The Char-Broil Portable Gas Grill, model 465133010, is about as plain as propane gets. It is a black steel box with one burner, one knob and two wire legs. It weighs 11 lbs and sells for around $50.
To reach that weight and that price, something had to go. Here it is the spark. There is no igniter of any kind. You light it with a wooden match, from underneath.
That leaves one thing worth settling. Is a match-lit grill a sensible economy, or a false one? The answer sits in what the money went on instead.
11,000 BTUOne burner, the whole output
190 sq inPorcelain-coated wire grate
57.9 BTU per sq inOutput over grate area
11 lbsCarry weight, cylinder not fitted
First Impressions of the Char-Broil 465133010
Cardboard comes off fast, since there is so little of it. What comes out looks like a black lunch pail. Two bent chrome wire legs are folded up and over the lid.
Those legs are the clever bit. Swing them down and they become the stand. Swing them up and they clamp the lid shut for carrying. The stand and the latch are the same two pieces of wire.
Char-Broil’s page lists assembly as not required. The product guide disagrees. It prints a parts list, a bag of screws and a 30 minute estimate.
Plan on fitting the lid handle, the side handles and the burner yourself. A Phillips screwdriver and an adjustable wrench, neither supplied, cover it.
Then comes the moment that defines ownership. You raise the lid and thread a 16.4 oz cylinder into the valve.
Strike a match and reach under the grill. A hole in the centre of the floor takes the flame up to the burner. Turn the knob, and it catches with a soft whump.
Before any food, the guide wants 15 minutes on high to burn off the paint smell. Every cook after that starts with the lid shut for 6 minutes. Burgers on the centre of the grate came off with dark, crisp marks.
Key Features of the Char-Broil 465133010
Char-Broil gave this grill very few parts to talk about. Here is everything this grill has, and a few things it pointedly does not.
- One 11,000 BTU burner: a stainless steel tube runs under the grate. No other part on Char-Broil’s spec sheet gets that metal.
- Porcelain-coated wire grate, 190 square inches: Char-Broil’s artwork reckons six hamburgers, eight chicken thighs or nine pork sausages. That count is honest for a grate this size.
- A reflective heat distribution plate: it sits between burner and grate in place of lava rocks. Drippings vaporize on it, and it stays put on the road.
- Folding wire legs that latch the lid: the single most useful idea on the grill. No catch to break, no hinge pin to lose.
- A cylinder-mounted control: the regulator, valve and knob form one assembly. It plugs into the end of the burner and twists to lock.
- Heat-resistant side handles: one at each end, so two hands can carry it level.
- Aluminized steel lid and heat tent: the lid is coated steel, not stainless, despite what the Amazon table says.
- What it lacks: nothing makes a spark, nothing reads the heat, nothing catches fat. Shelves, wheels and racks are missing too.
That last bullet is the design brief written out. Each absence kept a pound or a dollar out of the box. The question is which absences you will actually feel. Two of them matter, and the rest barely register.
This is where the cheap grill surprises. Spread 11,000 BTU across a 190 square inch grate. Each square inch gets 57.9 BTU. Char-Broil’s stainless 465640214 manages 50, from 10,000 BTU over 200 square inches.
So the budget model drives its grate harder than the one costing twice as much. A smaller grate over a bigger burner explains it. Patties and sausages colour fast near the middle.
There is one zone, though, and one knob. The flame runs down the centre, so the ends run a little cooler. Shuffling food outward is the only gentle setting you get. Thick chicken pieces want the lid down and patience.
The guide warns that the flame can go out on low before the box is warm. Give it the full preheat and that problem largely disappears. On a windy beach, keep the lid closed more than open.
That shiny plate under the grate earns its place. It spreads one line of flame across the floor of the box. It also turns drippings into smoke rather than flare. Fat sausages are the test, and they spat without catching fire.
Build, handling and durability
At 11 lbs, this is a grill you carry by the lid handle with one hand. The 465640214 weighs 19.5 lbs. Most of that gap is the stainless lid and grate this model does without.
The body is painted steel, the lid and heat tent aluminized steel. Neither is thick. The wire legs feel sturdy on a level table. On a rough one they flex.
Durability comes down to keeping the box dry. Aluminized steel resists rust well until the coating is scratched. Store it indoors without the cylinder, as the guide insists, and it should see several seasons. Leave it out in the rain and the bottom will go first.
Watch the valve end on the road. The regulator and cylinder hang off one side, outside the box. Knock that corner and the knob takes the blow. Pack the grill with that end facing up, or against something soft.
Running costs, upkeep and value
We captured the Amazon price at $47.99 in September and $54.05 today. Char-Broil’s own page asked $49.99 when it was last archived. That page now returns a 404, so Amazon is effectively the shop.
Propane is what you keep paying for, a little at a time. Each 16.4 oz throwaway cylinder threads directly into the valve. The guide forbids refilling them, so buy a few and keep the caps on.
Upkeep is the weak spot. There is no grease tray at all.
Drippings harden in the bottom of the box. The guide says to scrape them out with a putty knife. Skip that and grease can overflow at the bottom vents.
The burner tube needs attention too. Char-Broil warns that spiders nest in it over a quiet winter. Clean it with a 12 inch pipe cleaner before the first cook of the year.
Compare the bill with the stainless sibling. Around $109.99 buys the 465640214, with its piezo spark and stainless lid. Much of that gap pays for things a matchbook and some care can replace.
On value, the case is strong. Around $50 buys real output on a usable grate, from a known maker. The 90 day warranty matters less at this price. A replacement costs little more than a repair.
Possible Char-Broil 465133010 Complaints
- Lighting by match is awkward: you reach under a grill with a lit match while turning a knob. If it fails in 5 seconds, the guide says wait 5 minutes before trying again. Long fireplace matches help a lot.
- The bottom of the box collects everything: with no tray, fat sets in the floor after a few cooks. Scraping it out is a newspaper-and-putty-knife job. Lining the bottom with foil, clear of the vents, could make it easier.
