What the S-301 Pro is and where you can get it
The S-301 Pro is a gas grill with three main burners, a side cooktop and a closed base cabinet. It is built and sold by Santos Grills GmbH from Cologne (Hafenstraße 1), and only in its own shop at santosgrills.de. You will not find it on Amazon.
There are two versions: stainless steel (item number 966393) and black (966386). Both have the side cooktop, and both cost the same, approx. €399 at Santos Grills (on 02.11.2026: €399.00). On that day, however, only the stainless steel variant was available. For the black one the shop showed only a form through which you can be notified as soon as it is available again. Delivery is by freight forwarder, and for the stainless steel version Santos states 1 to 2 working days until dispatch.
In our overview of gas grills it belongs to the three-burner models with a base cabinet. Its closest relative is the S-318 Pro: Santos states the same assembled size for both.
Chamber, burners, grates: the construction
Under the hood are three stainless steel burners with 3.00 kW each, 9 kW together. Each has its own piezo ignition, so you can light one on its own. Above the burners sit stainless steel covers which, according to Santos, keep dripping fat away from the burner nozzles.
Grilling is done on three cast grates. They can be turned over: V-shaped bars on top, a blunt grooved side underneath. Santos states the main cooking area as 2,529 cm², at 43 x 60 cm. Above it hangs a three-part stainless steel warming rack that can be pulled out from 14 to 24 and up to 33.5 cm depth. Pushed in, it measures 769.16 cm² (13.4 x 57.4 cm) according to the technical data, fully extended 1,922.90 cm² (33.5 x 57.4 cm). The page for the black version gives 2,043.5 cm² for the extended rack at the same dimensions. Recalculated, the value on the stainless steel page is correct.
On the left the side cooktop is set into the shelf, a ring cooktop with 4.00 kW that Santos compares to the hob of a gas cooker. An integrated lid closes it off when you do not need it. The right side shelf can be folded down.
On the housing, Santos gets specific. Cooking chamber, double-walled hood, control panel and side shelves are made of type 430 stainless steel, the side walls of the lid, cooking chamber and side shelves of die-cast aluminium. For the cart, the page names base, side panels and outer door surfaces made of stainless steel, but elsewhere describes cabinet sides and base surface as powder-coated. Which surfaces are meant in each case cannot be cleanly separated from the text. On the black variant, the double-walled stainless steel lid is black enamelled. A thermometer sits in the lid. Extended side panels of the cooking chamber and a reduced rear lid gap are supposed to let less heat escape, according to Santos; no measured values are available for this.
The control knobs are illuminated and show the gas flow in colour: blue means closed, red means open. Underneath the grill, four large castors with PVC coating roll, each with a locking brake. In the base cabinet there are a stainless steel stand rack and a square holder for the gas cylinder. Hooks hang on both side shelves, and on the right a storage basket can be hung.
Assembled, the grill measures 137 x 119 x 64 cm (width, height, depth), with the lid open 152 cm in height and 78 cm in depth. It weighs 69 kg. The package is only 64 x 77 x 60.5 cm, so the grill arrives at your place disassembled.
What Santos does not publish, at a glance: an operating manual for the S-301 Pro is neither linked on the product page nor findable by search; online there is only the series’ safety sheet. This leaves open the maximum temperature, heat-up time in minutes, gas consumption in grams per hour, the material of the side cooktop burner, the country of manufacture, the year of market launch and the assembly effort. The field for the scope of delivery is empty on the product page, so whether a gas hose is included remains unclear. Without a consumption figure we also do not calculate gas costs per barbecue evening for you.
Does the S-301 Pro have a rear burner?
No, at least according to everything Santos publishes. Both product pages list three main burners and the side cooktop; the word rear burner does not appear there. The 13.00 kW total output from the data sheet is exactly 9 kW of main burners plus 4 kW of side cooktop.
For the rotisserie this has a very practical consequence. A rear burner radiates from behind onto the rotating meat, and the main burners underneath can stay off. Santos does sell a rotisserie which, according to the shop, fits the S-301 and the S-318. On the S-301 Pro, however, the heat for it inevitably comes from below, from the main burners. Anyone who wants to run a rotisserie seriously ends up with the S-318 Pro: it has a rear burner and, instead of the ring cooktop, an infrared side burner with 4.5 kW. For the output of its rear burner, by the way, the Santos page shows two values, 4.0 kW in the technical data and 3.5 kW in the descriptive text.
In detail: 9 kW on 60 centimetres, and what stainless steel 430 means
A kW figure alone says little. If you divide the 9,000 W of the main burners by the main cooking area, you get around 3.6 W per square centimetre. For the Broil King Regal 590, according to the Santos shop, it is 16 kW on 3,880 cm², so around 4.1 W. That is a power density and not a temperature. How hot the grate actually gets also depends on how tightly the hood and chamber close and how much heat the grate stores.
For indirect cooking something else counts: that the three burners can be controlled individually. You leave one or two burning and put the roast over the one that is off. With an even distribution, each burner accounts for roughly 20 cm of the 60 cm width in calculation. In our assessment, such a zone is enough for one roast or one chicken; for two large pieces side by side it gets tight. According to Santos, the hood is high enough to use a Dutch oven, a chicken holder or a rotisserie with the lid closed. How the two zones work together is explained by our guide to direct and indirect heat.
On the material: type 430 is a ferritic chromium steel with around 17 percent chromium and without nickel. It is magnetic and less resistant to corrosion than the austenitic type 304 (1.4301). Outdoors that means flash rust and heat tint appear more readily on 430, especially with damp storage. What the warranty excludes in this respect is stated further below.
Cast iron stores more heat than thin stainless steel bars and releases it where the food sits. Bare cast iron rusts if it lies wet and without a film of fat, which is why the general rule is: dry after cleaning and oil thinly. Whether the S-301 Pro’s grates are coated is not evident from the product page.
These three alternatives are worth a look
| Model | The difference | Price | Our rating | Choose this if |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SANTOS S-301 Pro (this one) | 3 burners, 4 kW ring cooktop, no rear burner | approx. €399 | 8.3 | you need a pot next to the grill and the budget is tight |
| SANTOS S-318 Pro | same assembled size, plus rear burner and infrared side burner | approx. €599 | 8.3 | you want a rotisserie and searing on the side burner |
| Weber Spirit II E-310 | different manufacturer, linked via Amazon on our site | approx. €459.99 | 9.2 | you would rather order via Amazon than directly from the manufacturer |
| Broil King Regal 590 | 5 burners on 80 cm width, rear burner with 4.4 kW | approx. €1,649 | 9.4 | you regularly grill for large groups and have the budget for it |
The prices are guide values from our price boxes and can change. We estimate the rating editorially from manufacturer data; there are no measurements behind it.
When the S-301 Pro fits and when another grill does
Start with the number of people. For the stainless steel version Santos states 6 to 8 people, for the black one 6 to 10, with identical technical data. We would plan with the smaller number, especially as the warming rack is only good for keeping warm and finishing, not as a second cooking area.
Then the site. With both shelves the grill needs 137 cm of width, and additional room at the back to open the hood. More important is the clearance to everything that can burn, which the safety sheet specifies (see below under siting). On a typical city balcony it can hardly be met; there we would rather advise an electric grill.
Side cooktop or rear burner: if you need a cooking point next to the grate for sauce, potatoes or corn on the cob, the S-301 Pro’s ring cooktop is exactly that. If you want to sear steaks on the side burner or turn chicken on a spit, the S-318 Pro costs approx. €599 instead of approx. €399.
The Weber Spirit II E-310 is listed in our price box at approx. €459.99, the S-301 Pro at approx. €399. For the difference you primarily get a different manufacturer with its own dealer network; technically we have not calculated the two against each other here. The Broil King Regal 590 is listed in our price box at approx. €1,649 and, with five burners, plays in a different size class.
When budgeting, include the cover; Santos asks €59.90 for it in the manufacturer shop. A gas cylinder is not documented as part of the delivery.
And the weight: 69 kg you push on the castors across a level patio, but not over steps or lawn edges on your own. The safety sheet advises transporting the appliance carefully and, if possible, with two people.
Gas cylinder, accessories and warranty
On the product page the gas type is given as propane with 11 kg. The holder in the base cabinet takes cylinders of 5, 8 and 11 kg. The series’ safety sheet is broader: “Only the liquefied gases propane and butane are approved for use. Other fuels, as well as mixtures with other fuels, are not approved.” The grill is operated exclusively with a 50 mbar pressure regulator, which according to the sheet is included. Santos accepts no liability for damage caused by a wrong pressure regulator. If you replace parts of the gas line, the sheet prescribes: “Use only certified pressure regulators and hoses that are no longer than 1.5 m.” Which cylinder suits which purpose is covered in the guide gas cylinder for the grill.
Santos lists accessories on the product page with prices from the manufacturer shop: the cover (PU-coated), a rotisserie for €44.95, an insert pan, listed for both S series, for €99.90, and a reversible cast-iron griddle plate (43 x 37.5 cm) for €29.90. Spare parts are available individually, including cast grate, grease tray, hood, doors, flame distributor and the burner of the side shelf.
Santos graduates the warranty of the Pro series by component: stainless steel hood 15 years, stainless steel tube burners 5 years, stainless steel flame guard inserts 5 years, all other parts 2 years. Cast grates do not appear separately in the list, so they would presumably fall under the 2 years. Whether the enamelled lid of the black version counts as a stainless steel hood is left open by the warranty page. A prerequisite is registration with proof of purchase. Excluded are damage from improper operation, poor maintenance and grease fire, as well as “scratches, dents, paint damage, coatings, corrosion or discolouration caused by heat”. The last point in particular hits the places on stainless steel 430 where heat tint and flash rust appear first.
Siting, cleaning and safety
On intended use, Santos writes that the S-Series and S-Series PRO is “designed exclusively for grilling and for preparing grillable food” and “intended for private use or for household-like use”.
For siting, the safety sheet names five rules, here verbatim: “Use the appliance only outdoors in a well-ventilated place.” “Do not use the appliance in a hollow, as escaping gas can collect there.” “Do not permanently install or enclose the appliance.” “Always keep a minimum distance of 3m on all sides of the appliance to combustible objects and structures.” “Always set up the appliance on firm and level ground.” What this means for balcony and house rules, we have collected in the guide grilling on a balcony.
Before every use Santos requires a complete gas leak test, plus: “Liquefied gas is highly flammable and highly explosive. Do not smoke during the leak test. Never check for leaks with an open flame.” Pressure regulator and hoses are to be checked before every use. For routing the hose, four sentences apply: it must not come into contact with hot surfaces, must not run along sharp edges and corners, no hot fat may drip onto it, and it must not be twisted over its entire length. After every use the cylinder valve is closed. The cylinder is stored “outdoors or in a fireproof room in an upright position and out of the reach of children”.
For cleaning, the sheet gives three instructions. The appliance must cool down completely beforehand. You switch it off, close the gas valve and remove the gas cylinder. And: “Do not use aggressive cleaning agents, brushes with metal or nylon bristles, or sharp or metallic cleaning objects such as knives, metal sponges and the like.” That rules out the usual grill brush with brass or steel bristles, also for the cast grates. Which tool Santos provides instead is not evident from the sheet.
The sheet additionally contains notes on heat, clothing, children and sharp edges during assembly. For everything else it refers to the operating instructions that come with the appliance.
Who is it suitable for?
Santos aims the S-301 Pro at beginners and hobby grillers. In our comparison it suits you if you have a garden or a large patio with enough distance to the house wall and hedge, regularly cook something in a pot next to the food on the grill, and want to spend around €400.
It is the wrong choice for two groups. First, for anyone who mainly plans rotisserie dishes, because it lacks the rear burner. Second, for second-hand buyers: the manufacturer’s warranty applies only to the first buyer and is not transferable. It also applies only in the European Union and Switzerland. If you are still unsure which grill size suits your household, the Grill Finder will help you.
