Blaze and Summerset are the two brands that come up most when a customer walks into our Maspeth showroom with a budget that is serious but not unlimited. Both sell 304 stainless built-ins with lifetime warranties on the parts that matter, both have deep catalogs of doors, drawers and fridges to match, and both get installed by our crews across Queens, Long Island, Westchester and New Jersey every month. They are not interchangeable, though. Blaze leans on heavy grates and a broad lifetime warranty. Summerset leans on ceramic briquettes, included rotisseries and a three-year electrical term. This guide lines up Blaze Prelude LBM, Premium LTE+ and Professional LUX against Summerset Sizzler, Sizzler Pro and TRL Pro, using the manufacturers' own product pages and installation manuals for every number.
The short answer
At the entry level, Blaze Premium LTE+ beats Summerset Sizzler on steel grade, grates and features. In the middle, Summerset Sizzler Pro and Blaze LTE+ are close enough that briquettes versus flame tamers should decide it. At the top, Summerset TRL Pro gives you 20,000 BTU U-burners, briquettes and an included rotisserie, while Blaze Professional LUX gives you 12 mm hexagonal grates and an included rotisserie. We install more Blaze, but the TRL Pro is the one Summerset we would put in our own backyard.
Key takeaways
- Blaze uses 304 stainless for the body at every tier. Summerset's Sizzler and Sizzler Pro bodies are 443, and only the TRL Pro mixes in 304. Near salt water, that favors Blaze.
- Summerset's rear infrared burner is 15,000 BTU at every tier that has one; Blaze's is 10,000. Rotisserie cooks will feel the difference.
- Blaze has the heavier grates (9 mm triangular on LTE+, 12 mm hex on LUX). Summerset has ceramic briquettes on Sizzler Pro and TRL Pro for more even low heat.
- Summerset covers electrical parts for 3 years; Blaze covers them for 1 year. Both require registration within 30 days.
- The 32-inch LTE+ and Sizzler Pro share a 30 5/8 inch cutout width, so swapping one for the other is usually a trim-ring job.
- Blaze has the far larger catalog of matching doors, drawers, fridges and islands, which matters if you want everything to match and ship together.
In this guide
- How do the two lineups map to each other?
- Which uses better stainless steel?
- Which produces more heat?
- Which has better grates, rotisserie and infrared options?
- Which has the better warranty?
- Which brand has more doors, drawers and fridges to match?
- What does installation require in New York?
- What do owners and forums say?
- Our recommended models
- Which should you choose?
- Frequently asked questions
How do the two lineups map to each other?
Blaze is based in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and its gas grills are imported. Summerset is based in Huntington Beach, California, founded by Jeff Straubel, and does not state a country of manufacture for these lines on its site. Here is how the tiers line up, with the sizes each line is sold in.
| Tier | Blaze | Summerset |
|---|---|---|
| Entry | BCM and Prelude LBM (25 and 32 inch): 304 tube burners, 8 mm round rods | Sizzler (25, 32, 40 inch): 443 body, 304 tube burners, 8 mm round rods |
| Mid | Premium LTE+ (32 and 40 inch): cast 304 linear burners, 9 mm triangular rods, lights, lift-assist hood | Sizzler Pro (32 and 40 inch): cast stainless burners, briquettes, lights, 15,000 BTU rear burner |
| Top | Professional LUX (34 and 44 inch): cast 304 H burners, 12 mm hex rods, rotisserie kit included | TRL Pro (32 and 40 inch): 304 U-tube burners, 8 mm square rods, briquettes, rotisserie kit included |
| Also in our catalog | LTE PRO, marine grade 316 LTE+ | Resort and Quest series; Alturi (ask us, see FAQ) |
Which uses better stainless steel?
This is the single most important thing to understand before you compare prices, because the two brands do not use the same steel at the same tier. Blaze builds its Prelude LBM, Premium LTE+ and Professional LUX from 304 stainless with cast 304 burners; the "304" claim is on every product page. Summerset's installation manuals tell a more nuanced story. The Sizzler manual says the grill is built from "#443 stainless steel." The Sizzler Pro manual says the same. The TRL Pro manual says "#304 and #443 stainless steel materials." Summerset uses 304 burners on the Sizzler and TRL Pro (the Sizzler Pro lists cast stainless without a grade), and the TRL Pro exterior is 304, but the body and firebox on the Sizzler and Sizzler Pro are 443.
What does that mean in the real world? 443 is a ferritic stainless with good corrosion resistance and a lower nickel content, which is why it costs less. It is a fine material for a grill body in a Westchester backyard. It is a worse choice than 304 within a mile of the ocean on the South Shore, the North Fork or in Palm Beach County, where chloride exposure is constant. If you are coastal and choosing between a Sizzler Pro and a Blaze LTE+, the Blaze's 304 body is the safer long-term bet, and Blaze goes further with a 316 marine grade LTE+. Summerset's warranty page specifically says coastal, humid and salt environments are "subject to manufacturer review," so read that line twice if you are near the water.
From our install team
A magnet is the showroom test. 304 is non-magnetic; 443 will grab a magnet lightly. Neither result makes a grill good or bad, but it tells you what you are paying for, and we would rather you learn that from us than from a rust streak in year three.
Which produces more heat?
Burner output per inch of grill is nearly identical in the middle of both lineups and diverges at the top.
| Model | Main burners | Rear burner | Total BTU | Under the grates |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Summerset Sizzler 32 | 4 x 12,000 (48,000) | None | 48,000 | 443 flame tamers |
| Blaze Premium LTE+ 32 | 4 x 14,000 (56,000) | 10,000 infrared | 66,000 | Stainless flame tamers |
| Summerset Sizzler Pro 32 | 4 x 14,000 (56,000) | 15,000 infrared | 71,000 | Ceramic briquette trays |
| Blaze Premium LTE+ 40 | 5 x 14,000 (70,000) | 10,000 infrared | 80,000 | Stainless flame tamers |
| Summerset Sizzler Pro 40 | 5 x 14,000 (70,000) | 15,000 infrared | 85,000 | Ceramic briquette trays |
| Blaze Professional LUX 34 | 3 x 18,000 (54,000) | 10,000 infrared | 64,000 | Stainless flame grids |
| Summerset TRL Pro 32 | 3 x 20,000 (60,000) | 15,000 infrared | 75,000 | Ceramic briquette trays |
| Blaze Professional LUX 44 | 4 x 18,000 (72,000) | 10,000 infrared | 82,000 | Stainless flame grids |
| Summerset TRL Pro 40 | 4 x 20,000 (80,000) | 15,000 infrared | 95,000 | Ceramic briquette trays |
Two patterns. First, Summerset's rear infrared burner is 15,000 BTU at every tier that has one, versus 10,000 on every Blaze. That is a meaningful difference for rotisserie chicken and prime rib, where you want radiant heat from the back without cooking from below. Second, the TRL Pro's 20,000 BTU U-tube burners out-muscle the LUX's 18,000 BTU H burners, and the TRL Pro 40 is the hottest grill in this comparison at 95,000 BTU total.
Then there is what sits under the grates. Blaze uses stainless flame tamers (perforated flame stabilizing grids on the LUX), which vaporize drippings, resist flare-ups and rinse clean. Summerset's Sizzler Pro and TRL Pro use trays of ceramic briquettes, which store heat and radiate it more evenly at low temperatures, the same approach Twin Eagles and Lynx take at a much higher price. The trade: briquettes need periodic burn-off and eventually new ceramic, which is why Summerset's warranty covers "briquette systems" for life. Flame tamers never need replacing but run slightly less even at 250 for ribs. The base Sizzler skips briquettes and uses 443 flame tamers.
Which has better grates, rotisserie and infrared options?
Grates. Blaze wins this category outright. The Prelude LBM uses 8 mm round rods, the LTE+ uses 9 mm triangular rods (a patented profile that leaves a clean, defined sear line), and the LUX uses 12 mm hexagonal rods that are the heaviest grates you will find without stepping up to Twin Eagles or Lynx. Summerset uses 8 mm round rods on the Sizzler and Sizzler Pro and 8 mm square rods on the TRL Pro. Eight millimeters is adequate; twelve is a different experience when you drop a cold ribeye on a preheated grate.
Rotisserie. Summerset wins this one. The TRL Pro includes the rotisserie kit with a 40-pound motor and the 15,000 BTU rear burner at both sizes. The Sizzler Pro includes the rear burner and sells the rotisserie kit separately. Blaze includes the kit only on the Professional LUX; LTE+ buyers add a kit later. If you spin a lot of chickens, the extra 5,000 BTU on the Summerset rear burner is noticeable.
Infrared searing. Neither brand builds an infrared sear zone into the hood the way Twin Eagles does, but Summerset offers a drop-in infrared sear burner that replaces one main burner in the Sizzler and Sizzler Pro, and a matching one for the TRL Pro. Blaze's answer is a separate power burner or sear station built into the island next to the grill. Both approaches work; the Summerset route is cheaper and takes no counter space.
Lights, hoods and ignition. Both brands use a flame-thrower primary ignition with flash tube backup, so no batteries. LTE+ and LUX have interior lights and red LED knobs; Sizzler Pro and TRL Pro have dual halogen interior lights with LED bezels (blue on Sizzler Pro, white-to-red on TRL Pro). The base Sizzler has no lights. The LTE+ and TRL Pro both have spring-assisted double-lined hoods; the Sizzler Pro hood is double-lined but not spring-assisted, which you feel on the 40-inch.
Not sure what fits your space? The grate and rotisserie choice usually settles itself once we know how you cook and how long your island run is. Book a free design consultation and we will help you narrow it down.
Which has the better warranty?
We pulled these from blazegrills.com product pages and the current terms on summersetgrills.com. Both use the word "lifetime." The differences are in the second tier and the exclusions.
| Coverage | Blaze gas grills | Summerset gas grills |
|---|---|---|
| Lifetime | Main burners, cooking grids, body, flame tamers, heat zone separators, warming rack, control valves | Stainless construction, cooking grates, burners, burner covers, valves, flame tamers, heat zone separators, temperature gauges, hood springs, briquette systems |
| Electrical, ignition, everything else | 1 year | 3 years (LED bulbs, harnesses, switches, transformer, halogen wiring and bulbs) |
| Labor | Not included | Not included |
| Registration | Within 30 days or the warranty does not apply | Within 30 days; void on transfer of ownership; proof of regular maintenance required |
| Exclusions to note | Covers defects only; cosmetic issues not listed | Discoloration, surface rust, corrosion and oxidation excluded; coastal, humid or salt environments subject to manufacturer review |
Summerset's three-year electrical term is the standout. Igniters, light transformers and harnesses are what actually fail on a built-in grill between years two and five, and Blaze covers them for one year. On the other side, Blaze does not put a coastal-review clause in writing, and a 304 body is simply less likely to trigger a rust claim in the first place. For a Garden City or Scarsdale backyard, Summerset's terms are better. For a house in Long Beach or Jupiter, Blaze's steel is the better insurance.
Which brand has more doors, drawers and fridges to match?
A built-in grill is maybe a third of an outdoor kitchen. The rest is storage, cold, and a place to boil water, and this is where the two brands feel different in the showroom. Blaze has the larger catalog by a wide margin: our Blaze collection runs past 400 products, from door and drawer combos and triple drawers to outdoor-rated fridges, trim kits, side burners, power burners, griddles, kamados, prefab islands and even fire pits. If you want every handle on the island to match and you want it in stock, Blaze is the easier brand to spec.
Summerset's accessory line is smaller but well thought out. Its 36-inch door and double drawer combo, flush-mount combos in 30, 33 and 42 inches, and 24-inch outdoor fridges cover most islands, and the masonry-flange versions are a nice touch for stone-faced builds. Summerset also publishes warranty terms for its accessories: lifetime on the stainless construction of doors, drawers, liners and carts, three years on 15 and 24 inch refrigerator compressors, one year on the 21 and 22 inch fridges. We could not find comparable published accessory terms on the Blaze site, so ask us for the current sheet before you buy a Blaze fridge.
You do not have to stay inside one brand. We mix Blaze drawers under a Summerset grill and vice versa all the time; the handle styles are close. What you should not mix is cutout assumptions. Measure the actual unit.
What does installation require in New York?
Good news for anyone replacing a grill in an existing island: the 32-inch LTE+ and the 32-inch Sizzler Pro share a 30 5/8 inch cutout width and a 20 3/4 to 21 1/4 inch depth, so swapping one for the other is usually a trim-ring job. The TRL Pro 32 is a hair narrower at 30 1/2 inches but taller at 9 3/8 inches. The LUX 34 needs 32 1/4 by 23 5/8 by 10 1/2 and will not drop into a Sizzler hole.
Clearances to combustibles are where the manuals diverge. The TRL Pro manual calls for 14 inches to a combustible wall and 2 inches to a non-combustible one. The Sizzler Pro manual is stricter: 16 inches to combustibles and 4 inches to non-combustibles. Both require at least 5 feet from countertop to any overhead construction, or a 1,000 CFM hood if you are under a roof. Blaze publishes its clearances per model in the LTE+ and LUX manuals, and sells an insulated jacket for every size, as does Summerset through its grill liners. For a wood-framed island, which is most of what gets built in Nassau and Westchester, treat the jacket or liner as part of the grill price.
Fuel: both brands ship natural gas or propane versions. In the five boroughs we almost always run a dedicated natural gas line, because FDNY rules limit where propane cylinders can be used and stored, and apartment buildings, roofs and terraces are the hard cases. Blaze LTE+ includes both NG and LP orifices in the box; Summerset grills are ordered as NG or LP. Both need a 110V GFCI outlet inside the island for lights and the rotisserie motor.
From our install team
Summerset's warranty requires proof of regular maintenance, so keep a simple log: burn-off dates, briquette tray cleanings, cover on and off. A photo on your phone with a date stamp counts. It sounds fussy until it saves you a burner claim in year six.
What do owners and forums say?
On grilling forums and in reviews, Blaze owners most often praise the solid feel for the money, the 304 construction holding up through Northeast winters, and how many island parts are available in a matching finish. The repeated complaints are the one-year electrical term and the ignition electrode being integrated into the valve, so a failed igniter can mean a valve replacement. Some owners find the LTE+ runs cooler than they expected and wish they had bought the LUX.
Summerset owners frequently mention the briquette system's even heat and the included rotisserie on the TRL Pro as reasons they chose it, and several independent reviewers prefer Summerset's customer service. The criticisms track the materials: the base Sizzler is called out for lighter construction and few features, and briquette trays need cleaning to avoid flare-ups once they load up with grease. Reviewers who compare the Sizzler Pro and the LTE+ head to head tend to call it a draw and split on briquettes versus flame tamers, which matches what we see.
Our recommended models
These are the eight grills from both lineups that we quote most and that hold up best on our service calls. Every one is stocked in the store, and each label is used once so you can match it to how you cook.
Blaze picks
Summerset picks
Which should you choose?
Choose Blaze if:
- You are within a mile or two of salt water on the South Shore, the North Fork, the Jersey Shore or in Palm Beach County and want a 304 body (or the 316 marine LTE+).
- Heavy grates and a hard sear matter more to you than briquettes.
- You want every door, drawer, fridge and island component to match from one catalog and ship together.
- You are shopping the entry tier: the Prelude LBM beats the Sizzler on steel, BTU and heat zone separators.
Choose Summerset if:
- You roast and rotisserie often and want the 15,000 BTU rear burner and the included kit on the TRL Pro.
- You prefer ceramic briquettes for even low-temperature cooking.
- A 3-year electrical warranty matters to you, since igniters and light transformers are the parts that actually fail.
- You are inland (Garden City, Scarsdale, Bergen County) where a 443 body on the Sizzler Pro is not a concern.
At the entry level, buy the Blaze Prelude LBM; if you are set on Summerset, look at the Quest series instead of the base Sizzler. In the middle, the Blaze LTE+ and Sizzler Pro are close enough that we send coastal customers to the LTE+ and inland roasters to the Sizzler Pro. At the top, the TRL Pro edges the LUX for us on BTU, briquettes, included rotisserie and warranty, usually for less money. The LUX's 12 mm hex grates are the one thing the TRL Pro cannot answer, so if searing is the whole point, buy the LUX.
Blaze Outdoor ProductsSummerset GrillsAll Built-In GrillsBuilt-In Natural Gas GrillsAccess Doors and DrawersMedium Grills 27 to 32 Inches
Frequently asked questions
Is Blaze or Summerset the better grill?
Blaze is better at the entry level and anywhere near salt water because its bodies are 304 stainless at every tier. Summerset is better at the top of the range, where the TRL Pro adds 20,000 BTU burners, ceramic briquettes, an included rotisserie and three-year electrical coverage. In the middle, the Blaze LTE+ and Summerset Sizzler Pro are close enough that heat distribution style should decide it.
Are Summerset grills 304 stainless steel?
Partly. Summerset uses 304 for the burners across its line, but the Sizzler and Sizzler Pro installation manuals state the grills are built from 443 stainless, and the TRL Pro manual lists 304 and 443 materials. Blaze LBM, LTE+ and LUX use 304 throughout, with a 316 marine grade LTE+ option.
Ceramic briquettes or flame tamers: which is better?
Briquettes (Summerset Sizzler Pro and TRL Pro) store and radiate heat more evenly, which helps at low roasting temperatures, but they need periodic burn-off and eventual replacement. Stainless flame tamers (all Blaze grills) are maintenance-free and resist flare-ups well. Serious low-and-slow cooks tend to prefer briquettes; weeknight burger cooks rarely notice a difference.
Which brand has the better warranty?
Both cover burners, grates, valves, body and heat zone separators for life. Summerset covers electrical and all other parts for three years and briquette systems for life; Blaze covers ignition, electrical and lighting for one year. Summerset excludes surface rust and puts coastal installations under manufacturer review. Both require registration within 30 days.
Does Summerset include a rotisserie?
The TRL Pro includes the rotisserie kit with a 40 pound motor and a 15,000 BTU infrared rear burner. The Sizzler Pro includes the rear burner but the kit is sold separately. On Blaze, only the Professional LUX includes the kit; LTE+ has the rear burner only.
What about the Summerset Alturi?
Alturi is not listed on Summerset's current website and the Alturi grills in our system are not currently published for online ordering. If you have an existing Alturi or want one for a matching island, call the showroom and we will check availability and parts with Summerset directly.
Can I drop a Blaze into an island built for a Summerset, or vice versa?
Often, at 32 inches. The Blaze LTE+ 32 and Summerset Sizzler Pro 32 both use a 30 5/8 inch wide cutout, and the TRL Pro 32 is 30 1/2 inches. Depth and height differ by up to an inch, so a trim kit may be needed. The Blaze LUX 34 needs a larger cutout and will not swap in.
Talk to a specialist
Blaze and Summerset are both on the floor in Maspeth. Come put a magnet on them.
We have been designing, selling, installing and servicing fire features and outdoor kitchens for over 30 years across New York City, Long Island, Westchester, New Jersey and South Florida. Tell us your yard, your fuel and how you cook, and we will spec the grill and the doors, drawers and fridge around it.
Book a free consultationCall 718-326-4328Showroom: 58-30 Maspeth Ave, Maspeth, Queens.
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Written by the NYC Fireplaces & Outdoor Kitchens team. Last reviewed October 2026. We sell, install and service the products discussed here.
Sources:Blaze Premium LTE+ 32, Blaze Premium LTE+ 40, Blaze Professional LUX 34, Blaze Professional LUX 44, Summerset warranty information, Summerset Sizzler Pro manual, Summerset TRL Pro manual, Summerset Sizzler manual, Summerset About Us. Specifications change; always confirm with the manufacturer's current installation manual.