Broil King Regal Pellet 500

Broil King is the grill brand of the Onward Manufacturing Company (OMC) from Waterloo, Ontario. According to its own account, the Canadian company has existed since 1906 and has focused on grills under this brand since 1985. In our pellet grill category, the Regal Pellet 500 currently has the highest overall rating. This article is based on the product pages on broilking.de and broilking.com, the German operating manual 40094-E50DE (Rev F, 10/21), the North American Owner’s Manual (Rev M, 12/20) and the Pro’s spare parts list. We have not handled the grill ourselves.

Regal Pellet 500 or 500 Pro: Which unit do you get?

Only the item number tells you. Two grills run under the name: the Regal Pellet 500 with model number 496051 and the Regal Pellet 500 Pro with item number 496915EU. In the German manufacturer’s shop only the Pro is listed, for €2,199 (as of 25 September 2026).

The two are not cleanly separated all the same. The Pro’s product page links the German manual from 10/21 as its operating manual, which is written for the item numbers 496055EU and 495055EU and refers to the Regal Pellet 500 as model 496051. In the Pro’s spare parts list, the screw pack appears as a HARDWARE PACK 496051-HP. And in North America Broil King still carries the 496051, at US$1,399 according to broilking.com (as of 25 September 2026).

The differences that can be read from the manufacturer’s pages mainly concern cooking area and running gear. For the 496051, broilking.com gives 625 sq in (4,032 cm²) of main cooking area and 200 sq in (1,290 cm²) on the second level. For the Pro, a graphic on broilking.de shows five Flav-R-Cast cast iron grates of 15.5 x 48.8 cm each, 3,782 cm² together, plus an enamelled warming rack of 76 x 18.5 cm and 1,406 cm²; the Pro’s product page gives a total area of 5,188 cm². It also describes a motor at 3.6 rpm with a hollow-core auger, names the control system iQue Smart and puts the grill on 20 cm wheels and lockable 7.5 cm casters. According to broilking.com, the 496051 stands on four steel legs, two of them with levelling, and rolls on two wheels of 20.3 cm.

On weight, broilking.com states 250 lbs, around 113 kg, for the 496051, and broilking.de states 106.0 kg for the Pro. Broil King publishes external dimensions only for the Pro: 126 cm high, 149 cm wide, 69 cm deep. It gives the carton as 78 x 123 x 57 cm, in the same order of height, width, depth.

In our price box the Regal Pellet 500 is listed at Santos Grills at approx. €999. Santos carries it under item number 496055EU and reported it as sold out on 25 September 2026. The shop page does not show which of the two models is behind this number; ask before you order. Where a statement below applies to only one of the two units, the number is given alongside.

Steel body, double-walled lid, cast iron grates

According to broilking.com, the body of the 496051 is made of 2 mm steel (14 gauge) with a high-temperature paint that Broil King rates up to 600 °C. The manufacturer describes the lid as double-walled, and it has an oven-grade gasket; in the Pro’s spare parts list it is called GASKET-LID-PELLET 500 (49305-90A). The same page simply describes the cooking chamber as a sturdy steel chamber.

Two sheets with a gap between them insulate better than one, because the space between conducts heat less well than steel. The gasket additionally keeps hot air and smoke in the cooking chamber instead of letting them escape at the lid edge.

According to broilking.com, grilling is done on sturdy cast iron grates. According to the manual they carry a thin, matt enamel coating meant to protect them. Cast iron absorbs a lot of heat and passes it to the food where it makes contact, which is where the dark stripes come from at high heat. broilking.com describes the warming rack on the same page once as a stainless steel rack and once as porcelain-coated.

According to broilking.com, the steel hopper holds up to 22 lb of pellets, just under 10 kg when converted, and an infrared sensor reports a low level to the control panel and the app. The Pro page describes the fire pot as a stainless steel part. An agitator empties it into a removable ash container. Grease runs into a concealed, removable grease tray with disposable liners, and there is also a removable stainless steel drip tray. The exhaust air is drawn through a large-diameter steel chimney whose damper Broil King calls Roto-Draft. For storage the grill has a bottom shelf and a side shelf.

The following is not stated in any of the Broil King documents evaluated (product pages, both manuals, spare parts list), or is stated there inconsistently:

• a lower temperature limit and a heat-up time to a given target temperature
• power consumption in watts, mains voltage and cable length
• output and power supply of the rotisserie motor
• working height and height with the lid open
• whether the two weight figures are net or include packaging
• how many people the cooking area is enough for
• assembly time and number of helpers
• the material thickness of the cast iron grates
• the range of the Bluetooth connection
• the noise level of the fan and auger
• the factory where the pellet grills are made; the origin statement on broilking.de relates to the gas grills
• whether the spit rod and forks are dishwasher safe
• an official comparison of the Regal Pellet 500 and the 500 Pro
• the total area of the 496051: 865 sq in (5,580 cm²) according to the specification table, but 625 plus 200, so 825 sq in, according to the running text of the same page
• the capacity of the Pro, for which its product page gives 9 kg once and 10 kg once
• the main area of the Pro: 80 x 48.8 cm in the Technical Data tab, but five grates of 15.5 cm, so 77.5 cm width, in the graphic

Statements from earlier versions for which no source was found are no longer on this page: a double-walled body made of stainless steel and steel, a main grate of 65 x 44 cm, 82 °C as a lower limit, 316 °C as a maximum (a conversion of 600 °F, where Broil King writes 315 °C), 14 to 16 hours of burn time per fill, a temperature swing of at most 3 °C and 75 minutes of assembly for two people.

In detail: How a pellet grill holds 107 or 315 °C

A pellet grill works like an oven heated with wood and regulated by a thermostat. An auger pushes pellets from the hopper into the fire pot, an igniter sets them alight at start-up, and a fan blows in combustion air. A sensor in the cooking chamber reports the temperature to the controller, which decides how much fuel follows. In the Pro’s spare parts list these parts are called HOT ROD-PELLET(CE) for the igniter and PROBE-PELLET(PT1000) for the sensor. A PT1000 is a platinum measuring resistor with 1000 ohms at 0 °C, whose resistance rises with temperature. The Pro page speaks of advanced PID control. A controller of this kind takes into account the current deviation from the set point, its sum over time and its rate of change, and so overshoots the target less than a simple on-off controller.

For the usual cases the control panel has three program buttons. SMOKE sets 107 °C (225 °F), BRAT/BACK 176 °C (350 °F) and GRILL 315 °C (600 °F). The manual separates the cooking methods like this: smoking below 135 °C, often for more than four hours; roasting between 176 and 205 °C; direct grilling from 205 °C, for example for steaks, chops, burgers and vegetables.

In our comparison, it is mainly the upper limit that separates the pellet grills from one another, that is, how far a unit gets beyond 205 °C. A pellet grill cooks mainly with hot air and smoke, similar to a fan oven. Browning and grill marks need temperatures well above the boiling point of water at the surface of the food, and a cast iron grate reaches them sooner the hotter the cooking chamber is.

On control accuracy the manual only notes that fluctuations are to be expected when reaching and holding the set temperature. Broil King attaches no tolerance in degrees to it.

According to the manual, the grease tray has a second job. It directs the cold smoke towards the heat shield and chimney, and it is prepared with half a cup of water, around 125 ml, in the empty tray.

To start, you open the lid and the chimney damper and press the illuminated on/off button; after a few seconds the ignition and preheating cycle begins by itself. According to the manual, you preheat with the lid open for the first 10 minutes, or until the white smoke clears. The food goes in once the cycle is finished and the desired temperature is reached, and then you close the lid. If the grill will not start, our guide Pellet grill will not start goes through the usual causes.

Rotisserie, two probes and the app

According to broilking.com, the 496051 comes with a spit rod and spit forks made of stainless steel with an electric motor; for the Pro, broilking.de speaks of the Delux rotisserie set. The manual considers the spit capable of up to 7 kg of meat, limited by the space the piece needs as it turns. Cooking here is done with hot air circulating around the food. The meat sits in the centre of the spit so that it does not get out of balance, and is fastened securely before it goes on the grill; with poultry, you tie wings and legs tightly and close to the body. You adjust the counterweight only with a heat-resistant grill or oven glove. The Pro’s spare parts list gives the spit rod as 31.0 inches, so around 79 cm (S15256), and the motor under S15246.

Two electronic meat probes are also in the box. They plug into ports 1 and 2 and run through the side wall into the cooking chamber, and according to the manual you use only Broil King temperature probes. If you have set a core temperature and it is reached, the grill lowers the cooking chamber to 107 °C and holds it there. That does not stop the cooking: at 107 °C in the chamber the core temperature keeps rising, only more slowly. We would therefore take the piece out soon after it reaches the target value.

From your smartphone you control the grill via the BROIL KING Pellet Controller app, by Bluetooth or over your Wi-Fi, though according to the US manual only on the 2.4 GHz band. On first start the app requires an account; as an alternative the manual mentions signing in via Facebook or Google+. You then create a location based on your phone’s GPS and agree to the privacy policy, without which the app cannot be used any further. Only one user can be connected at a time. If your phone leaves Bluetooth range, the grill keeps running without the app and switches to Wi-Fi, provided it is connected. What you set on the grill itself overrides any app command.

Setting up and operating safely

Before assembly and first use, Broil King requires you to read the whole manual, and warns that failure to do so can lead to property damage, personal injury or even death. The rules below follow the German manual, as close to the wording as possible.

The grill is intended for outdoor use only and must not be operated in a garage, a shed, on a balcony or in other enclosed areas. According to the manual, toxic fumes collect indoors that can lead to serious injury or death. It is equally not intended for installation in or on recreational vehicles and boats. The unit needs at least 76 cm clearance from combustible surfaces on each side and to the rear; the manual, in capital letters there, calls missing clearances a major cause of fires. It always stands on a non-combustible, level surface and horizontally, and you do not restrict the airflow to the unit. You keep the area around it free of combustible materials, pellets, petrol and all flammable liquids and vapours, and you store combustible materials neither beside nor beneath it.

To light or feed the fire you never use petrol, lantern fuel, kerosene, charcoal oil or other flammable liquids. If it flares up, you do not put it out with water: pull the power cord and wait until the grill has cooled down. You extinguish burning pellets by switching off the digital controller and closing the damper fully, also without water. According to the manual, grease fires occur when the grill is not properly maintained and the grease collection system is not cleaned regularly. If a fire does break out, you switch the unit off or pull the plug and keep the lid closed until the fire is completely out.

The manual carries a separate warning on carbon monoxide. Signs of poisoning are headache, dizziness, weakness, nausea, vomiting, drowsiness and confusion. Carbon monoxide reduces the blood’s ability to carry oxygen, and too little oxygen in the blood can lead to loss of consciousness and death. Alcohol and drugs intensify the effect. The gas is particularly toxic for mother and child during pregnancy, for infants, older people, smokers and people with blood or circulation problems such as anaemia or heart disease. If anyone develops cold-like or flu-like symptoms while grilling or near the grill, they should see a doctor, because carbon monoxide poisoning is easily mistaken for a cold or flu and often recognised too late.

Further points from the manual:

• In strong wind the grill stays off. For windy or rainy weather the US manual has a trick: the grate lifter 60745 holds the lid open in a lower position.
• You do not move a hot grill, and it is operated only fully assembled with all parts in place.
• You never check whether the pellet tray, ash or grill grate are hot by touching them.
• For grilling and for adjusting the upper damper you wear grill gloves or use oven cloths, plus grill tools with long, heat-resistant handles.
• Children and pets are never left unattended at the hot grill. Children aged 8 and over and people with reduced physical, sensory or mental capabilities may use the unit if they have been instructed in safe use and understand the hazards. Children must not play with it, and they carry out cleaning and maintenance only under supervision.
• Only food-grade wood pellets go into the hopper; Broil King’s Premium Grilling Pellets are recommended. Pellets are always stored dry, and neither near heat-producing appliances nor near other fuel containers.

Seasoning, care and cleaning according to the manual

Before the first fire, you take out the grill grates and grease tray, wash them thoroughly in warm soapy water, rinse them completely and dry them with a soft cloth. You are not supposed to let them air dry, and they do not go in the dishwasher either. Then you coat the cast iron grates over their whole surface with a brush or cloth using one of the recommended cooking oils; non-stick spray also works according to the manual.

Next you burn off the protective residues from manufacturing. The manual specifies eight steps for this:

1. Plug the power cord into a suitable grounded socket.
2. Check the pellet hopper and auger for foreign objects that could hinder start-up, and move the agitator to the closed position.
3. Fill with pellets, for best results Broil King hardwood pellets, never heating fuel pellets.
4. Set the Roto-Draft exhaust damper to position 5, wide open, so the fire gets the maximum amount of air.
5. Leave the lid open while preheating, as described above under start-up.
6. Switch on; after a few seconds the grill changes to start mode.
7. Set 260 °C (500 °F) and, once the temperature is reached, let the grill burn for a further 15 to 20 minutes. The first time, heating up takes longer because the auger first has to fill with pellets before ignition.
8. After cooling down, spray or brush the cast iron grates with a high smoke point oil, generously and into the corners. Before every further use, cast iron grates get a light film of oil.

The manual recommends avocado oil (smoke point 260 °C), rice bran oil (255 °C) and rapeseed oil (204 °C). Because the grates are reversible, you oil both sides generously; salted fats such as margarine or butter are left out. Then you heat the grates for about half an hour at 180 °C, the oil bakes on and forms a non-stick layer. Before and after every grilling session you clean them with a stainless steel brush; the Broil King items 64014 and 64034 are named. You rotate and turn the grates regularly and always keep them lightly oiled, against corrosion, wear and sticking. If corrosion sets in anyway, you burn it off, brush again with a stainless steel cleaning brush and oil from the start. For longer breaks they are stored greased in a dry place, and before the next use the oiling begins again from the start.

Switching off is done with the same illuminated button, after which the grill shuts down in a 15-minute cool-down. Once it has cooled down completely, you unplug it, use the agitator to clear ash from the combustion chamber, clean the grease tray and empty the pellet hopper through the hopper drain: hold a bucket under the trap door on the back of the pellet box, open the door, catch the pellets, close the door again.

You remove ash only once all the pellet fuel is completely burned and extinguished and the grill has cooled down fully. To empty it, you open the agitator to the unlock position, which is marked on the cover, and slide it back and forth between lock and unlock until the ash falls into the tray. Before the next use the agitator must be closed again. The ash goes into a metal container with a tight lid, which stands on a non-combustible surface or on the ground until disposal, away from combustible material. If you want to spread it on soil, it stays in the closed container until embers and ash have cooled down completely.

On the outside you wash the grill with warm soapy water; on the inside you loosen residues on the stainless steel grease collection system with the stainless steel grill brush 65641. The layer of oil that bakes into the smoker is called patina in the manual; it acts as a protective layer and does not need to be removed regularly. According to the instructions you do not use steam or pressure washers. When not in use the grill is always kept covered.

Pellets and warranty

Broil King describes its own pellets as 100 percent natural, wood only, with no fillers, oil additives or binders. The manual lists three varieties: 63920 Hickory (100 percent hickory), 63930 Smoke Master’s as a blend of maple, hickory and cherry, and 63939 Griller’s Select of maple, oak and cherry. In the Broil King shop the 63920 is called Hickory Blend and costs €22.90 for the 9 kg bag (as of 25 September 2026), around €2.54 per kilo. What an evening of grilling costs in pellets remains open all the same, because Broil King gives no consumption per hour.

In Germany, the warranty table of the German manual applies: grill housing 5 years, cast iron grates 2 years, digital control element 2 years, other parts as well as colour and paintwork 2 years. The graphic on the Pro page condenses this to 5 years on the housing and 2 years on parts and paint. The North American manual lists longer periods, but outside North America the warranty is, according to OMC, administered by the distributor in each country.

The condition is that you are the first buyer and a consumer, use the grill in normal private use and register on broilking.de within 24 months of purchase. The warranty cannot be transferred, and no representative can extend it. It applies only if assembly, preventive maintenance and care have been carried out according to the instructions and the installation complies with the supplied instructions and with regional and national building and fire protection regulations. In a warranty claim you need the model number, serial number and proof of purchase; if the proof is missing, Broil King determines the warranty period from the serial number. Once two years have passed from the purchase date, a warranty claim incurs costs for shipping and transport, relocation for reassembly, export duties, assembly for set-up and repair, and for service calls.

The manual explains what is covered using the example of rusting through or burning through of the grill grates or burners with proper use and care. The exclusions fill several long lists on page 12; we do not want to summarise them in shortened form, so read them in the manual before you buy. The manual words two exclusions in a sentence of their own each, and both bear directly on the purchase. Grills used commercially, by government institutions or municipalities, by multi-party buildings or hotels, youth hostels, motels, restaurants, rental houses and the like are not covered, only the grill used privately. And chipping or cracks in cast iron grates that result from incorrect use or lack of care are likewise excluded. Compensation and replacement are limited to the purchase price of the grill, and for replaced parts only the remaining warranty period from the purchase date continues to run. According to the manual, your statutory warranty rights against the seller and claims under product liability remain unaffected.

What else comes into question?

Three pellet grills from our catalogue, each for a different reason:

The prices are guide values from our price box and change; for the Regal, the price there is that of Santos Grills. The technical details of the three alternatives come from the German Traeger product page, from the Weber operating manual for the SmokeFire EX4 and EX6, and from Pit Boss’s European page. Our rating is an editorial assessment from the data comparison, not a measurement result.

When the Regal Pellet 500 suits you and when another grill does

We see the Regal Pellet 500 with you if it gets a permanent spot in the garden with a socket and you actually use the GRILL button and the rotisserie.

First measure the spot. If you take the dimensions of the Pro and the 76 cm mandatory clearance on the left, right and back, then in front of combustible surfaces such as a wooden fence you need around 3 m of width (149 plus twice 76 cm) and just under 1.5 m of depth (69 plus 76 cm); the calculation is ours. The clearance above, from the FAQ, comes on top. At over 100 kg, depending on model and source, moving it around is no minor matter. If you only have a balcony, the Regal is out; see the setup rules above.

If you smoke almost exclusively below 135 °C, you do not need the GRILL setting. Then it is worth a look at the Traeger Ironwood 650: Traeger gives 4,194 cm² of total cooking area and a pellet chamber of 9.1 kg, so less pellet capacity than the 496051. The drawback that earlier versions of this page attributed to the Regal, a smaller pellet hopper than Traeger’s, does not apply to this pair; for the Pro it cannot be decided because of the contradictory kilogram figure on its product page.

If your budget is under €700, the table leads to the Pit Boss Pro 850. Pit Boss gives 5,484 cm² of cooking area and a pellet hopper of 9 kg for it.

If only your 5 GHz network reaches the spot in the garden, the grill will not join the Wi-Fi according to the US manual, and you are left with Bluetooth. Add the cover and the pellets to the grill price; the prices are in the FAQ and in the section on pellets and warranty. If you are still torn between pellet, gas and charcoal, the Grill Finder goes through the basic questions with you.

The Regal Pellet 500 is the wrong choice for anyone who wants to grill without a power connection, for example in an allotment garden without a socket, and for anyone who regularly moves their grill around or takes it along.