Char-Griller Patio Pro Charcoal Grill: Review

Review of the Char-Griller Patio Pro Charcoal Grill

As of this writing, there were 580 customer comments and 76 answered questions on Amazon for the Char-Griller Patio Pro Charcoal Grill.  I’ve read through the feedback and then condensed the results into this review.  I hope that this helps you when shopping for a patio grill.

Best Fea​tures

• check Great price
• check Cast iron cooking grate
• check Easy to empty ashes
• check Small size good for small decks or patios
• check Adjustable dampers

Item Specifics

The Char-Griller Patio Pro Charcoal Grill features 250 square inches of cooking space, cast iron cooking grates, powder coating, heavy steel construction, adjustable dampers,  easy dump ash pan, bottom storage rack and a side drawer.  It is ideal for small decks or patios.  It also features a Stay Cool wood handle, side shelf, double steel bottom and side air vents.  The wheels make this grill easy to move.  Assembly is required.

Great Price

The low price is definitely one of the best features of this charcoal grill.  Of course it’s not going to be a top of the line grill, but then again, you are just paying a small fraction of the cost of a high priced grill. This customer summed up the price point very well, “Dollar for dollar you will be hard pressed to buy a better small barrel shaped grill… If you are looking for a perfection fit and lots of bells and whistles I suggest you whip out another four or six more hundred dollars and buy one of those.”

Difficult Assembly

There were some reports of this grill being easy to assembly but overall, most of the comments on ease of assembly were not good.  Here is one customer’s feedback left for assembly, “I’m good at assembling things, but this took me like 3-4 hours to do, including having to take apart and reassemble a couple parts due to instructions not being clear.  I started at 11am and had to postpone my small BBQ gathering to the next day.”

Cast Iron Cooking Grate

Customers liked the cast iron grate. This may be the best feature of this grill according to the feedback that I read.  They will need seasoned, but that it totally normal with cast iron cookware.  Here is what one customer had to say about the cast iron grate, “The cast iron grates are wonderful and should last a long time.  I do recommend you season them according to the instructions before you use them the first time.  The only thing I did different was season them in the oven vs. doing it on the grill.”

Lid Not Flush

There were reports of the lid not closing tightly.  Here is one of the comments about the fit of the lid, “The lid sits far from flush, so heat and smoke readily escapes around the door. The fit on my old Char-Griller firebox was much much better.”

Easy Empty Ash Draw

The maintenance for this grill seems very easy.  The ash drawer was especially liked.  Here is what a customer had to say about cleaning out the ashes, “Curved drawer at the bottom that slide out to empty ash. Really easy and no mess.”

Pros

• plus Great price
• plus Cast iron cooking grate
• plus Easy to clean out ashes

Cons

• close Difficult to assemble 
• close Lid not flush 
• close Small 

Char-Griller Patio Pro Charcoal Grill Conclusion

The Char-Griller Patio Pro Charcoal Grill is an inexpensive charcoal grill that may be perfect for small grill jobs. It comes with a cast iron grate, which is one of the best features of the grill.  It also features 250 square inches of cooking space, cast iron cooking grates, powder coating, heavy steel construction, adjustable dampers, easy dump ash pan, bottom storage rack and a side drawer.  For the low price, this is a great buy, but keep in mind it is not of the highest quality.  The lid doesn’t fit flush and it may be difficult to assemble. But still if you are wanting a simple and inexpensive grill, the Char-Griller Patio Pro Charcoal Grill may just get the job done for you very well.

Common Questions

Here are some top questions that I found for people considering buying a Char-Griller Patio Pro Charcoal Grill. 

• chevron-circle-right I see the length is 31″ – I assume that’s L to R across the front – how much of that is shelf and what’s the length of the actual grilling surface?   Yes, that is left to right across the front. The shelf is 11 inches. The grill is 18 inches. There is an inch gap between the shelf and grill. The grill includes a mounted handle on the right side that adds the extra inch.
• chevron-circle-right What are the true cooking dimensions of this grill inside the barrel from side to side and front to back?  The cooking grates together are 14 x 16 inches surface area. Due to the small size, slow grilling & smoking can be a little tricky since the coals are always close to the grates.
• chevron-circle-right Is cooking rack adjustable — can you lower it and raise it depending on what you are grilling?   No. The cooking rack cannot be raised or lowered.

Related Article: Best Charcoal Grill: (Our Top 10 Picks and Overall Favorite)