The Freestyle 365 is Napoleon’s gas grill with three main burners from the Freestyle series. In Germany it is called F365DPK-1-DE, is black and runs on propane gas. At Santos Grills it appears in our price box at approx. €409. Napoleon states an RRP of €499 (retrieved on 10.11.2026), so the retailer price is €90 below it. You cannot buy it directly from the factory: the “Where to buy?” button on the product page opens the retailer search.
Among the four Freestyle models on Napoleon’s series page it has the lowest RRP, and in our gas grills category it is the cheapest of the three Freestyle grills. We did not have it in our hands and did not cook anything on it. What is written here comes from Napoleon’s product and series page, from the operating manual N415-0850CE-DE and from the assembly instructions N415-0851CE. Both manuals cover several Freestyle models. Where an illustration shows a different model, we say so.
What is under the lid
Three stainless steel main burners sit side by side, each connected to its own control knob on the control panel. The maintenance chapter of the manual mentions thick-walled 304 stainless steel. Napoleon states 12 kW, the table on page 11 specifies 12.0 kW, and all of it goes to the main burners. This variant has no side or rear burner.
Above the burners lie stainless steel flame tamers. The manual calls them alternately Sear Plates and flavour bars, and in the parts list of the assembly instructions they appear as the sear plate set S87030. On top of them go the Iconic WAVE grates made of porcelain-coated cast iron (part number S83039). The main grate measures 51 x 45 cm, and according to the technical data 22 burgers fit on it. Above it sits a stainless steel warming rack, N520-0056-SS. This gives Napoleon a total cooking area of 3,194 cm². Multiplied out, the main grate has 2,295 cm², and the remaining 899 cm² presumably belong to the warming rack, but this is not broken down anywhere. About the wave shape itself, Napoleon writes that the grates lock in the meat juices and produce sear marks.
Ignition is by JETFIRE, which according to the product page lights the burners instantly. The lid holds the ACCU-PROBE thermometer, visible on the product photo as a round dial in the middle above the Napoleon lettering. In the parts list the lid is called black cover N010-1534-BK, and it is the same assembly as on the Freestyle PRO 365.
At the bottom the cart is closed. The parts list includes a door assembly with a handle, and the photo shows a door with a vertical bar handle. On the left and right sit folding side shelves with tool hooks and a bottle opener. Napoleon calls the wheels all-terrain. In the photo they are only on the right side, and on the left there is a foot, so to move it you lift the left side. The overview of functions in the manual shows 7-inch wheels, powder-coated shelves and a retaining ring for the gas cylinder, but the model pictured there is a Freestyle PRO with an infrared side burner. That cannot be carried over.
Assembled, the grill is 124 cm wide, 63.5 cm deep and 116 cm high, with the lid open 154 cm. With the shelves folded in, the width shrinks to 76 cm. It is delivered in a box of 50.80 x 71.76 x 74.30 cm that weighs 47.73 kg with its contents. According to the assembly instructions, no tools for assembly are included. They advise unpacking all parts beforehand, working on a firm, level and horizontal surface, and using the main carton as a pad against scratches. If the retailer has assembled the grill, the manual says you should check against the assembly instructions that everything is seated correctly.
In detail: what 12 kW on 51 x 45 cm means
A kW total alone says little. Only when you divide it by the area it has to heat can you compare two grills. For the Freestyle 365 that is 12 kW on 2,295 cm², around 5.2 W per square centimetre of main grate. The Freestyle 425 manages about 5.0 W with 13.6 kW on 2,700 cm², the Weber Spirit E-310 about 3.0 W with 7.0 kW on 2,314 cm². So of the three, the smallest Napoleon heats its grate most densely.
What the figure describes is revealed by the column heading in the manual: heat input. This means the energy flowing into the burners as gas at full setting. How hot the grate actually gets also depends on the lid, the outside temperature and the wind. As a comparison figure between grills of the same design the quotient is suitable, as a temperature specification it is not.
On grilling itself the manual is brief. Before searing, you preheat for about 10 minutes with all main burners on the highest setting and the lid closed. Fish and vegetables that cook only briefly may lie there with the lid open. With the lid closed it gets hotter and more even according to Napoleon, meat cooks more evenly, and the cooking time can drop. To prevent sticking with lean meat such as chicken breast or pork, you oil the grates before preheating.
For anything that takes longer than 30 minutes, that is roasts, indirect cooking is intended: switch on the burner on the opposite side and place the food where there is no flame. With three burners over a 51 cm grate width, there are arithmetically about 17 cm per burner if they are evenly spaced. If only one outer burner is lit, about 34 cm without flame below remain, and if both outer ones run, a strip of about 17 cm in the middle. For a large roast next to a direct zone, it gets tight in our assessment. How to divide zones for poultry or ribs is explained in our guide to direct and indirect heat.
Against flare-ups, you trim off excess fat or turn the temperature down. If it flares up anyway, you move the food out of the flames, turn the heat down and leave the lid open.
A griddle or pan may go on the grate, but according to the manual you never cover more than 75 percent of the cooking surface, not even with solid metal. On this grill’s main grate that is at most around 1,720 cm².
Are three burners enough, or should you go straight to the Freestyle 425?
Three burners are enough if you mostly grill directly: the 365 heats its grate more densely than its bigger brother. You need the fourth burner if a roast regularly cooks indirectly and you also want sausages or vegetables to lie directly over the flame next to it.
The Freestyle 425 has four main burners with 13.6 kW and a main grate of 60 x 45 cm, which is 17.6 percent more area and, according to Napoleon, room for 26 burgers. The total cooking area grows to 3,684 cm². In return it is 132 cm wide, 84 cm with the shelves folded, each 8 cm more than the 365. Its box weighs 51.59 kg.
In our price box the 425 at approx. €509 is exactly €100 above the Freestyle 365. At Napoleon’s RRP the gap is the same, €599 against €499.
Three alternatives from our catalog
| Model | The difference | Price | Our rating | Choose this one if |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Napoleon Freestyle 365 (this one) | 3 burners, 12 kW on 51 x 45 cm, no side burner | approx. €409 | 8.8 | you mostly grill directly on a patio or in the garden and want to spend little |
| Napoleon Freestyle PRO 365 | the same 12 kW main burners, plus an infrared side burner with 3.0 kW | approx. €599 | 9.1 | you want to sear steaks hard while the main grate is already full |
| Napoleon Freestyle 425 | 4 burners, 13.6 kW on 60 x 45 cm | approx. €509 | 8.8 | you often have a roast cooking indirectly next to a direct zone |
| Weber Spirit II E-310 | 3 burners, 7.0 kW on 2,314 cm², Snap-Jet ignition | approx. €460 | 9.2 | you want to buy from Weber and accept less output per area |
The prices are retailer prices from our price box and may look different on the day you order. The rating is our editorial assessment based on manufacturer data; we measured nothing on any of the four grills.
Setting up and connecting gas according to the manual
The first warning in the manual is in capital letters: use only outdoors in a well-ventilated area. If you smell gas, you turn the gas off at the appliance, extinguish every open flame and open the lid. If the smell persists, you move away from the appliance and immediately call your gas supplier or the fire brigade.
On the balcony, Napoleon’s own texts contradict each other. The product page calls the grill “ideal for patios, balconies and smaller gardens”. The manual says the appliance is intended for an outdoor patio or the garden. We go by the manual. Whether gas is allowed on your balcony at all is governed by your tenancy agreement and house rules; what matters is explained in the guide to grilling on a balcony.
According to page 8 you need an above-ground, open location with natural ventilation and no stagnant air, so that wind and convection quickly disperse gas leaks and combustion products. Excluded are buildings, garages and other enclosed spaces as well as any built-in or slide-in construction, and the ventilation openings in the cylinder housing stay clear. From combustible materials you keep a distance of 610 mm at the back and 178 mm at the sides, and next to vinyl cladding or glass panes Napoleon additionally recommends 610 mm. With the shelves folded out, this gives a clear area of 159.6 cm width and 124.5 cm depth to the nearest combustible wall, not counting the space where you stand yourself.
Page 7 carries, among others, these warnings: do not operate under combustible covers or structures, do not set up where strong wind hits, especially directly from behind, and the hoses must not touch hot surfaces. According to the same page, an approved gas installer should carry out the connection and installation of the gas and hose connection and check it for leaks before operation. The grill must not be installed in or on recreational vehicles and boats, which rules out the motorhome. It can be operated safely down to an outside temperature of minus 17.8 °C.
For Germany the gas category I3B/P(50) applies, that is propane or butane at 50 mbar; the nozzles are 0.84 mm (#66) for this. As a cylinder, the manual requires propane from 6 kg or butane with 13 kg, so a 5 kg cylinder is below the minimum. The parts list gives the regulator and hose as N530-0032 (DE). Whether both are in the box for the German sale remains open: once the regulator is described as “supplied”, elsewhere it speaks of Napoleon’s regulator “if not included”, in which case they may be ones that comply with national and regional regulations. Ask the retailer. A hose of 0.9 m is recommended, never more than 1.5 m, and it is replaced before the printed expiry date. No cylinder you connect may be filled to more than 80 percent.
The connected cylinder stands on the lower shelf in the base cabinet, provided it respects the maximum width and height; larger ones you place outside on level ground. A spare cylinder is stored neither under the grill head nor anywhere near this or any other appliance. When opening the cylinder valve, all burner controls are set to Off. Which cylinder size suits you is explained in the guide to the gas bottle for the grill.
You carry out the leak check before first use, annually, after every replacement of gas components and always when you smell gas or see damage. After every cylinder change you check the connection between pressure regulator and cylinder. The steps on page 12: do not smoke, remove all ignition sources, set all burner controls to Off, open the gas supply valve and coat all connections and fittings of regulator, hose, manifold and valves with a mixture of half liquid soap, half water. Bubbles show a leak. Then you tighten loose connections; if the leak does not stop, you immediately close the gas supply, disconnect the grill, have it checked by a certified installer or retailer and use it again only once the leak is fixed. You never look for a leak with an open flame.
If the grill stands unused for a longer time, you close the gas at the cylinder valve, disconnect the hose between cylinder and grill and store the cylinder outdoors, well ventilated and out of reach of children. It never goes into a building, a garage, a shed or any other enclosed space. If you store the grill indoors, it is disconnected from the supply.
First start, cleaning and care
Before the first fire you remove packaging, promotional labels and cards. You wash the grates by hand with warm water and mild dish soap; the dishwasher is off limits according to the manual. Afterwards rinse hot and dry thoroughly with a soft cloth so they do not rust.
Then comes the burn-off: warming rack out, main burners for 30 minutes on the highest setting. That the grill gives off an odour during this is normal according to Napoleon and comes from inner paints and lubricants from manufacturing; the second time it no longer occurs.
Ignition is always with the lid open. You push in a main burner knob and slowly turn it counterclockwise to HIGH until the pilot flame burns, and hold it pressed until the burner burns too. If no pilot flame appears, you immediately turn back to OFF and try again. If pilot flame and burner do not light within 5 seconds, the knob goes to OFF and you wait 5 minutes so the gas can disperse.
The cast iron grates are seasoned before first use; the manual has a capitalised MUST here. After that you repeat this every 3 to 4 uses: grates on the grill at 176 to 204 °C for 30 to 60 minutes. Napoleon advises oils with a high smoke point, naming avocado oil, safflower oil, sunflower oil and beef tallow. You should avoid butter and margarine. If rust forms anyway, it comes off with a scouring sponge or brass brush, after which you re-season the grates.
Cleaning is done only when all burners are off and the grill has cooled, with protective gloves and safety glasses. Accumulated grease is a fire hazard according to the manual. You brush the grates with a brass wire brush. For the interior you take them out, brush loose residue off the sides and the underside of the lid with the brass wire brush, scrape the sear plates with a spatula and remove ash with a wire brush. Then the sear plates come out, the burners are brushed off, and the rest ends up in the grease tray. On porcelain parts you work with plastic scrapers.
The grease tray is due every 4 to 5 uses. Only inserts approved by Napoleon may go in, no aluminium foil and no sand, because that obstructs the flow of grease. A disposable grease tray, if you use one, is changed every 2 to 4 weeks depending on use; for this the assembly instructions list the grease tray kit 62007.
Prohibited are oven cleaner, the self-cleaning oven for grates or other parts, pressure washers as well as abrasive agents and steel wool on painted, porcelain-coated and stainless steel surfaces. Cold water, including rain, sprinklers or a garden hose, should not hit the hot grill, because the sudden temperature change can make the porcelain chip. Barbecue sauce and salt are corrosive if left on. The control panel gets only warm soapy water and a soft cloth, otherwise the printing wears off. In harsh environments, stainless steel and chrome surfaces should be cleaned every 3 to 4 weeks with warm soapy water.
Once a year a qualified professional should thoroughly inspect and service the grill. Our guide to cleaning a gas grill shows the procedure for a thorough spring clean.
Accessories, gas consumption and warranty
On the product page Napoleon lists four matching parts with RRP: the grill cover 61444 for the Freestyle series for €84.95 (according to the page only available in store), the rotisserie kit 69302 for €149, the charcoal tray with cast iron smoker basket 67732 for €54.95 and a stainless steel smoker box for the flame tamers for €29.95.
For gas, you should count on 873 g of propane per hour when all three burners run at full power; so says the table on page 11. A 6 kg cylinder is thus arithmetically empty after just under 7 hours at full load, an 11 kg cylinder after a good 12.5 hours. The 10 minutes of preheating alone cost about 146 g. On a low flame one filling lasts correspondingly longer.
If you add the cover at RRP to the price from our price box, you land at just under €494, still below Napoleon’s RRP for the grill alone. Gas cylinder and filling come on top.
Napoleon advertises a 10-year limited warranty, and the conditions in the manual graduate it by component. Ten years apply to cast aluminium parts and stainless steel base, stainless steel lid and porcelain-enamelled lid. “5 years plus 10” apply to a painted steel lid, stainless steel tube burners, stainless steel flame tamers, porcelain-enamelled cast iron grates and ceramic infrared burners. Porcelain flame tamers get three years plus 10, all other parts two years. Plus10 means that you can get the replacement part for a further 10 years at 50 percent of the current retail price. Which lid line applies to the F365DPK depends on the lid material, and that is not stated for this model.
Excluded are damage from improper operation, poor maintenance, grease fire, environmental influences, accidents, modifications, misuse or negligence. Likewise excluded: scratches, dents, paint damage, coatings, corrosion or discolouration from heat or from abrasive and chemical cleaning agents as well as chipping on porcelain-coated parts. With replacement parts from other manufacturers the warranty lapses. If a part rusts or burns through within the period so that it no longer functions, Napoleon provides a replacement part; Napoleon does not bear the cost of installation, nor of overheating or blow-out through strong wind or poor ventilation. Your statutory rights in respect of defects remain unaffected according to the warranty text.
What Napoleon leaves open on this model
A few questions that suggest themselves before buying are not answered by Napoleon’s documents on the F365DPK. We have collected them here instead of scattering them through the text:
- Net weight: only the weight including the box is known.
- Maximum temperature under the lid: no manufacturer figure.
- Heat-up time to a particular temperature: only the recommendation to preheat for about 10 minutes.
- Output per burner and spacing of the burners: only the total of 12 kW.
- Gas consumption on a low or medium setting: only the value at full load.
- Maximum dimensions of the gas cylinder for the base cabinet.
- Material of the cooking chamber, lid, cart and side shelves.
- Wheel diameter on the F365DPK.
- Country of origin or manufacture.
- Natural gas variant or conversion kit for Germany.
- Number of people: only the 22 burgers.
- Assembly time.
Who the Freestyle 365 suits, and who it does not
It suits you if you have room on a patio or in the garden for around 1.6 m of width including safety clearance and mostly grill directly over the flame. Among the four grills in our table it is the cheapest, and according to manufacturer data it heats its main grate more densely than the Freestyle 425 and the Weber. In our assessment that is its strongest argument.
If you rent and want to grill on the balcony, it is the wrong choice as long as house rules or overhead cover do not clearly allow it; the manual intends it for patio and garden. In the Grill Finder you can then filter for electric and table grills for little space.
If you want to sear steaks on a dedicated infrared zone while vegetables already lie on the main grate, the 365 does not suffice. The Freestyle PRO 365 has a separately ignited side burner for this and costs around €190 more in our price box. If you need a cooking spot for a pot or pan next to the grate, the variant with a side cooktop is the better fit (details in the questions above).
If the brand matters more to you than output per area, you end up at the Weber Spirit II E-310, which costs around €51 more in our price box and which we rate slightly higher at 9.2. We would pick the Napoleon if the higher output per area matters to you, and the Weber if you prefer to buy from the Weber dealer around the corner and also get spare parts there.
