A wire grate over a heating coil, built for the table
The Tristar BQ-2813 is an electric table grill. Tristar describes it as an appliance with 2000 W for meat, fish and vegetables right at the table, and that is how it is built: at the bottom a black plastic tub, in it a single heating element, above it a grill grate made of wire. It has been listed on Amazon since 21.06.2017. On Amazon it costs approx. €31 (Amazon on 02.11.2026: €30.75).
Among the electric grills in our catalogue it is one of the simplest appliances. No plate, no electronics. If you know a contact grill or a plancha, you have to rethink: the food lies on an open grate and gets its heat from below, from a coil that is shown glowing red in the product photo.
Construction according to data sheet and product photo
The parts overview of the manual has exactly four items: thermostat knob, fat container, heating element and adjustable grill, by which the grate is meant. In the photo there is a small box at the front in the middle with a dial and indicator light. On the narrow sides the wire handles of the grate protrude beyond the housing.
The housing is made of ABS (acrylonitrile butadiene styrene), a plastic, with integrated handles for carrying. According to the data sheet the feet are non-slip. The grill is connected via a power cable of 0.85 m with a Schuko plug (type F, CEE 7/4), and it runs on 230 V and 50/60 Hz. According to Tristar the box contains the table grill and the grill grate, colour black.
What is missing is stated in the data sheet itself with a clear “No”: non-stick coating, enamelling, lid, thermometer, timer. The heating element is not covered either, it lies open under the grate. For cleaning this has an advantage, because according to the product page it can be removed for wiping.
External dimensions for this model are only given by Amazon’s catalogue: 48 x 35 x 8.5 cm at approx. 1.4 kg. This envelope includes the protruding grate handles and the control box. Tristar’s data sheet also lists a maximum working height of 85 mm, which fits the 8.5 cm; what exactly is meant by working height, however, the page does not explain.
Some things are looked for in vain at Tristar, and we collect them here in one place: weight and external dimensions of the BQ-2813, the number of height positions on the grate, the material of the grate, the capacity of the water pan and its material beyond “metal”, a temperature scale on the control, the heat-up time in minutes, the power consumption, the country of production and a warranty with a term. Amazon’s product text speaks of heating “in only a few minutes”, likewise without a figure.
In detail: heating coil, grate height and water pan
A grate grill with a heating coil works mainly with radiant heat. The coil glows, and the food above it absorbs the most heat where it is closest to the element. That is why the height adjustment is more than a detail. Tristar writes that you adjust the distance to the 2000-watt heating element with the adjustable grate. Lower down the meat is closer to the coil and browns faster, higher up it cooks more slowly. That is physics, not a measurement result on this appliance.
It is controlled continuously via the dial. The data sheet does say “Power levels: No”, meaning fixed levels. As maximum temperature Tristar gives 270 °C, without saying where this temperature is measured, at the coil or at grate level. Which temperature corresponds to which control position Tristar does not state. So you control by eye.
The second peculiarity is the pan under the element. Tristar calls it a metal water pan that serves as a fat collector for dripping meat juices and fat; the water is said to catch fat, which reduces smoke and ash during operation. That is plausible: fat that falls into the water cannot burn on hot sheet metal. What drips directly onto the glowing coil burns nonetheless. Amazon’s product text even promises “little to no smoke”. We stick to Tristar’s more cautious wording, especially with fatty food such as pork belly slices.
For the water the manual sets up three rules. The water level must stay below the element. During use the water evaporates and should be topped up. And no water may drip onto the element. In practice this means: a jug next to the grill, and a steady hand when pouring.
37 x 21 or 38 x 22 cm: how big is the cooking surface?
Tristar gives 37 x 21 cm, Amazon 38 x 22 cm. We calculate with the manufacturer’s figure, so 777 cm². Amazon’s dimension would give 836 cm², just under 8 percent more. Whether your food fits on the grate is hardly decided by this difference.
The manufacturer page additionally gives the usable dimensions: 370 mm length and 210 mm width. That is the area on which grilling actually takes place. It cannot be derived from the 48 x 35 cm of the Amazon catalogue, because the housing edge, grate handles and control box are included in that.
To give you an idea: 777 cm² is a good one and a quarter A4 sheets.
Power, placement and balcony
2000 W at 230 V arithmetically gives just under 8.7 A. Household sockets in Germany are usually fused at 16 A, the grill alone is no problem for that. If a kettle or fan heater runs on the same circuit at the same time, the fuse can still blow.
Operation does not get expensive. If the heating element ran for a full hour, that would be 2 kWh, at an assumed electricity price of 40 cents per kWh therefore 80 cents. A thermostat switches the element off as soon as the set temperature is reached, so the real consumption is lower. Neither Tristar nor we have a measured value for this.
More noticeable in everyday use is the cable. At 0.85 m the socket has to be practically next to the table.
Tristar describes the grill as ideal for use on the balcony or in the house. The manual ties this to conditions, here in the wording: “The appliance must be placed on a level, stable surface.” “To avoid fire and electric shock, do not expose the appliance to rain or moisture.” And for the dining table: “Place a heat-resistant mat under the appliance to avoid marks from heat and grease stains on your table.” Minimum distances to walls or combustible material are not in it, nor is a note that the grill may only be run outdoors.
Because it suggests itself with a grate grill, this warning too: “WARNING: Charcoal and similar fuels must not be used with this appliance.”
Whether you may grill on your balcony is regulated by your tenancy agreement and house rules, not by a data sheet. Read there whether electric grills are expressly permitted, forbidden or not mentioned at all. What this means for neighbours, smoke and house rules is in our guide grilling on a balcony.
Cleaning: product page and manual contradict each other
On the product page Tristar writes: “The grill grate is dishwasher-safe and the water pan can be removed for emptying.” Amazon’s product text calls the grill grate and drip tray dishwasher-safe. The operating manual says the opposite: “Never immerse the appliance in water, the appliance and the various parts are not dishwasher-safe.”
We would stick to the manual. It comes with the appliance, and it is the stricter of the two statements. If you wash the grate by hand you do nothing wrong; if you put it in the machine, you act against the manual.
For cleaning the manual names these points:
- “Always pull out the mains plug before cleaning and let the appliance cool down completely.”
- “Remove and empty the fat drip tray after every use and wash it in warm soapy water.”
- “Wipe the outside of the appliance with an only slightly dampened cloth and make sure that no moisture, oil or grease gets into the cooling slots.”
- “Never use abrasives, wire brushes or paint thinner to clean the base. Otherwise the grill will be damaged.”
- The sentence on immersion and the dishwasher, as quoted above.
Without a non-stick coating, things stick more easily to bare wire. Soaking in washing-up water and a washing-up brush are then the obvious way; the manual expressly relates the ban on wire brushes to the base.
Three table grills that come into question alongside
| Model | The difference | Price | Our rating | Choose this one if |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tristar BQ-2813 (this one) | grate over water pan, height-adjustable, control without documented degree scale | approx. €31 | 7.5 | you want to grill cheaply and control by eye |
| Severin PG 8593 | thermostat 35 to 200 °C according to data sheet, 100 cm cable, grate not height-adjustable | approx. €34.99 | 7.8 | you want to choose the temperature in degrees and the socket is further away |
| Tristar BP-2750 | ceramic non-stick coated plate 49 x 27 cm, half smooth, half ribbed | approx. €36.99 | 7.8 | you fry a lot of small items that would fall through a grate |
| Tefal Easygrill Adjust | 2300 W, 870 cm² cooking surface according to Tefal | approx. €50 | 8.3 | you want more heating power and spend more for it |
The price of the Tristar BQ-2813 is the Amazon catalogue price, the others come from our price boxes. All prices change constantly. The rating is our editorial classification of the manufacturer data, we have not measured anything on any of the four appliances.
When the BQ-2813 fits and when another grill does
It fits if you grill for two or three people on the balcony or at the dining table, have a socket within reach and a dial without degree figures is enough for you. For approx. €31 you then get height adjustment and water pan, and an evening with sausages and vegetable skewers needs no more than that in our assessment.
If you need a temperature in degrees, for example because you want to cook fish gently, the Severin PG 8593 is the obvious switch. According to the Severin data sheet it has a stainless steel grate of 38 x 22 cm. The Severin PG 8593 costs approx. €34.99, the Tristar approx. €31. Its grate, however, cannot be adjusted in height.
If you grill a lot of small items, a plate is a better basis than wire. The Tristar BP-2750 has almost 1.7 times as much surface as the BQ-2813 and costs approx. €36.99, the BQ-2813 approx. €31. It has no open grate over water; fat there runs into a removable tray according to Tristar.
With the Tefal Easygrill Adjust the gain in surface is smaller than the price suggests. Tefal gives 870 cm², a good 90 cm² or about 12 percent more than the BQ-2813, plus 2300 W instead of 2000 W. The Tefal Easygrill Adjust is at approx. €50, the Tristar at approx. €31. If you mainly want more food per batch, in our comparison you are more likely to get that with the plate of the BP-2750.
Still unsure whether it should be an electric grill at all? The Grill Finder asks the most important points.
Who is it suitable for?
Not for commercial use. The manual writes: “This appliance may only be used for household use and only for the purpose for which it was made.” For the sausage stand at the club fete or a snack bar you therefore use a different appliance.
With children in the household these rules apply according to the manual. Children under 8 years must not use the appliance, grill and connecting cable belong out of their reach. From 8 years children may use it if they are supervised or have been instructed in safe use. They may only take over cleaning and maintenance if they are older than 8 and supervised, and they must not play with the grill. Because the accessible surfaces can get hot during operation according to the manual, with small children we would put the grill in the middle of the table and route the cable so that nobody gets caught on it.
On the cable itself one more requirement from the manual: “Never move the appliance by pulling on the cable, and make sure the cable does not get tangled.”
