A gas grill has eight main parts: the lid, grates, heat tents, burners, igniter, grease tray, cookbox and regulator. A charcoal kettle is simpler: a lid and lid vent, a cooking grate over a charcoal grate, the bowl, bottom vents and an ash catcher. Both are labelled below.
Parts of a gas grill
- Lid
- Grates
- Heat tents
- Burners
- Igniter
- Grease tray
- Cookbox
- Regulator
- 1Lid
- Traps heat so the grill works like an oven. Most have a thermometer, which reads the air near the lid, not the grate.
- 2Grates
- The bars the food sits on. Cast iron holds the most heat and sears best; stainless steel rods are easiest to keep; porcelain coated grates are in between.
- 3Heat tents
- Metal tents over each burner. They protect the burners from drips, spread the heat, and turn drippings into smoke. Weber calls them Flavorizer bars.
- 4Burners
- Steel tubes with rows of small holes, one per control knob. Gas flows out of the holes and burns as blue flame.
- 5Igniter
- Makes the spark that lights the burners when you press the button or turn a knob. Often the first part to fail.
- 6Grease tray
- Catches the drippings that run down through the cookbox. Empty it often, because a full tray can catch fire.
- 7Cookbox
- The body of the grill that holds the burners. Its metal and thickness decide how long the grill lasts.
- 8Regulator
- The round valve on the hose that screws onto a propane tank. It lowers the tank pressure to what the burners use.
Parts of a charcoal grill
- Lid
- Cooking grate
- Charcoal grate
- Bowl
- Ash catcher
- Handle
- Lid vent
- Bottom vents
- Legs and wheels
- 1Lid
- Holds in heat and smoke. With the lid on, a kettle roasts and smokes as well as it grills.
- 2Cooking grate
- Where the food goes. Many have hinged sections so you can add coals underneath.
- 3Charcoal grate
- The lower grate that holds the coals up off the bowl so air can reach them from below.
- 4Bowl
- The round body. Its shape reflects heat back onto the food from every side.
- 5Ash catcher
- The pan under the bowl that catches ash from the vents. A closed ash can is easier to empty than an open pan.
- 6Handle
- Most are heat shielded; some lids have a hook to hang the lid on the side of the bowl.
- 7Lid vent
- Lets smoke and hot air out. Place it over the food so the smoke passes across it.
- 8Bottom vents
- Let air in to feed the fire. Open them for a hotter fire, close them down to cool it, shut them to put it out.
- 9Legs and wheels
- Three legs, two with wheels on most full size kettles, so it moves around the patio.
Grates: what they are made of
Cast iron, on the left, is heavy and holds the most heat, so it leaves the darkest sear marks. Bare cast iron rusts unless it is kept oiled.
Porcelain coated grates, in the middle, are cast iron or steel under a glassy coat that resists rust and sticking. Chips in the coat let rust in.
Stainless steel rods, on the right, heat quickly, resist rust and are the easiest to clean, but they hold less heat than cast iron.
Which parts decide how long a grill lasts
Every one of our 193 scored reviews explains its Long-term Reliability score in a sentence that names the part most likely to fail or to last. This is how often each part comes up.
The body comes first because it is what a long warranty covers and what ends a grill when it rusts through. Burners and grates follow because they sit in the fire. On pellet grills, the electronics take their place. Our guide to how long grills last shows the warranty on each.
Questions people ask
- What are Flavorizer bars?
- Weber's name for the heat tents over the burners on its gas grills. Every maker uses them under some name: heat tents, flame tamers, heat plates. They shield the burners from grease and turn drippings into flavor.
- What is a sear burner?
- An extra burner, often infrared, that runs much hotter than the main burners for a fast, dark crust on a steak. Some sit inside the cookbox and some on a side shelf.
- What is the part that holds the charcoal called?
- The charcoal grate, the lower grate inside the bowl. On barrel and cart grills it is a charcoal pan or tray, often one you can raise and lower.
- Which grill parts need replacing most often?
- The igniter, the grates and the heat tents, then the burners. All four are sold as parts for most good grills, so a grill with a sound cookbox is worth repairing.
- Where do I find replacement parts?
- From the maker first, by your grill's model number, which is printed on a label on the cart or under a side shelf. Generic parts fit many grills, but check the measurements.