The Good

Convenience:

If you’re after convenience, put merely, gas is for you. Gas grills are easy to start as it gas grills have ignition systems to get you cooking in no time. Secondly, as a result, they also heat up quickly, you’ll be cooking within 10 minutes. Lastly, gas tanks last a long time between refilling. A typical 20-pound tank will last around 25 hours of grilling, meaning you won’t have to refuel after every grill. Even better news for Natural Gas grillers is that you won’t need to refill as it’s always connected to a gas source.

Temperature Control:

With Gas Grills, you have complete control of the heat and how it distributes around the food. You can easily hold steady temperatures on your grill, or you can heat up or cool down rapidly. Also, you can configure your grill burners for indirect heating or change temperatures in different areas for multi-purpose cooking. With multiple burners, you’ll be able to cook meat on high, while cooking veggies on medium to low heat, then have a low-temperature zone for keeping freshly cooked food warm.

Easy Cleaning:

Clean-up is easy when it comes to gas grills. As there is no ash from coal to deal with, it’s usually a straightforward matter of cleaning the grates after every grill session. A more thorough clean is generally recommended every few months to remove the carbon and grease that can build up over time.

Options:

Gas grills can come with lots of extra bits to give you the convenience that a standard charcoal grill can’t. Firstly, most modern gas grills come with a side burner for cooking with a pan or skillet. Most people who cook on an outdoor grill find that they’ll use a side burner to warm up a sauce or to prepare a side dish while keeping an eye on the barbeque. A side cooker can be a great addition and will save you trips to and from the kitchen.

The Not So Good:

Price:

Gas Grill tends to be slightly more expensive than Charcoal Grills as they are more complex with more parts associated with them.

Safety:

In very windy conditions gas burners can blow out completely which is a hazard.

Gas refill:

Although it is excellent that a tank can last several grill sessions, there’s nothing worse than finding out that you’re out of gas, halfway through a grilling session. This disaster can be avoided by always having a spare LP gas tank in reserve. Natural gas grills don’t have this problem.

Authentic flavor:

If you are picky about your flavor, gas grills do not create the traditional smoky flavor that is usually associated with charcoal grilling. Having said that most of your expensive steakhouses grill their prime steaks using gas grills.

The Good

High heat:

Charcoal grills reach higher temperatures than regular gas grills, and the high heat is the key to getting your steaks to be crisp on the outside while still pink on the inside.

Smoke:

If you’re using charcoal, it would generally give off more smoke thus giving a more authentic Smokey flavor to your meats and vegetables.

The not so good

Time:

Setup time to cook and heat can take longer compared to a gas grill. If you’re using charcoal fluid to start the fire, you’ll need to burn off the petrol smell that comes with it, which takes longer.

Messy:

Charcoal grills are more work to clean-up and maintain. The ash from the coal needs to be cleaned up after each grilling session. Dyna Glo does, however, lessens the pain of the clean with removable ash pans at the bottom of their Charcoal grills.

Soot:

If you don’t give the chamber enough oxygen, you can get soot deposit all over your food.

Temperature Control:

As controlling a charcoal grill isn’t as easy as just turning a dial like on a gas grill, it’s more of a hassle to control the heat. Charcoal grills also lose temperature slowly over time, meaning you always have to adjust the fuel in the charcoal chamber. Dyna Glo offer charcoal grills with adjustable charcoal trays, making it a much simpler process to improve the heat.

Charcoal grill maximalists would argue that these ‘negatives’ are simply a part of the great experience of cooking with charcoal. Also, items such as charcoal chimneys are great to speed up the process of heating the fuel. You can create heat zones for cooking by pushing coals to one side of the grill.

Stainless Steel Grates

Stainless steel doesn’t hold heat as much as a cast iron grate, however, you’ll still be able to sear your meats. The benefit of having stainless steel is that they are much easier to clean and last longer than conventional cast iron grates. Just a simple wipe with a grill brush should remove most residue on the grates.

Cast Iron Grates

Cast iron grates hold heat better than stainless steel grates, which makes it best for searing steaks. Dyna Glo offers cast-iron grates with Porcelain finish making it easier to clean.

Features to Consider:

Once you’ve decided on either a gas grill (natural gas) or a charcoal grill, you’ll want to figure out what features you want with your grill.

Size:

Generally, the number of people you expect to cook for can determine which size you should get. As a general guide, for an average family, you would typically go for 450 to 500 square inches of cooking area. For large families, you should be going for larger grills up around the 550 to 650 square inches.

On the other hand, if you want portability, naturally the smaller the size, the easier to transport.

Construction:

Construction on the grill is an important thing to consider as it determines the grills ability to keep the heat. Secondly, the material will determine how long the grill will last. Being mainly housed outdoors, barbeques are out in the elements all the time. Grills using quality materials will outlast grill built with cheap materials.

Premium grills are constructed using double walled liner to maintain maximum heat. This feature is important if you plan on roasting or closing the lid often.

Features

Integrated Thermometers:

if you’re cooking something more than just sausages or burgers, you’ll want an integrated thermometer to keep an eye on the temp during the roasting.

Heat Tents:

These have a dual purpose of keeping food and liquid from getting on the gas burners as well as distributing heat evenly across the grill

Grease collection:

Check to make sure the grill has a tray to capture the grease that will wall into the gaps.

Wheels on base:

If you need to move it around constantly, it may be an idea to get a grill that has wheels.

Warming racks:

You’ll find these on most grills. Somewhere to place your cooked meats to keep warm while you’re still cooking other foods.

Side Tables:

Great for preparing your meats, or to put plates or bowls for easier access. If your patio area is small, look out for side tables that can hold down.

Gas Grill Features:

Burners

The more burners you have, the more you can grill. By having 3 or more burners also gives you better control of temperature and allows you to have different temperature zones. For example, you can sear steaks in one area of the grill while cooking some veggies at a lower temperature in another area.

Fuel Ignition Systems:

Makes your grilling experience easier with an integrated ignition system. With a push of a button, instantly ignite your grill.

Side burner:

Gives you the ability to add foods with a saucepan or skillet, such as sauces without leaving your grill.

Slide out trays for gas tanks:

make changing your gas a breeze with a slide-out tray.

Rotisserie kit:

These mount on to your grill to rotate your meats slowly to get evenly cooked meats. Spit roasting meats will make the meat much juicier to eat.

Charcoal Grill Features

Ash Pan:

To collect the fallen ash from the grill. Look out for grills that have removable ash pans, makes cleaning a lot easier.

Charcoal basket adjustment trays

Having adjustment trays allows you to raise or lower the coal without having adjusted the coals manually.

Charcoal Access doors

Gives easy access to your fuel without having to take grates off. They are useful to have, its quite tricky stoking or adding more fuel to the grill when the grate is full of food.

Offset Smokers:

Some grills allow you to attach an offset Smoker onto the existing grill. You’ll be able to slowly smoke meats and veggies, adding another dimension to your cooking.

Adjustable Flue or dampers

Having adjustable flues or dampers give you extra options to control the temperature. Air flow control is crucial for burn efficiency and temperature control

Now that you’ve learned what features to look for, it all comes down to what you want with your grill, how much space you have and how much money you’re willing to spend. Have a browse through the Grills catalog of the website using the filters on the left-hand side