Do gas grills come with propane tanks?

Most gas grills do not come with a propane tank. The makers of the portable gas grills compared on this site state that the fuel cylinder is sold separately, so you supply the tank yourself.

That pattern holds across the portable category, where small disposable cylinders are the usual fuel. The Best Portable Gas Grills for Camping and Tailgating guide lists five picks, and the maker statements on those picks are the clearest evidence available here. Nobody at Lush has used these grills; what follows is what the makers publish and what follows from it.

What the makers state about the tank

The Coleman RoadTrip 285 is the most explicit. Its published features list the fuel as one 16.4 oz. propane cylinder, sold separately, and repeat the point in a second bullet: it uses a 16.4 oz. propane gas cylinder, sold separately. The Charbroil 1-Burner Portable Gas Grill says the same thing in different words: it is powered by a portable, 16.4 oz. disposable LP cylinder, sold separately.

Those two are the only picks on the portable guide whose published features address the fuel supply at all. The Cuisinart Outdoor Gas Grill, the Megamaster Tabletop 1 Burner Gas Grill and the Royal Gourmet GT1001 each publish burner output and cooking area, but their feature lists do not state whether a cylinder ships in the box. For those three, this site has not compared what is included with the tank, and the makers’ published bullets do not say.

The practical reading is simple. A portable gas grill is sold as the grill, and the fuel is a separate purchase. The 16.4 oz. figure is the size of disposable cylinder the Coleman and Charbroil makers specify, not a tank that arrives with the grill.

Disposable cylinders versus refillable tanks

The 16.4 oz. cylinder named by Coleman and Charbroil is the small disposable type sold at hardware and camping stores. It threads onto the regulator and is thrown away when empty. That is the fuel format these two tabletop grills are built around, and it is why the makers flag it as a separate purchase: the grill cannot run until you buy one.

A full-size refillable propane tank is a different item, and none of the five picks on the portable guide publishes a tank size in pounds or a tank connection type beyond the disposable cylinder language. If you already own a refillable tank, the maker bullets here do not tell you whether a given portable grill accepts it. This site has not compared hose or adapter compatibility for these models.

What the makers do publish is burner output, which tells you how much fuel the grill will draw. The Coleman RoadTrip 285 states up to 20,000 total BTUs across three adjustable burners. The Cuisinart states two stainless steel burners at 10,000 BTU each. The Megamaster states 11,000 BTUs from a single burner, and the Royal Gourmet states 10,000 BTU from a U-shape burner.

Cooking area on the same picks

The makers also publish cooking area, which matters when you are deciding how much fuel a session will use. The Coleman RoadTrip 285 states 285 sq. in. The Megamaster states 360 sq. in. of cooking space. The Royal Gourmet states a total of 285 square inches, made up of 214 sq. in. of chrome-coated cooking grate and 71 sq. in. of chrome-coated warming rack. The Charbroil states 200 square inches of cooking space.

The Cuisinart pick does not publish a cooking area figure in its feature list; it publishes weight instead, at 22 lb., and notes a locking lid, folding legs and a carry handle. The Megamaster publishes 14.42 lb., the Royal Gourmet 17.8 lb., the Charbroil 19.5 lb. and the Coleman 46.67 lb. Those weights describe the grill, not the tank, and the tank is not part of the shipped package according to the two makers that address it.

Setup language is worth noting alongside the fuel question. The Cuisinart maker states the grill gets you grilling in less than 10 minutes with no tools required. The Coleman maker states sturdy quick-fold legs and wheels, plus push-button ignition for matchless lighting. The Charbroil maker states a piezo electric igniter that needs no battery or matches.

Why the other guides do not settle it

The other three guides cited on this site cover grill types that do not run on propane at all, so they cannot answer the tank question. The Best Indoor Grills for High-Heat Searing guide covers electric appliances: the Dyna-Living griddle states 3000W, the Besococina states a 1650-watt heating system, and the T-Fal OptiGrill states 1800 watts. None of them takes a propane tank.

The Best Kamado Grills for Low Smoking and High Searing guide covers charcoal and ceramic cookers. The Char-Griller AKORN states a 200°F to 700°F temperature range and 445 sq. in. of cooking capacity. The Weber Summit Kamado S6 states a 24 inch cooking area and gas ignition, which lights charcoal rather than running on a propane tank. The Kamado Joe Big Joe Konnected Joe states app and digital control with an automatic fire starter for charcoal.

The Best Pellet Grills and Smoke Tubes for Backyard Cooks guide covers wood pellet fuel. The Z GRILLS 7002C states a 28 lbs. pellet hopper and 697 sq in of grilling space. The Traeger Pro 22 states an 18lb hopper and 572 sq. in. of cooking space. The LIZZQ smoker tube states up to 5 hours of smoke, and the Napoleon smoker pipe is described as a way to turn a gas barbecue into a smoker. None of these is a propane tank.

What to expect when you unbox

Expect the grill, the grates, the lid and the ignition hardware, and expect to buy fuel separately. The Coleman maker lists the cylinder as sold separately twice, which is the strongest signal on the portable guide. The Charbroil maker uses the same sold separately wording for its 16.4 oz. disposable LP cylinder.

For the Cuisinart, Megamaster and Royal Gourmet picks, the published features do not state what is in the box regarding fuel. If the tank matters to your plans, treat those three as unconfirmed rather than included. This site has not compared packaging contents beyond what the makers print.

The one number to carry with you is 16.4 oz., the disposable cylinder size named by Coleman and Charbroil. Buy at least one before the first cook, and buy a spare if you plan a long session, since the makers publish no burn time per cylinder for these grills.