First Impressions of the Char-Griller FlexFuel Plus
Assembled, the FlexFuel Plus is wide before it is anything else. The published width is 66.3 inches, and it occupies all of them. Two barrel lids sit side by side on a black steel cart. Nothing here is styled, and it reads as equipment rather than furniture.
The gas half carries two control knobs and an ignition button. A side shelf hangs off one end, with a lower shelf underneath. One end rides on a pair of wheels for repositioning. Char-Griller publishes no weight for this model, so arrange help anyway.
The griddle is what makes this a Plus, and it shows immediately. The plate occupies the space the gas grates vacate. Lift the grates, drop the griddle in, close the lid. That swap takes seconds and changes what the gas side is.
The first cook says the obvious thing about coated cast iron. The bars leave dark marks and hand back stored heat. Then the plate goes in and the same burners cook eggs. Two jobs, one fire, about a minute of work between them.
Key Features of the Char-Griller FlexFuel Plus
Most of this grill is one chassis doing several jobs at once. Burners, ignition, grease cup and griddle all belong to the gas half. Across the hinge sit the fuel tray, the dampers and the ash pan.
- Pre-seasoned flat-top griddle, included: Char-Griller ships the plate in the box, already seasoned. It replaces the gas grates rather than adding a surface. The company does not publish what the plate is made from.
- Two stainless steel burners: The gas side totals 30,000 BTU across two stainless burners. Char-Griller never divides that figure. Nobody should quote a per-burner number for this grill.
- Cast-iron cooking grates: Both barrels sit under porcelain-coated cast iron. Heavy bars soak up heat and return it when meat lands. Porcelain chips if you attack it, so use a soft-edged scraper.
- Push-button igniter: One button lights the gas side. Char-Griller calls it Automatic Ignition and describes the mechanism no further.
- Adjustable charcoal tray: The charcoal tray sits on an adjustment that changes its height. Up for searing, down for longer work. The cooking grates themselves stay where they are.
- Multiple vents and dampers: Dual dampers set the airflow through the charcoal side. On charcoal that is most of your heat control. Learn them early and the barrel behaves.
- Swing-away warming and smoking racks: The racks hold food clear of the fire below. The brand points them at indirect, low-and-slow charcoal cooking.
- EasyDump ash pan and front-access grease cup: Ash falls through to the EasyDump pan sitting below the barrel. Grease reaches a cup that pulls out from the front.
- Heavy-duty steel cart, side shelf and wheels: Char-Griller describes the construction as heavy-duty steel. No gauge appears on any page, so read that as a description.
- BBQ Cover, sold separately: The Dual Fuel Grill Cover is part 8080 at $59.99. Char-Griller lists it as fitting this model and the older 5050.
- Side Fire Box, sold separately: Offset smoking needs part 82424 at $99.99. Nothing in the FlexFuel Plus box does that job.
Start with what Char-Griller actually publishes about the fire. The gas side totals 30,000 BTU across two stainless burners. Char-Griller lists 875 square inches as primary, inside a 1,260 total. Nothing on the page splits that 875 between the gas and charcoal halves.
The absence of that split has a practical consequence. Without it you cannot work out heat per square inch on either side. So read 30,000 BTU as a gas-side figure and leave it there. The charcoal barrel brings its own fire, and no BTU number covers it.
Take the primary area out of the total and 385 square inches remain. That space is the swing-away racks, above the fire rather than in it. Racks hold, finish and take on smoke, but they do not sear. Plan a crowd around 875 square inches, not around 1,260.
The griddle changes what the gas side is, not how much of it there is. Grates out, plate in, and those burners now heat flat steel. You give up grate marks for as long as the plate stays in. That is a swap rather than an addition, which is a fair trade and worth knowing.
Build, handling and durability
There is not much to the materials, and most of it holds up. Heavy-duty steel for the body and the cart. Porcelain-coated cast iron for both sets of cooking grates. No steel gauge appears anywhere, so heavy-duty stays a word rather than a number.
Char-Griller publishes the whole footprint here, and that is not always true. Width 66.3 inches, depth 27.8 inches, height 45.3 inches. Take those three numbers to the side gate before you order. That is a small kindness, and a real one.
Weight is the odd gap, and it sits in plain sight. The specification block lists areas, dimensions, charcoal capacity and BTU. It then skips weight entirely on this model. Arrange help and a clear route to the patio, because nothing guides you.
The plate needs a habit that the grates never asked for. Pre-seasoned means a film you maintain, not a finish that lasts. Char-Griller does not say what the griddle is made from. Oil it after cooking, keep it dry, and it stays yours for years.
Running costs, upkeep and value
Two fuels mean two shopping lists, which is the price of the format. Propane feeds the burners, and charcoal or wood feeds the barrel. The brand’s own lump charcoal runs $13.99, with fire starters at $11.99. Neither is required, and neither ships in the box.
Cleanup splits neatly between the two halves of the cart. That EasyDump pan means no shovel and no kneeling in soot. The grease cup pulls from the front instead of hiding underneath. The seasoned plate then adds a third routine the grates never had.
Weather is the running cost nobody budgets for. The Dual Fuel Grill Cover is part 8080 at $59.99, and it is not included. Twin barrels present a lot of painted steel to a wet season. Order it in the same basket, not after the first wet winter.
Value is unusually easy to check here, because Char-Griller prices its whole range. The Dual Function 2-Burner E5030 sits below at $399.99. It gives 870 total square inches and 24,000 BTU. Above it, the Double Play lists at $569.00 and the Texas Trio at $699.99.
The comparison that decides this grill is the one directly beneath it. The plain FlexFuel CG30282925 lists at $449.00 and publishes identical figures throughout. The Plus therefore asks $50.99 more for the plate in the box. Judge that against what a separate flat top would cost you in money and patio.
One caveat belongs with all of those numbers. Char-Griller’s own store showed the Plus sold out when we checked. The same day, its dual-fuel range page still listed it at $499.99. Check the retail link before you plan around either state.
Possible Char-Griller FlexFuel Plus Complaints
- The Smoker in the name is doing a lot of work: Its specification block caps the charcoal at 2 lbs, maximum. It publishes that same 2 lbs for the much smaller E5030, which is odd. Texas-style offset smoking then needs the Side Fire Box, part 82424, at $99.99. Read Smoker here as indirect charcoal work under the racks, with the dampers shut down.
- The premium buys one plate and nothing else: CG30282925 publishes the same primary area, total area, footprint, output and warranty. The only documented difference is the pre-seasoned griddle and $50.99. If a flat top already lives in your garage, that money buys you nothing at all. If it does not, a plate that drops straight into the grates is a reasonable deal.
