Charbroil Classic vs MASTER COOK 3-Burner Gas Grill: The Bigger Grill Has the Smaller Grate
Two 30,000 BTU three-burner grills in one price band. Amazon states 360 and 472 square inches, and the larger number is the smaller grate: 360 against 339 square inches of main grate.
The two listings at a glance
30,000 BTU, 360 sq in, porcelain grates
Read our review · Check price on Amazon
30,000 BTU, 472 sq in, two foldable shelves
Read our review · Check price on Amazon
Two three-burner propane grills, in the same price band, each stating 30,000 BTU per hour, and one stating a cooking area nearly a third larger than the other. The difference between the two stated areas is the point of this page, because it is not the difference between the two grates. It comes from what each listing decided to count, and a shopper comparing the headline numbers would conclude the opposite of what the listings say once they are read.
| Figure | Charbroil Classic | MASTER COOK | Gas grill class median |
|---|---|---|---|
| Area stated on Amazon | 360 sq in (both sources) | 472 sq in (both sources) | 489 sq in |
| Main grate (from the text) | 360 sq in | 339 sq in | — |
| Warming rack (from the text) | 170 sq in | 133 sq in | — |
| Main grate plus rack | 530 sq in | 472 sq in | — |
| Burners | 3 | 3 | 8 of the class have 3 |
| Heat output | 30,000 BTU per hour | 30,000 BTU per hour | — |
| Weight | 23.1 kg, 51 lb (listing only) | 21.1 kg, 47 lb (our review only) | 31 kg |
| Dimensions on Amazon | 20″ D x 51.1″ W x 42.5″ H | 41.1″ D x 46.5″ W x 20.9″ H | — |
| Ignition | piezo, push-button | piezo, push and turn | — |
| Side shelves | two | two, foldable | — |
| Price band | $75-200 | $75-200 | — |
The bigger-looking grill has the smaller grate
Amazon states 360 square inches for the Charbroil and 472 for the MASTER COOK, which is 31 percent more for the MASTER COOK. Read the text under each number. The Charbroil’s bullet says “360 sq. in. primary cooking area” and separately “an added warming rack” of 170 square inches, and our review gives 360 square inches of primary grate plus a 170 square inch rack, 530 in total. The MASTER COOK’s bullet says “472 sq. in. total cooking space, including 339 sq. in. primary cooking area and 133 sq. in. warming rack”. So 360 is the Charbroil’s main grate and 472 is the MASTER COOK’s main grate plus its rack.
On a like-for-like basis the numbers reverse. The main grates are 360 and 339 square inches, 21 square inches or 6 percent more for the Charbroil. The totals, with a rack on each, are 530 and 472, 12 percent more for the Charbroil again. Neither number is wrong. Both are what the listing says it is, and both agree between our review and Amazon, which is why checking one source against the other would not have caught it. It took reading the sentence beside each number. The gas grill class report finds only seven listings in thirty that give enough to tell which a stated area is, so a stated area on any other gas grill should be read as the maker’s figure that may or may not include a rack.
The same heat, spread over different grates
Both state 30,000 BTU per hour, from three burners, so ten thousand each. Divided by the main grate, that is 83 BTU per square inch for the Charbroil and 88 for the MASTER COOK; divided by main grate plus rack, 57 and 64. In both ways the MASTER COOK’s heat is spread over less grate, a little over 5 percent denser on the main grate, which would matter if the figure meant the same thing in both listings, and the most that can be said is that the listings give no reason to think it does not. The gas grill class report shows that stated BTU is a total for some grills and one burner for others, and these two are the cases where it is a total on both, so the comparison here is as clean as that class allows.
Weight and dimensions, and one that is mislabelled
The Charbroil is listed on Amazon at 51 pounds, 23.1 kilograms. The MASTER COOK is not given a weight on Amazon in the text we read, and our review gives 46.6 pounds, so there is a single source for it and the table says so. The two are close, within about 4 pounds of each other.
The dimensions need a warning. The Charbroil’s table reads 20″ D x 51.1″ W x 42.5″ H, which is plausible for a cart grill with two side shelves. The MASTER COOK’s reads 41.1″ D x 46.5″ W x 20.9″ H, which describes a grill that is 20.87 inches tall, and its own bullet gives the grill as 46.46 inches long, 20.87 wide and 41.14 high with the shelves folded down to 29.5 inches long. Amazon’s labels have been put on the wrong values: the 41.14 is the height, not the depth. An owner measuring a patio from the table would plan for a much shallower grill than the one that arrives. The class report counts six of the gas grills with three or more burners whose listed depth is larger than their height.
What else the listings say
The Charbroil lists porcelain-coated grates that it says resist sticking, a porcelain-coated steel lid and firebox, a push-button piezo ignition and two side shelves, with space for up to 12 burgers on the main grate. The MASTER COOK lists stainless steel burners, a stainless control panel, a built-in lid thermometer, a push-and-turn piezo ignition, two foldable tables and an adapter hose in the box. Amazon’s table also gives the MASTER COOK a wattage of 2,087 watts, which is not a number a propane grill normally has: 30,000 BTU per hour is about 8,800 watts of heat, and the grill’s own rating is in BTU. We take it as a field filled in wrongly, and so we do not use it.
Which suits which
The Charbroil Classic suits you if
- you want the larger main grate, 360 square inches against 339, for the same stated heat;
- you want porcelain-coated grates listed on the page and a weight stated by Amazon;
- you want the larger total once the racks are counted, 530 square inches against 472.
The MASTER COOK suits you if
- you want foldable side tables, which the listing says reduce its length to 29.5 inches when folded;
- you want an adapter hose and a built-in lid thermometer listed with the grill;
- you will measure from the text, not from Amazon’s dimension table, which has depth and height transposed.
What this comparison cannot tell you
Nothing here was tested. We did not light either grill, so we cannot say which heats more evenly, which sears better or which lasts. The grate sizes are the makers’ numbers, and the split between main grate and rack is from each listing’s own text. For each in full, read our review of the Charbroil Classic and our review of the MASTER COOK, and see the gas grill reviews for the rest of the type.
Figures are the manufacturers’, as published on each listing and quoted in our reviews; none was measured by us. How we work · Affiliate disclosure