Most grills use some sort of radiant to cover the burners, the question is what is best for you? Many grills are designed to use a certain type of radiant, but often changes can be made so that you can switch types. We recommend contacting your grill manufacturer or local dealer to see if they have any advice on switching radiant types.

Lava Rock: Lava rock is the most common and least expensive of the radiant types. The density of the lave rock is very light, giving you a quick heating with a good distribution. The disadvantage to lava rock is that grease and char build up inside the lava rock. This needs to be cleaned on a regular basis, or this char or greas can catch fire causing extreme flare ups, uneven cooking, and potentially dangerous situations.

Pumice Stone: Pumice stone works the same as lava rock, giving you the same quick heating and quality distribution. The pumice stone has a less porous surface, meaning less flare ups than lava rock. The tradeoff is that pumice stone tends to be more expensive than lava rock.

Ceramic Briquettes: Baked ceramic briquettes can come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes. These briquettes have an advantage in that they are usually self cleaning, either being directly being cleaned by the burner flame or the shape which allows the grease to slide off without building up. Also with their uniform shape they provide a better heat distribution than lava rock or pumice stone. Disadvantages include carrying the highest initial cost and they have to be replaced more frequently as over time they will crumble and break.

Heat Distribution Plates: These plates are often referred to as heat plates, heat shield, heat tents, burner covers, flavorizer bar. Can be made with a variety of materials including aluminized steel, stainless steel, porcelain coated steel, or cast iron. More and more new grills are having this as the type of radiant. These heat plates concentrate the heat more effectively than the other methods of radiants. The heat shields feature holes or slots that allow heat to rise evenly through the plates. Dripping food and grease is burnt and vaporized when they come in contact with the hot plate. These do need to be replaced as they will over time begin to rust and wear out.