Looking for a 32" Grill? Two very popular Brands that offer this size is Blaze and Delta Heat.
This is a Comparison between the Blaze LTE Series 32" 4 Burner Built-in Grill versus Delta Heat 32" Built-in Grill with Rotisserie. The most important difference between these two Grill Brands is where they are manufactured.
Blaze is a Chinese Imported Grill whereas Delta Heat is manufactured and designed in California by award winning engineer Dante Cantal.
Why is this important? If you are Building an outdoor kitchen, you are making a large investment in the structure and countertop. You want to make this investment once.
In addition, what is the Product Support and Parts Availability. If parts become obsolete and no aftermarket available, the grill will most likely be replaced. When you purchase from a US manufacturer, parts will always be available.
Which Grills are Made in the USA?
The Blaze LTE Series features beautiful Red LED Control Knob lighting as well as interior halogen lighting. There is also a 40" 5 Burner LTE Grill should you need a larger grill.
Burners : There are 4 Straight (Pipe) Cast Stainless Burners in the Blaze Grill with a Total Main Burner BTU of 56,000
Heat Distribution : Blaze utilizes a Metal Flame Tamer (Heat Shield) to spread the burner flames across the cooking surface.
Which is Better? Ceramic Briquettes or Heat Shields?
Cooking Surface : The Blaze 32" Grill has a stainless cooking grate with 748 total grilling area that includes the Warming Rack.
Ignition : Blaze has a push to turn Ignition that is manufactured in a Flame Thrower Valve. What is a Flame Thrower Valve? A disadvantage of a Flame Thrower Valve is when the electrode or wire should fail, more often than not, the entire valve needs to be replaced.
Rotisserie Back Burner : There is a 10,000 BTU rotisserie back burner for making rotisserie chickens, wings, vegetables, etc. The Rotisserie Kit with Motor is optional accessory that adds $149.99 to the price.
The Delta Heat Grills features beautiful Blue LED Control Knob lighting, interior halogen lighting.and easy lift spring hood assist. The 32" Grill is offered with or without a rotisserie back burner as well as option to get a sear zone and rotisserie backburner. There are two other sizes offered - 26" and 38".
Burners :
Three 18 gauge Stainless Steel Center Fed U Shaped Burners power the Delta Heat with a total main burner BTU of 46,500.
Which Burner Style is Better? Both are burners are made of stainless steel. U Burners cover more area than straight pipe burners.
Both of these grills have the option to add intense direct heat by changing one of the blue flame burners with an infrared sear zone. This style burner not only sears meat faster but it also seals in juices..
Heat Distribution :
Delta Heat uses a Ceramic Briquette Radiant Grilling System. The High quality ceramic briquettes retain and radiate heat evenly across the cooking surface. Briquettes absorb heat from bottom and transfers it out the top resulting in a more even distribution of heat. Metal is not a good heat conductor. It does not retain heat like ceramic does. Think of the Big Green Egg. These grills are made from ceramic due to it ability to absorb heat. Ceramic Briquettes work in the same fashion.
Cooking Surface : The Delta Heat 32" uses a stainless steel rod cooking grate with 525 main grilling area with a 764 total area including the Warming Rack.
Ignition :Delta Heat uses a push to turn ignition that is powered by a 9v Battery. They are able to achieve the push to turn feature by using micro-switches that are attached to the valve. When the knob is pressed in, it activates a metal bar on the microswitch tat in turn sparks the electrode. These pieces are inexpensive to replace when needed.
Rotisserie Back Burner : The Delta Heat Grill models with Rotisserie Back Burners include a Rotisserie Kit (Motor, Spit Rod and Forks)
Cutout Dimensions : Keep in mind that the cut-outs for 32" Grills are NOT standard. The dimensions will vary by manufacturer. One of issues we come across is "retrofitting" an outdoor kitchen. More often than not, you will NOT find an exact replacement grill. There will have to be some modifications required. This will often cost more money than the difference in price between these two grills.
Blaze LTE 4 Burner Grill - 30 5/8” W x 21 1/4” D x 8 1/2” H
Delta Heat DHBQ32R Grill - 30 1/2” W x 19 3/4” D x 9 1/2” H
Both of these grills are offered on a freestanding cart if you are not ready to build an outdoor kitchen or need the mobile convenience of a cart.
With the Rotisserie Kit, that is included in the Delta Heat Grill, the Price for the Blaze LTE 32" Grill is $1999.98. The price difference for a long standing USA Made Grill vs Imported is $439.01.
Is Delta Heat worth the additional money? 100% Yes. It will cost more than that to replace the counter-top in your outdoor kitchen to accommodate the difference in cutout dimension.
You and I can put our name on a wide variety imported grill models. What you do not get when you "Private Label" a grill is the Gas Engineering Expertise and History in Appliance Manufacturing.
We would always recommend investing in a Grill Manufacturer versus a Grill Brand.
The BBQ Depot has not only been selling grills for multiple decades, we also service and repair Grills. Our long standing expertise in this area helps us provide you with the most unbiased product education. Let our experts help you find the perfect grill as well as design your outdoor dream kitchen.