If you’re ready to relight your fire and rediscover the magic of great BBQ grills, you may find that a Fire Magic Grill is just what you’ve been looking for.
Fire Magic Grills have their HQ in California, where the grills are manufactured too. The company is owned by R H Patterson, a reputable American firm founded in 1937. Strangely, reviewers seem to love or hate Fire Magic Grills, giving them either one or five stars with nothing in-between.
Let’s dive down into the Fire Magic brand in more detail, and consider what products you can find in their collection. We’ll also look at how to use, maintain and store them.
Where Are Fire Magic Grills Made? (Is it The USA?)
Unlike many other brands that seem American but have been bought up by foreign companies, Fire Magic is the real deal (California grills, indeed). Fire Magic Grills has its HQ in California, and all its grills are designed and manufactured in the USA.
So, if you want a high-end grill that’s genuinely made in America, it’s definitely worth looking further into Fire Magic.
Who Makes Fire Magic Grills? (Are They A Reputable Company?)
Fire Magic is owned by R H Patterson, an American company that’s been heating our homes and firing our food since 1937. And looking at the warranty that they provide for their Fire Magic grills, they have plenty of faith in their products.
What Grills Are in The Fire Magic Collection?
Fire Magic is at the higher end of the outdoor cuisine market. They combine pro features with sleek good looks, and they certainly believe in quality materials (all their grills are made from 304 grade stainless steel). Their range includes built-in and portable models, with charcoal and electric grills as well as gas.
Like a fashion house, their grills come in Collections. The Echelon Diamond series is at the top of the leaderboard, with stylish looks and super-sophisticated features. The Aurora series is also stunningly designed, with most of the same features as the Echelon collection. The Choice range is described as “affordable” (that’s relative). They’re great-quality grills but don’t have as many fancy features as the other collections.
Unusually, they have an Accessible range to accommodate chefs who may have additional needs. Common Area grills are designed for clubs and condos. If you want a simple grill that easily slots into your outdoor kitchen, check out their Legacy series.
What Size & Weight Are These Grills?
There are some mighty grills here. The Echelon Diamond freestanding 48” inch grill with sideburners is awesome: it has four cabinets, to give you an idea of scale. If you’re looking for something more modest in size, their 24” drop-in grills are pleasingly neat.
You’ll notice that Fire Magic specifies its grills in terms of cooking size rather than dimensions. They’re renowned for having the largest cooking area in their class, meaning you can fit a lot of food on your Fire Magic grill.
Finally, if space is tight, take a look at their electric grill collection. This range is created for small spaces like balconies (where it’s also harder to heft a propane canister around), and has a real urban-chic elegance to it.
Do Fire Magic Grills Come With a Warranty?
Fire Magic claims that their grills “are an investment that lasts a lifetime”. Indeed, the stainless steel parts are under warranty for “as long as you own your grill”.
We recommend you take a look at Fire Magic’s website to find out more, as different parts of your grill come under different warranties. One product may be made up from parts with 1, 3, 5, 10, and 15-year warranties.
Do Fire Magic Grills Also Make Accessories?
There’s a lot to get excited about here. Basically, you can get everything you need for your outdoor kitchen from the Fire Magic catalog, from a stylish island unit to a smoothie blender.
There are plenty of accessories to broaden your cooking options, such as smoker baskets and infrared burners, as well as practical items like covers and vents. Gift shopping for a grill enthusiast? They make all sorts, from classic BBQ tools to chopping boards.
With refrigerators, cabinets and even sinks, you can create a complete cooking set-up. If you want a seriously high-end outdoor kitchen, take a look at their built-in beverage center. Simply, wow.
What Do The Reviews Say About These Grills?
Well, this is an interesting one, as there aren’t many customer reviews out there. We took a look at an Echelon built-in burner on Amazon, and it seems to be a real love-it-or-hate-it piece of kit.
It attracted a bunch of five star and a bunch of one star reviews, with literally nothing in between. Those who loved it praised its many features – while others complained about how quickly those features fail.
Professional reviewers on the other hand, just love Fire Magic. The Grilling Life review gave it five stars and a whole heap of praise, and Outdoor Cooking Pros love the attention to detail.
How Much Do Fire Magic Grills Cost?
OK, we did say “higher end”… You can expect to pay over $4,000 for the smaller (30”) portable models, and a few hundred less for built-in. That enormous four-cabinet portable grill we mentioned earlier will set you back a cool $12,700. However, you are looking at a brand that offers a generous warranty, so you should expect your Fire Magic products to last.
How To Use My Fire Magic Grill
They’re designed to be pleasingly easy to use. To light a gas Fire Magic grill:
- Open the lid, check all the knobs are switched to off, and turn on the gas.
- Choose which burner you’re using. Press down its knob for five seconds, while turing it counterclockwise to the high position.
- If it doesn’t light, switch everything off and try again in five minutes.
- Get cooking! Fire Magic grills are known for their great searing potential – so maybe a nice steak is a good place to start before you start experimenting with smokers and rotisseries?
If you didn’t already love Fire Magic, the page on their website with links to all Fire Magic’s manuals should convert you. This will give you the spec, set up, operating and troubleshooting instructions for your product, including accessories.
Are Fire Magic Grills Easy To Maintain?
If you have a gas grill, it’s really simple to care for it. After each use, give it an extra burn with the lid on for 10-15 minutes to get rid of any food remnants, then brush them off with a long-handled, heat-resistant brush.
When it’s cool, remove, wash and dry the drip tray (you don’t want flammable grease gathering in there). Put it back, then cover the grill.
If you have a charcoal grill, the daily maintenance is pretty similar, except you’ll also need to empty out the ash. Don’t be tempted to leave it, as ash collects moisture.
How Do I Store My Fire Magic Grill?
It’s worth taking care of your Fire Magic grill – after all, it’s a long-term purchase. If you have a portable model, try to store it indoors if it’s out of action for a time. A dry shed or garage or other safe outbuilding is ideal; however we appreciate that some of these grills are huge…
The same prep applies whether you’re winterizing it indoors or outdoors. First disconnect it from the gas, then give it a real good clean. You need to get any crumbs or baked-on food out of there, before it attracts bugs, rodents and mold. Then, make sure it’s dry, as you don’t want to put it away when it’s damp.
Cover it with a robust grill cover, and wheel it into its winter home. If you don’t have space indoors, move it to the most sheltered spot in your yard. Don’t worry about the gas canisters, as they can withstand very low temperatures.
But what if you have an outdoor kitchen? Well, our take is, if you have a set-up as gorgeous as a Fire Magic island kitchen, you’ll want to use it all year, so you won’t need to pack it up! However, if you’re planning on sticking to indoor cooking for a time, give your grill a good clean, as above.
Do you cover it? Fire Magic makes their own covers, and unusually, their range includes a counter-top design for built-in kitchens. You can slip this over your built-in grill, although, there is an argument that outdoor kitchens are better uncovered. If you cover them, you’re risking trapping in moisture, and there’s not the air flow that there is underneath a cart-style, portable grill.
Summary: Where Can I Buy a Fire Magic Grill?
Is Fire Magic the right brand for you? If so, plenty of stores sell their products. The obvious online retailers like BBQ Direct and BBQ Guys stock Fire Magic, as does Amazon.
If you prefer to buy in a store, there’s a dealer finder function on Fire Magic’s website, or you can simply carry out a local search on Google.
Isn’t it time you discovered the magic of a great grill again? 🙂
