Char-Broil Professional Series

More smoke than a 90's nightclub – Don't buy it unless you have an industrial grade pedestal fan! The side arms are very difficult to assemble, not a smart design at all. No need to use the warming rack as the side arm next to the grill heats up anyway. The hotplate needs to be on maximum heat to cook anything (including onion rings) and the grill setting probably medium to low.… Read more

If you don't use oil then your meat sticks like glue to the grill, if you do use oil (high smoke point such as canola) then Whoa!! smoke city! I had to take 10 steps away just to breathe properly. So far I am very disappointed and heavily regret getting rid of my Aussie made 4 burner for this cheap Chinese rubbish. Did the infra-red cook the meat as suggested and kept it juicy? - Yes it did. Although I had difficulty using this BBQ, the end result was a smokey success. You need a very well ventilated area to cook in, such as an open field during a cyclone.

Great unit – I purchased this BBQ from Master's in 2011, great cooker & easy to clean. Only real trouble I had was the ignition box failed, chap on south side of Brisbane had them in stock. Unit sits in the weather, lights every time & used at least 3 or 4 times a week. The gas cover across the back has started to rot, but as LPG is corrosive I can accept… Read more

that. Will I buy another? Yes. Regards, Old John.

November 8th 2019 Update: TRU Infrared BBQ update

TRU Char Grills are now handled by a company Sitro Group in Melbourne, site is still under construction for this brand. Hopefully they send me an answer today, otherwise will have to ring them. Old John.

Save your money – Kept BBQ under patio but rust appearing on stainless parts within only 6 months, cooks ok. Being a reasonably priced unit I didn't expect deterioration so soon. In my opinion overpriced.

Not bad - cooks well but also has it faults – Am writing this review because I think the previous reviews are a bit harsh compared to my experience having owned this BBQ for 5 years. In my opinion, it easily outperforms many BBQs I've used over the years in the same price ranges. It has it's faults, as you'll read below, but it's worked well for me - and I simply love the way it cooks. … Read more

Assembly

Yes it's difficult. It took about 2 hours, and this was mainly due to getting screws into very tight places. I'm sure they could have put way more thought into this.

Stainless steel

Spot rusts occur all over stainless steel if left uncovered. However using some metal cleaner and polish has easily resolved this - only needing to reapply once a year (if that). The painted enamel surfaces haven't rusted.

Cooking

You can get it absolutely smoking hot, but often need to drop the cover to achieve very high temps (which I do for cooking steaks). Personally, I've never considered this an issue - every BBQ I've used requires this.

The Infra-red 'feature' actually works. It's simply a hooded gas burner below a perforated metal plate below a grill. IE. The heat is indirect. You can easily cook a steak to well-done and still have it tender and juicy. I nearly think that if you can bugger up a steak on this grill, you probably should hand over the tongs to someone else.

Some things have stopped working

Piezo igniter ceased working after about a year. One of the temperature gauges stopped working after about 1.5 years.

Hard to assemble but cooks a perfect steak – I purchased this BBQ from Masters when they were having their closing down sale and got it at a great price. Mine is the two burner and perfect for the balcony of my unit. The model I purchased was 467200013 and I have now had it for over one year. It heats up very quickly and very evenly, I can cook six decent sized steaks on the grill and… Read more

other items on the hot plate. It has a cupboard under the BBQ which hides the gas bottle and came with a very good quality cover. The beauty of infra red cooking is they way it spreads the heat so you don't have to keep moving food around to find the hot spot. My only complaint about it was the assembly - it was a real hassle.

Garbage. Don't waste your money – This is an overpriced piece of garbage. Doesn't heat up. Totally useless. No parts support in Australia. Imported by Masters which sums it up. Don't do it. You're better off burning your $450 with a match and cooking your steak on the embers.

Absolute Waste Of Money – Extremely poor quality. I didn't even get past assembly. I am an engineer by trade so figure it won't be a drama. Step 1 assembled base. Step 2 place cook top on base. The base is not even stainless steel, most likely soft sheet metal, the bbq collapsed in on itself. The 25kg plus top then crushed my arm underneath. Absolute disgrace, this is a lawsuit waiting to happen. I will demand a full refund tomorrow.