In our lab, we wire the surface of each gas grill with heat-resistant thermocouples and do four temperature tests. We also assess how evenly each model heats. That’s an important attribute when grilling for a crowd. Everything, no matter where you throw it on the grates, should finish at the same time.
“A grill also needs to preheat, just like your oven,” says Larry Ciufo, who oversees gas grill testing at CR. “Not only will a preheated grill cook more evenly, but it can help prevent food from sticking to the grates.” We measure how hot the surface gets at the 10-minute mark because that’s when our data says most folks like to start cooking.
We also gauge how reliable gas grill brands are by surveying thousands of CR members about their own gas grills. In our latest polls, we asked CR members about their experiences with tens of thousands of gas grills, and we used that data to determine the most and least reliable gas grill brands. Lastly, we score grill makers at the brand level for both reliability and owner satisfaction, and we factor those scores into our grill ratings.
