A combo grill is a hedge. Gas when the evening is short, charcoal when it is not. Char-Griller’s DUO, model 5050, makes that case in one cart. Three gas burners on one side, a charcoal barrel on the other.
Char-Griller publishes that fire. It publishes 1,260 square inches of cooking space too. What it does not publish is how much patio the grill covers, or what it weighs.
So the number most likely to decide this purchase is the one nobody will stand behind. Worth knowing before the truck arrives.
40,800 BTUMain burner output, three burners
1,260 sq inTotal cooking space, all four surfaces
About 93 BTU/sq inGas primary heat density, published figures
Not publishedAssembled dimensions
First Impressions of the Char-Griller DUO 5050
The 5050 arrives as parts, not as a grill. The owner’s manual opens with an illustrated parts list, and it runs long. Char-Griller does not say how long assembly takes or how many people it needs. Clear a floor and pace yourself.
Assembled, it reads as two cookers sharing a frame. Black steel, twin lids, a stainless gauge on each, a side burner off one end. Nothing about it is styled. The DUO looks like equipment, and that suits it.
The gas half does the obvious thing first. Three stainless burners under porcelain-coated cast iron heat up and stay put. Cast iron leaves the dark bar marks people buy grills for. Steak comes off tasting grilled rather than pan-cooked.
Then the second lid earns its space on the cart. Charcoal or wood sits on an adjustable fire grate underneath. Chicken thighs pick up smoke that gas cannot fake. Better still, one barrel can run hot while the other runs slow.
That last point is the whole argument for a combo. You are not choosing a fuel at the start of the evening. You are running both, and letting each do what it is good at.
Key Features of the Char-Griller DUO 5050
Two barrels, four cooking surfaces and one shared cart explain most of this grill. The gas side carries the burners, the ignition and the side burner. The charcoal side carries the fire grate and the ash pan.
- Three stainless steel burners: The main burners are stainless and total 40,800 BTU. Char-Griller publishes no per-burner figure, so nobody should quote one. Three controls still buy you a hot zone and a holding zone.
- Cast-iron cooking grates: Both lids sit over porcelain-coated cast iron. Coated cast iron stores heat and hands it back as sear. Chipped porcelain is the weak point, so scrape rather than gouge.
- Side Burner: A cast side burner adds 12,000 BTU beside the lids. Sauce, beans or onions cook there instead of on the grates. That is one pot you never carry back inside.
- Electric Igniter: The push-button igniter takes one AA battery and feeds three electrodes. Char-Griller does not state whether that battery ships in the box. Some retail copy calls it piezo, which is a different mechanism entirely.
- Two stainless heat gauges: One gauge per lid, which a dual-fuel grill genuinely needs. You are running two separate fires at the same time. No temperature range is published, so those gauges are the reading you get.
- EasyDump ash pan and adjustable fire grate: Ash drops into a pan you empty rather than shovel. Raising the fire grate brings coals up for searing. Lowering it makes room for a longer, slower cook.
- Double-lined charcoal bottom: The charcoal half gets a second layer of steel underneath. That is where a charcoal grill usually burns through first. Char-Griller also names those panels in the longer warranty tier.
- Included small parts: A grate lifter, a condiment basket and an under-shelf come with it. The lifter matters most on the charcoal side. Cast iron grates are heavy once they are hot.
- Rotisserie paperwork, not a rotisserie: Char-Griller publishes rotisserie instructions written for the 5050. Nothing says a kit ships with the grill. Treat it as a documented upgrade path rather than a feature.
- Sold separately: The 20 pound propane cylinder is not included. Neither is the cover, sold as the Char-Griller 8080. The Side Fire Box is its own part, number 2-2424.
Start with the fire, because that is the part Char-Griller specifies well. The three main burners total 40,800 BTU. Retailer listings put the gas primary grate at 438 square inches. That works out near 93 BTU per square inch, which is generous for a combo cart.
The area figures are where it turns murky. Amazon’s listing gives 438 square inches of gas primary and 580 charcoal. Those sum to 1,018, which leaves no room for 384 inches of warming rack. Lowe’s instead splits the same total as 876 primary plus 384 racks.
Both breakdowns hang off one number the brand does stand behind. The total is the manufacturer’s, and the halves belong to the retailers. Read 1,260 square inches as real and the split as unsettled. Each barrel is then a mid-size grill, not half of a huge one.
For the cook, that framing matters more than it sounds. Plan a party around the total and you will run out of primary grate. Plan around one barrel at a time and you will never be short.
Build, handling and durability
The steel is the reassuring part of this grill. Char-Griller calls the body heavy steel and double-lines the charcoal bottom. No source publishes a gauge, so read heavy as a description, not a measurement. Cast iron grates and chrome-plated warming racks fill out both lids.
Then comes the size question, which has no answer. Char-Griller publishes neither assembled dimensions nor a weight. Three retailer dimension sets circulate, and two of them sit on the same page. One retailer lists 168 pounds, and a lighter figure floats around as well.
The practical cost of that gap lands on you, not on the brand. You cannot check a gate, a alcove or a deck rail before ordering. You find out on assembly day, with the box already open.
Parts tell you something about how this grill was put together. The regulator and hose fit eight models, including the gas-only Grillin’ Pro 3001. One leg part is keyed to serial numbers ending in F. Order the wrong series and it simply will not fit.
That cuts both ways over a decade of ownership. Shared parts mean the common wear items stay easy to find. Keyed parts mean you must read your own serial number before clicking buy.
Running costs, upkeep and value
Two fuels mean two running bills. The manual specifies LP propane, and the 20 pound cylinder is not included. Its Type 1 outlet takes a 1-5/16 inch ACME right-hand thread. No natural gas conversion is documented, so plan on cylinders and bags.
Upkeep doubles as well, and one half is dirtier than the other. The EasyDump ash pan empties without a shovel, which matters most in season. Grease, grates and cast iron still want attention on both sides. No cover is included, and Char-Griller sells one as the 8080.
Two barrels also means twice the surface for weather to work on. Left bare through a wet winter, the cheapest part of this grill becomes its shortest-lived one. Budget the cover with the grill, not a season later.
Value depends entirely on what you set beside it. Char-Griller lists the DUO at $399.00 on a page marked out of stock. The two-burner E5030 gives 24,000 BTU, 870 square inches and no side burner. The Texas Trio 3070 reaches 1,390 square inches and includes the side firebox.
Seen against those two, the DUO sits in a sensible middle. You pay for the second fuel and the side burner, and little else. Whether that is good value depends on how often the charcoal side actually gets lit.
Possible Char-Griller DUO 5050 Complaints
- Nobody will tell you how big it is: Char-Griller publishes no assembled dimensions for the DUO. Three retailer figure sets disagree, and two of them share one page. You feel this at the tape measure, or at a gate that is one inch narrow. Measure your space, then assume the largest published set is the true one.
- The warranty depends on which manual shipped: The current printing gives five years rust-through on named panels, including the main burner tubes. An earlier printing covers the charcoal body and gas lid only, with the tubes unnamed. Two retailers then restate the terms two more ways. Register the grill, keep the receipt, and keep the manual that came in your box.
