, but no source says how long it is typically preheated or left heating, and no watt-hour figure exists for this model. Parts are the third line, and the three numbered pieces had no store price in October 2026, so a year in which one of them fails has an unknown cost rather than a cheap one. Nothing here supports a dollar figure per year.

When it is a good buy

At or below $50 this is easy to justify: you are buying the exact model the test outlet cooked on and named Best Flat Top, with 200 sq in of nonstick surface, 1500 W, three numbered replaceable parts and a two-year limited warranty. [1][2][3][4]

Between roughly $51 and $58 it still makes sense. That band covers the manufacturer’s own appliance store, which listed $51.99 in October 2026 with the item shown sold out, and Ace Hardware, which listed $54.99 the same month with free returns within 30 days. [4][8][10]

Above roughly $60 the case weakens. The commercial channel asked $62.99 at Jugenheimer Industrial Supplies in October 2026, and the test outlet’s buying guide displayed $72.64 at Best Buy that month. Testing found no fault with the unit, and neither uneven heating in a minority of units nor the short cord goes away when you pay more for this model. [1][9]

Where something else is the better choice:

A removable-plate griddle in the same class — better above about $60, because the plate lifts out, stores flat and washes as a plate, which this fixed 22-inch surface does not. [1]
BLACK+DECKER GD2011B — the 10 x 20 in sibling with a fully immersible base and no warming tray; the better choice if you want a smaller surface and never use the warming tray. No source tested it against this model, and roundups mix the two together. [12]
Presto 07061 or Cuisinart GR-5 — not better buys. The same test batch scored the Presto lower for inconsistent heating and the Cuisinart for not lying flat and shutting off mid-cook, so at the same money take the GD2051B over either. [1]