Char-Griller 3001 Grillin’ Pro Gas Grill Review
The Grillin’ Pro™ 3-Burner gas grill is a hardy creature with an immediately unique body style- built from strong tubular steel and featuring dual smoke stacks for better ventilation. The first thing you will probably notice is the barrel shape -typical of charcoal grills. It is a modified body of the smaller charcoal grills made by the same company, but this isn’t merely a gas conversion. The outward appearance doesn’t do justice to the sophistication within.
Some noteworthy additional features include an ignitor probe on every burner for added convenience. It also has porcelain-coated cast iron cooking grates and a stainless steel thermometer for precision cooking.
The 3001 is a 40,800 BTU gas grill with 438 square inches in the main cooking area, with another 192 square inch side burner at 12,000 BTU. That’s over 620 inches of grilling space. This means the Grillin’ Pro is producing at temperatures typically seen in more expensive grills if only to evenly accommodate the surface area. The three individual stainless steel burners are hitting about 13,600 BTU each, but for searing, you may have to orient your meat in the center of the grill.
The overall grill itself measures at 48x28x48 and weighs a bit shy of 100 pounds, allowing you to relocate it relatively quickly. Great for backyard events and household parties, and for moving to storage, while still having the cooking power of larger gas grills.
Construction & Ease of Assembly
The Char-Griller 3001 is not going to be put together like a bunch of K’nex, you will need to budget at least a couple hours, but the directions are clear and straightforward – and there are not any unexpected curve balls in the design. The parts are not the most durably built, but they are assembled well enough to fit together smoothly and efficiently. Just make sure you go into it with the time, energy and patience to spare.
Grilling Performance
The grill burns with the same BTU as much more expensive grills and has a large grilling area to work with. Your food will be cooked quickly and evenly with little effort. The heat is clearly oriented in the center and may require you to feel it out and monitor it a bit the first couple times around. The external thermometer won’t be much help if you are looking for exact temperatures. All in all this gas grill gets pretty hot and can hold its own against much more expensive grills in the category of pure grilling performance; it just requires a little more finesse on your part.
This Char-Griller is a more massive grill when compared to other gas grills, but it also comes with a lot more cooking power.
Grilling Areas
Another 192 square inch side burner complements the 438 square inches in the main cooking area. You will have plenty of room. By removing a couple of bolts from the top rack, you can remove it- allowing you to grill entire chickens. It is also possible to sear your meat on this gas grill when oriented correctly.
To summarize, the Char-Griller 3001 gives you plenty of space to work with and lets you decide how you want to use it. Temperatures are adequate for the majority of your needs.
Special Features
The stay-cool handles, tool rack, electronic ignition, and fixed side shelf aren’t immediate game changers but do provide a nice improvement to your quality of life. None will be the major selling point; this grill relies more on solid basics than bells and whistles.
The side shelf and tool rack will help you manage the mess as you cook, but they also increase the overall size profile of this grill – meaning you will be hard pressed to fit this into smaller balconies comfortably.
This grill has coated steel “flame shields” (also known as heat diffusers) which save your burners from grease drippings and disperse heat a little more evenly. The dispersion could use some work, but in the end, this is a welcome addition.
Ease to Clean
A sizeable slide-out grease tray will make your life a bit easier, outside of that you can expect a standard cleaning experience for a gas grill this size. The grease tray isn’t very steep and can cause some buildup, so you will want to monitor that occasionally. The cast iron grates are porcelain coated for a bit of extra assistance in the cleanup.
Warranty
The grill shell and burners are under a five-year guarantee. The rest of the pieces fall under a single year warranty. This is a bit of a warning sign since a good number of the materials aren’t made from the sturdiest material, however, if you do some looking you will see some users claimed to have used this grill for nearly a decade with little issue. Proper storage and maintenance will play a significant role in longevity as usual.
Conclusion
This is a unique gas grill that puts out respectable BTU’s and offers you a lot of room to grill. It doesn’t provide anything instantly unique or special, but it handled the basics at a very high level of quality. An excellent all-around choice for a gas grill to handle your backyard shindigs.
The design and power output give you a lot of versatility – meaning the overall value of this grill increases significantly for those who often move past the basic burgers and dogs.
