AvidGriller

Heat density, grill by grill

Burner output divided by the surface it has to heat — 36 gas cookers, each figure derived from that grill's own published specifications. Sort it, but read the warning first.

A bigger number is not a better grill. Heat density says how hard a cooker can drive its grate, nothing more. A small portable concentrates a modest burner over a tiny surface and scores well; a large grill spreads a big burner thin and scores badly while cooking more food at once. It is useful for asking "will this sear?", and useless as a ranking of quality — that is what the six-category score is for.

Covers 36 of 96 reviewed gas cookers. The rest publish the inputs but no derived figure, and we do not calculate it here: on the grills where we could check, the arithmetic got the multi-fuel and multi-spec cases wrong where the writer got them right.

# Burner outputas published Cooking areaas published
1 DCS BE1-36RCI-N Gas grill 117 74,000 BTU under the main grate — two 25,000 BTU U-burners plus the 24,000 BTU in-cookbox sear bay — ÷ 630 sq in primary grate. The published 88,000 BTU total also counts a 14,000 BTU rear rotisserie burner, which cannot run with the grill burners and heats no part of the grate; the 534 sq in secondary racks are excluded from the area. 88,000 BTU 630 sq in † 8.1
2 Fire Magic Choice Multi-User CM540 Built-In Grill Gas grill 111 Heat density, highest in the Choice line 60,000 BTU 540 sq in 8.2
3 Fire Magic Choice Multi-User CM430i Built-In Grill Gas grill 106 Heat density, published figures 46,000 BTU 432 sq in 8.0
4 Fire Magic Choice Multi-User CM650i Built-In Grill Gas grill 106 Heat density, same as the 24-inch model 69,000 BTU 648 sq in 8.3
5 Nexgrill Deluxe 2-Burner Gas Grill Gas grill 96.3 Energy per inch of primary grate 28,000 BTU 290.7 sq in 7.9
6 Char-Griller DUO 5050 Gas & Charcoal Grill Gas grill About 93 Gas primary heat density, published figures 40,800 BTU 1,260 sq in † 7.9
7 Nexgrill Evolution Infrared Plus 5-Burner Gas grill 92 Main-burner heat density, derived 57,000 BTU 486.3 sq in † 7.3
8 Broil King Crown 410 Shadow Gas grill 87 Heat density: the 40,000 BTU figure divided by the primary grid 40,000 BTU 460 sq in 8.1
9 Broil King Crown S 440 Gas grill 87 40,000 BTU across four main Dual-Tube burners ÷ 460 sq in primary grid. Excludes the 10,000 BTU side burner and the 630 sq in total, which adds the warming rack. 40,000 BTU 460 sq in 8.2
10 Broil King Crown S 490 Natural Gas Grill Gas grill 87 Main output across the primary grate 40,000 BTU 460 sq in 8.4
11 Broil King Royal 320 Shadow Gas grill ~86 Main output spread over the primary grid 30,000 BTU 350 sq in 7.9
12 Weber Spirit E-325 Gas Grill Gas grill 86 Heat density, on Weber's own two figures 31,000 BTU 360 sq in 8.5
13 Char-Broil 3-Burner Gas Grill Gas grill 83 30,000 BTU across three main burners ÷ 360 sq in primary grate, excluding the 170 sq in warming rack 30,000 BTU 360 sq in 7.5
14 Nexgrill Daytona 4-Burner Flat Top Griddle Gas griddle 79 Heat density, from published figures 60,000 BTU 756 sq in 8.4
15 Traeger Flatrock 3 Zone Gas griddle About 79 Fire per square inch, worked out 47,000 BTU/hr 594 sq in 8.2
16 Broilmaster B-Series 32-Inch Built-In Gas Griddle Gas griddle 78 Heat density, derived from both figures 36,000 BTU 462 sq in 8.3
17 Char-Griller Flat Iron 4-Burner Gas Griddle Gas griddle 77 Derived output per square inch 60,000 BTU 775 sq in 7.9
18 Weber Genesis E-315 Gas Grill Gas grill 76 Heat over the primary grate, derived 39,000 BTU 513 sq in 8.4
19 Cuisinart Chef's Style Stainless Tabletop Grill Gas grill 73 Heat per square inch of grate 20,000 BTU 275 sq in 8.3
20 Char-Broil Performance Series 22 Portable Tabletop Griddle Gas griddle 69 Output divided by plate area 24,000 BTU 350 sq in 8.3
21 Char-Griller Flat Iron 3-Burner Gas Griddle Gas griddle 69 Output per square inch of plate 36,000 BTU 520 sq in 7.8
22 Broil King Porta-Chef 320 Gas grill 61 to 71 range Heat density, published figures 18,000 or 21,000 BTU — 8.2
23 Blackstone 22-Inch Tabletop Griddle Gas griddle 58 to 73 range Heat density, published figures 21,000 to 24,000 BTU 330, 339 or 361 sq in 7.8
24 Char-Broil Versa-Tile 28 Gas grill 65 to 66 range 36,000 BTU total across three stainless burners, all of them under the cooking surface, ÷ each of the two cooking areas the same page publishes: 550 sq in gives 65, 543 sq in gives 66. 36,000 BTU 550 sq in, or 543, depending where you read 7.8
25 Char-Broil Pro Series 3-Burner Gas Grill and Griddle Gas griddle 62 Heat density over the main grate, derived 25,500 BTU 412 sq in 7.6
26 Char-Broil Pro Series 4-Burner Gas Grill and Griddle Gas griddle 60 32,000 BTU across four main burners ÷ 535 sq in primary grate, excluding the side burner and the 202.3 sq in warming rack inside the 802.9 sq in total. 32,000 BTU 802.9 sq in † 8.3
27 Broilmaster PREMIUM P3SX Gas grill 58 Fire per square inch, derived 40,000 BTU 695 sq in 8.4
28 Char-Broil Bistro Pro 2-in-1 Gas & Charcoal Balcony Grill Gas grill 58 Derived: gas output over the primary grate 14,000 BTU 240 sq in, plus an 80 sq in warming rack 7.3
29 Cuisinart Venture Portable Gas Grill Gas grill 58 9,000 BTU from the single stainless burner ÷ 154 sq in cast iron cooking grate 9,000 BTU 154 sq in 8.1
30 Coleman Fold N Go + Propane Grill Gas grill 57 Derived: the output divided by the area it has to cover 6,000 BTU 105 sq in 8.1
31 Char-Broil 1-Burner Portable Propane Gas Grill Gas grill 50 Output divided by area 10,000 BTU 200 sq in 7.5
32 Char-Broil Bistro Pro Gas Tabletop Grill Gas grill 50 Heat density, published figures 9,000 BTU 180 sq in 8.0
33 Char-Broil Medallion Series Vista Outdoor Kitchen Gas grill 46 Heat density, derived from both figures 31,000 BTU 680 sq in 7.5
34 Char-Griller Flat Iron Portable 17-inch Gas Griddle Gas griddle 45 Derived, thinnest in the Flat Iron line 12,000 BTU 264 sq in 7.7
35 Weber Q 1200 Gas Grill Gas grill About 45 Denser than the larger Q 2000 8,500 BTU 189 sq in 8.6
36 Weber Q 2000 Gas Grill Gas grill ~43 Heat density 12,000 BTU 280 sq in 8.7

Every density above was derived by the writer of that review, from the maker's own published output and area, and is quoted exactly as the review states it — including the ranges, which exist because the maker publishes more than one spec for the same product. † marks the 4 grills whose headline output and headline area do not divide to the density shown. Those are not errors — they are the cases where the headline pair is the wrong pair. A combination grill publishes a gas output against an area that includes its charcoal chamber; a grill with a side burner or a rear rotisserie publishes a total that never reaches the main grate; and a headline area often counts warming racks the food never sees. The density uses the burner and the surface that actually face each other, and each row's basis says which figures those were.