Tepro Irvine Lavasteingrill

The Irvine is a small gas grill cart with a layer of lava stones between the burner and the grate. Tepro lists it in its Grillgeräte 2026 catalogue on page 16 as the lava stone gas grill Irvine, article number 508C, EAN 4011964050808. The same model number and the same EAN appear in the Amazon catalogue for the ASIN we link to; there is no second Irvine in the catalogue. In our gas grill category it sits among the carts with two burners. It costs approx. €122 on Amazon (Amazon page on 21.10.2026: €121.98).

We have not handled the grill and have not grilled anything on it. We worked from the catalogue, from the manufacturer’s manual (2021 version, published by TEST RITE tepro in Rödermark, stored as a PDF at a DIY retailer because tepro itself offers no download), from the Amazon listing and from the product photo. Ratings are marked as ours.

Grill cart with lava stone grate: what is in the box

In the photo the Irvine looks like this: on top a domed black lid with a wide pane set into the front. Below it the control panel with two knobs. The two side shelves stick out to the left and right. At the front, a black fabric panel with the tepro logo, which the catalogue calls a fabric trim, hides the frame. On the bottom left there is a wheel, and on the right the cart stands on a leg.

The manual’s parts list runs up to item 21, the bag of lava stones. These are the parts that matter for grilling: one burner, two control knobs, a grill tray, a lava stone grate, a bag of lava stones, a cooking grate and a grease tray. According to the catalogue the grate is chrome-plated, the burners are stainless steel, and both sides of the twin burner can be controlled separately. The manual’s technical data give 5.4 kW total output, split into 2 × 2.7 kW, with two nozzles of 0.75 mm each. Hose and pressure regulator are included, the gas bottle is not.

Ignition is by piezo igniter. According to the Amazon text it is built into the control knob, and the manual describes it the same way: you press a knob, hold it down and turn it to Max.

Tepro gives the cooking area as approx. 50 × 31 cm, which is around 1,550 cm² on a single grate. A warming rack appears neither in the catalogue nor in the parts list. Assembled, the cart measures approx. 94 × 51 × 102 cm (width, depth, height), and the working height is approx. 84.5 cm. The 94 cm is the body including the shelves. Each shelf is approx. 42 × 23 cm and removable, which matters more for small spaces than it sounds: without the shelves the cart gets narrower; by how much cannot be read from the dimensions alone. The catalogue gives the weight as approx. 11.5 kg, the manual as approx. 11.45 kg. The two wheels are plastic.

In detail: what the lava stones between burner and grate do

On most gas grills, a sheet metal cover sits above the burner and deflects flames and dripping fat. On the Irvine, a grate with lava stones takes over this job. According to the manual, you spread the supplied stones evenly in a single layer on this grate, 1.5 kg at most.

What happens in principle: lava rock is porous and absorbs the heat of the flame. The hot stones radiate it upwards, including where the flame itself does not reach. Fat dripping from the food lands on the stones instead of directly in the burner and burns off there or soaks into the pores. Tepro describes the effect like this: thanks to the lava stones the heat is distributed even more evenly, for relaxed indirect grilling. Nobody has measured this on this appliance, and neither have we. The downside follows from the same porosity: over time the stones soak up fat, and fat-soaked stones can flare up. What the manual says about cleaning the stones is further down.

On output: 5,400 W over around 1,550 cm² works out to just under 3.5 W/cm². That is a rough comparison figure, not a temperature. The Weber Spirit II E-310 manages 7.0 kW over 2,314 cm², which is around 3.0 W/cm²; so the small Irvine does not have less burner output per area than a much more expensive cart. What the figure does not capture is how much heat is lost through the lid and tray and how strongly the wind cools the spot.

Two separately adjustable sides also means: one side heats, and over the other the food sits away from the flame. The rules for the closed lid are in the questions below. How direct and indirect zones work in general is explained in our guide on direct and indirect heat. With two zones, one half of the grate is left for indirect cooking, around 775 cm².

Which gas bottle do you need for the Irvine?

A standard 5-kg bottle of propane or butane, which you buy yourself. It must not be bigger: the manual sets maximum dimensions of 230 mm diameter, 500 mm height and 5 kg of filling. An 11-kg bottle is therefore out.

In use, the bottle stands next to the grill, not directly underneath; tepro does not provide a holder in the cart. Only low-pressure gas is connected, via a 50-mbar regulator, and the appliance category is I 3B/P (50) for Germany and Austria. The hose may be 1.5 m long at most, must lie without kinks or twists and must not touch any grill parts. According to the manual, worn or damaged hoses must be replaced immediately.

The connection uses a left-hand thread, on the bottle and on the hose. You tighten the hose by hand on the regulator and then tighten it further with a 17 mm open-end spanner; no additional seal is used. At the grill the hose also sits hand-tight on the valve connection and is tightened with the same spanner. Before that, look into the openings of the bottle, regulator and burner: according to the manual, spiders and insects can nest there and block the venturi tube, and a blocked burner can start a fire under the appliance.

Before every use, tepro requires a leak test, always with soapy water and never with an open flame. The steps from the manual, in full:

1. Mix one part washing-up liquid with three parts water; you need approx. 50 ml.
2. Set all temperature controls to Off.
3. Connect the regulator to the bottle and switch on the burner with the left temperature control.
4. Switch on the gas supply.
5. Apply soapy water to the hose and all connections. If bubbles form, there is a leak there.
6. Fix the leak and repeat the test.
7. After the test, switch off the gas.
8. If a leak cannot be fixed, make no further repair attempts and contact the trading partner immediately.
9. Do not use the appliance until the leak has been properly repaired.

How to find the right bottle and where to swap it is covered in the guide gas bottle for the grill.

Assembling, burning in, lighting

For assembly the manual prescribes two people and a level work surface of two to three square metres. Nine steps lead from the frame to the textile trim, and in the last one the side shelves are hung in place. No time is given for assembly anywhere.

For the first burn-in, the manual contradicts itself on the same page. In one place it says to heat the appliance for at least 30 minutes on a high flame without food, in another for at least 15 minutes on a high flame with the lid closed. Smells and light smoke are normal at this stage, according to tepro. The second version clashes with the safety note to use only a low flame with the lid closed. We would therefore take the 30 minutes with the lid open; that meets both requirements. Beforehand you wash off coarse production residues with warm water without washing-up liquid and rub the grate with a soft cloth and cooking or roasting oil.

Before every grilling session, tepro recommends approx. 10 to 15 minutes of preheating.

To light it, you open the lid, set both knobs to Off and open the bottle valve without leaning over the cooking area. Then you press a knob, hold it down and turn it anticlockwise to Max until it clicks; you may try this four to five times. If nothing ignites, the knobs and the bottle valve are closed and you wait five minutes before trying again or lighting with a match. That is never done from above, but with an extra long fireplace match through the hole under the side shelf. The second side lights by itself when you turn its knob to Max once the first is burning.

To switch off, you first close the regulator at the bottle, then the temperature controls. You close the lid only once the grill has cooled down sufficiently.

Siting, cleaning, smell of gas: what the manual prescribes

According to the manual, the Irvine is intended exclusively for outdoor use and only for private use, for heating, cooking and grilling food. Any other use counts as improper. It is set up on a level, horizontal, secure, heat-resistant and clean surface, at least 1 m away from highly flammable materials such as awnings, wooden decks or furniture, and not near entrances or busy areas. It is not moved during operation and not left unattended. Because fat can splatter onto the floor and wall, the surface should be protected. According to tepro, a fire extinguisher and a first aid kit should always be to hand.

Cleaning is done after every use, and only once the grill has cooled down completely. The manual gives these points:

• let the grill burn off for approx. 5 minutes without food
• turn the regulator on the gas hose to Off before cleaning begins
• remove the grate, clean it thoroughly with soapy water, rinse and dry it
• remove loose deposits with a wet sponge
• clean a layer of fat in the lid with a strong, hot soap solution, never with standard oven cleaner
• loosen food residues in the base with a brush, spatula or cleaning sponge, then wipe with soapy water
• clean the inside and outer surfaces with warm soapy water and dry them with a soft, clean cloth without scratching them
• tighten all screws before every use
• cover the grill with a protective cover when it is not in use

According to the manual, you can clean the lava stones with washing-up liquid and water when needed. Strong or abrasive solvents and scouring pads are off limits, as are paint solvents and thinners for stains. The burners are cleaned with the bottle turned off and the hose disconnected, using a soft brush or compressed air, and wiped with a cloth; blocked openings you clear with a sturdy pipe cleaner, a wire or the straightened end of a paper clip. For more on the grate and grease tray in general, see the guide cleaning a gas grill.

If you smell gas, the manual gives this order: close the gas supply at the bottle immediately, extinguish all open flames, do not operate any electrical devices, ventilate the area, carry out the leak test from above. If it still smells of gas afterwards, you stop using the appliance and contact the retailer immediately. Tepro points out explicitly that gas in enclosed spaces can be deadly. The manual forbids lighter fluid such as petrol or methylated spirits as an ignition aid.

Accessories and running costs

As accessories, tepro names two items with article numbers: the universal cover for small gas grills (8603, details in the questions below) and the 3-in-1 long grill cleaning brush (8503) with a brass brush, stainless steel scraper and plastic sponge. The cover goes only on a cold, clean and dry grill. On a warm, wet or dirty appliance it can cause severe corrosion, according to the manual.

Gas use can be calculated because tepro states a consumption: at most 392 g per hour when both sides run at full power. A 5-kg bottle therefore lasts, on paper, around 12.8 hours at full load. That is our calculation from the manufacturer’s figure, and it applies to the worst case; if you set one side to medium, you use less, but how much less cannot be read from the data.

What tepro does not state

The following are missing from the catalogue, the manual and the company website:

• a product page for end customers (tepro.de returns an error page, testritetepro.de lists no individual products)
• a warranty section with conditions
• a maximum temperature and a heat-up time to a given temperature
• the material of the grill tray, lid, frame and lava stone grate
• the burner design (the parts list shows one burner with two controls)
• the length of the supplied hose
• a number of people for the cooking area
• an explicit approval for the balcony (the word appears only in the Amazon text)
• country of origin and market year

What else is worth considering?

The prices are guide values from our price boxes and change. The rating is our editorial assessment and not a measurement result.

When the Irvine fits and when another one does

Space first. With the shelves, the Irvine needs approx. 94 × 51 cm, plus the bottle beside it, and the metre of clearance to awning, wooden floor and furniture all around. The Amazon text names the balcony as a place of use, while the manual only requires outdoor use with these clearances. Whether gas is allowed on your balcony is decided by your tenancy agreement and house rules; the guide grilling on a balcony summarises what is usually regulated there. On a narrow balcony with wooden decking, that metre quickly becomes a problem.

Then the group. Tepro gives no number of people. Our assessment: for two to four people, 1,550 cm² on one grate is enough; for six and more you will be grilling in batches. The Weber Spirit II E-310 has around 50 percent more grate area, but costs approx. €460, against approx. €122 for the Irvine.

Third point: the zones. Two sides are enough for one hot and one switched-off half. If you want to cook a roast in the middle while grilling on the left and right, you need three burners. The Enders San Diego Next 3 has them and costs approx. €137, against approx. €122 for the Irvine.

On the budget side, the 5-kg bottle including its filling comes on top of the price box and, if the grill spends the winter outside, so does the 8603 cover. Regulator and hose are included.

We would not buy the Irvine if you cannot be bothered to look after stones, or if you want the bottle to disappear inside the cart. It is also the wrong grill if you want to work at full heat with the lid closed, for pizza for example, because the manual rules that out. For small households with a garden or patio that want two zones and a viewing window for little money, it is a sensible choice in our comparison. If you are still undecided between gas, electric and charcoal, the grill finder narrows down the choice.