--- title: "Choosing and comparing — Grill Guides" description: "Built-in or cart, infrared or standard burners, gas or pellet, and when an aging grill is worth repairing and when a new one makes more sense." url: "https://bbqgrillrepair.center/guides/choosing-and-comparing/" --- Built-in or cart, infrared or tube, fix or retire # Choosing and comparing guides. Built-in or cart, infrared or standard burners, gas or pellet, and when an aging grill is worth repairing and when a new one makes more sense. ## Choosing and comparing, guide by guide. Read this section when a new grill is on the shopping list, or when a quote for fixing the current one has arrived and a new one suddenly looks tempting. Each guide weighs one pair of options: a head in an island against a grill on wheels, glowing infrared burners against rows of blue flame, a new part against a new grill. [All 18 guides](https://bbqgrillrepair.center/guides/) 6-minute read ### [Built-In or Cart Grill: The Island, the Patio and the Day It Needs Service](https://bbqgrillrepair.center/guides/built-in-or-cart-grill/) What a grill head set into an island asks of the counter, the vents and the clearances, what a grill on wheels asks of the patio and the wind, and how each is reached when a part wears out. 6-minute read ### [Infrared or Standard Grill Burners: Searing Heat, Preheat and Care](https://bbqgrillrepair.center/guides/infrared-or-standard-burners/) How a ceramic infrared plate, TEC's radiant glass and an ordinary tube burner make heat, how long each needs before food goes on, and the cleaning rules that set them apart. 5-minute read ### [Repair or Replace a Grill: Firebox, Manifold and the Parts Still Worth Buying](https://bbqgrillrepair.center/guides/repair-or-replace-a-grill/) Which grill parts are ordinary wear, when a failed cookbox or valve manifold ends the story, why a built-in head leans toward repair, and what to find out before paying for either. ## Built-in or cart, infrared or tube, fix or retire. They compare kinds of grill rather than brands. Where a maker publishes a useful figure, such as a clearance, a preheat time or what its lifetime terms cover, it is quoted with the maker named and the manual cited beside the section it supports, so you can check it against the grill you are looking at. We write from the service van rather than the sales floor. Cooking area and finishes get little space here; airflow, places where leaked gas could collect, how a technician will reach the valves in eight years and what taking the grill out would mean get a lot. Buyers seldom ask about them, and owners eventually do. Your own yard still has the last word. Prevailing wind, what an existing island is built from, where gas can be brought in and whether salt spray or pool water reaches the counter often matter more than a specification sheet, and a site check before the order goes in costs less than living with the wrong grill. [Not sure where to start?](https://bbqgrillrepair.center/guides/#start-here) ### The short answer Built-In or Cart Grill: The Island, the Patio and the Day It Needs Service Choosing a built-in or freestanding grill is mostly a choice about what surrounds it. ### The short answer Infrared or Standard Grill Burners: Searing Heat, Preheat and Care Infrared grill burners push the gas flame through a ceramic plate full of tiny holes, or fire it beneath glass panels, so they radiate far more heat at the grate than a tube burner. ### The short answer Repair or Replace a Grill: Firebox, Manifold and the Parts Still Worth Buying Whether to repair or replace a gas grill usually comes down to the cookbox and the manifold. ## When reading is not enough. If the checks in these guides did not settle it, the visit picks up from there, stop by stop. [What repairs cost](https://bbqgrillrepair.center/cost/) 1. 01 The gas and the grill, checked first 2. 02 What failed, and what it costs 3. 03 Parts on the truck 4. 04 Lit before we leave ## The problems these answer. Each has a page of its own, with the causes in the order worth checking. [All 17 problems](https://bbqgrillrepair.center/problems/) Problem ### Grill Uneven Heat: Hot Spots and Cold Corners on the Grates 6 causes, cheapest first Problem ### Grill Low Flame: Burners Stuck at a Weak Blue Line 6 causes, cheapest first Gas or fire at the grill ### Grill Gas Smell at the Burners or the Tank: What to Do Now 6 causes, cheapest first Problem ### Grill Burners Rusted Through: Holes, Gaps and Ragged Flames 6 causes, cheapest first For the heart of your home. ## Questions about choosing and comparing. ### Which grill brand comes out best in these comparisons? None; brands are not ranked. The guides compare designs and installations, and a maker is named only when its manual supplies a figure worth quoting. ### My grill is already installed. What can I get from this section? Plenty. Knowing whether yours needs an insulated jacket, how its sear burner wants to be treated or which of its parts are designed to be replaced explains much of what it does and how it gets fixed. ### Will a guide tell me whether my grill is worth repairing? It shows what tips the balance, such as the firebox, the manifold or a built-in cutout. Settling it for your grill means knowing which part gave out and whether it can still be ordered, and that needs someone in front of the grill. ### Can you check a patio before I buy a grill? Yes. A visit covers clearances, the island's material and vents, the fuel and where it arrives, the outlet and the wind, and ends with the kinds of grill that suit that spot, from any maker. ## The other sections. Split by what you are trying to find out rather than by which part of the appliance it concerns. [All guides](https://bbqgrillrepair.center/guides/) What the flame is telling you ### [Common problems](https://bbqgrillrepair.center/guides/common-problems/) - [Grill won't light? Silent igniter, dry burner or a tank that never opened](https://bbqgrillrepair.center/guides/why-a-grill-will-not-light/) - [Yellow flames on a gas grill, and low ones: air, webs and a throttled regulator](https://bbqgrillrepair.center/guides/why-the-flame-burns-low-or-yellow/) - [A grill heating unevenly: one cold stripe, a weak burner or a tilted cart](https://bbqgrillrepair.center/guides/why-one-side-runs-cold/) Safe checks with the gas closed ### [Troubleshooting](https://bbqgrillrepair.center/guides/troubleshooting/) - [Grill troubleshooting in fifteen minutes, with every knob at off](https://bbqgrillrepair.center/guides/grill-checks-before-booking/) - [How to reset the propane regulator when the grill stays lukewarm](https://bbqgrillrepair.center/guides/resetting-the-propane-regulator/) - [The grill rating label: under the drip tray, inside the cart or behind the knobs](https://bbqgrillrepair.center/guides/find-the-grill-rating-label/) Habits that keep a grill lighting clean ### [Maintenance and prevention](https://bbqgrillrepair.center/guides/maintenance-and-prevention/) - [Cleaning Grill Burners and Venturi Tubes with the Gas Off and the Grill Cold](https://bbqgrillrepair.center/guides/cleaning-burners-and-venturi-tubes/) - [Heat Shields, Flavorizer Bars and Briquettes: Cleaning Them and Knowing When They Are Done](https://bbqgrillrepair.center/guides/heat-shields-flavorizer-bars-and-briquettes/) - [Caring for a Pellet Grill: Dry Pellets, a Clear Firepot and a Full Cooldown](https://bbqgrillrepair.center/guides/caring-for-a-pellet-grill/) Gas, flame, grease and safe temperatures ### [Gas, fire and food at the grill](https://bbqgrillrepair.center/guides/safety-and-food/) - [A Grease Fire in the Grill: Burners Off, Gas Closed, Lid Down If It Is Safe, Never Water](https://bbqgrillrepair.center/guides/a-grease-fire-in-the-grill/) - [Flashback Behind the Grill Knobs: Flame at the Wrong End of the Burner](https://bbqgrillrepair.center/guides/flashback-behind-the-knobs/) - [Safe Temperatures for Grilled Food: 145°F, 160°F, 165°F and a Food Thermometer](https://bbqgrillrepair.center/guides/safe-temperatures-for-grilled-food/) Clearances, gas type and where it may stand ### [Installation and setup](https://bbqgrillrepair.center/guides/installation-and-setup/) - [Clearances Around a Grill: Siding, Eaves, Railings and the Built-In Cutout](https://bbqgrillrepair.center/guides/clearances-around-a-grill/) - [Converting a Grill From Propane to Natural Gas: The Maker's Kit and the Gas Technician](https://bbqgrillrepair.center/guides/converting-propane-to-natural-gas/) - [Grills on Balconies and Decks: Fire Codes, Building Rules and Clearances](https://bbqgrillrepair.center/guides/grills-on-balconies-and-decks/) Not sure which section? ### Start from your question The four questions most visits start with, each with the guide that answers it. 18 guides Where to start Where to start --- **[Read on the site: Choosing and comparing — Grill Guides](https://bbqgrillrepair.center/guides/choosing-and-comparing/)** **[Book a visit with BBQGrillRepair.center](https://bbqgrillrepair.center/schedule/)**