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Last article update: October 17, 2024 | By: The Elite Patio Direct Team
Fire Magic and Blaze are two companies dedicated to offering high quality outdoor kitchen appliances. If you're looking to complete a new outdoor kitchen project, odds are you've come across their names.
Their products are made for serious catering in either an indoor or outdoor kitchen, and as such are much larger and bulkier than a portable barbecue grill.
Both brands offer some awesome products and in this article we will be comparing them to help you decide which one is better for your individual needs.
The biggest differentiator between Fire Magic and Blaze is that each sits in a slightly different price tier from one another.
Fire Magic grills definitely fall into the "luxury" category - meaning they feature top of the line craftsmanship, incredible features, and are made in the USA.
Blaze is on the next tier underneath luxury in what we like to call "high-end" outdoor kitchen brands. They are above entry level and budget grills in terms of performance and features, and come at a value price point relative to other brands on the market.
Fire Magic has been producing high quality grills for 80 years and their products are used by many professional cooks and chefs. The company aims to provide premium products made only from the best components and parts in the USA.
Many of their grills sport a sleek, modern stainless steel construction that holds in the heat well and looks amazing. You can also expect premium features such as digital thermometer control systems, a magic viewing window, grill lights, and more.
Fire Magic offers an extensive line of undercounter products to make it possible to create a fully integrated outdoor kitchen under the Fire Magic brand.
They also offer excellent lifetime warranties on all of their products as well.
Shop Fire Magic→Blaze Outdoor is a significantly younger company than Fire Magic that was founded back in 2012. The company aims to sell affordable, built in grills for use in outdoor kitchens.
These days, their products line is wide and features grills on a wide price spectrum and are slightly more expensive than some budget brands, but you still get incredible value for your money.
Shop Blaze →In this section we will be looking at some products offered by Fire Magic and Blaze to see what the different brands have in common as well as what sets them apart.
We will start by comparing the premium grills produced by both brands, and then compare their budget options as well. This should give you a good idea of the product range offered by both companies.
Both of these models are some of the best grills offered by their respective companies.
The Fire Magic Echelon Black Diamond is a premium built in grill that comes with everything you could want from a piece of cooking equipment.
Made from high quality stainless steel with a ceramic coating, this grill holds its heat perfectly and is incredibly durable. The lid has a large window built into it, which allows you to see how your food is coming along while it cooks.
The Professional Lux made by Blaze also sports a body made from stainless steel, but goes for a more traditional aesthetic than the Black diamond.
Instead of a window, there is a temperature dial on the front of the lid, that helps you to keep track of how hot your grill is.
Both models run on gas, but overall the Black diamond has significantly more power. The combined output of all the burners on the Echelon reaches up to 94,000 BTU, which is much higher than the 54,000 BTU provided by the Blaze.
There are four control knobs on each model, which are backlit by LEDs to make them easier to navigate and use at night. The Echelon also has a small digital thermometer built into the front control panel.
This allows you to see exactly how high the temperature is, as well as set different temperatures for the different cooking zones on your grill.
Likewise, The Blaze Professional Lux also has heat zone dividers so that you can cook multiple items at once at different temperatures.
However, when doing this, the lack of a thermometer makes it difficult to know what temperature each individual zone is operating at.
In terms of size, the Blaze grill is actually slightly bigger, offering an impressive 816 sq.in of cooking space. The Echelon on the other hand only has a 792 sq.in cooking surface, but makes up for it with a 288 sq.in warming rack as well.
Both models come with a rotisserie spit and dedicated rotisserie burners for when you want to cook whole chickens or turkeys on the spit.
Overall, the two models are reasonably similar, although the Fire Magic Echelon definitely has more bells and whistles than the Blaze Lux. This is being expected, though, as the Black Diamond sells for a significantly higher price.
Both of these grills will make an excellent addition to your outdoor kitchen, and which one you pick will largely come down to how much power you need and your budget.
At the opposite end of the spectrum, we have two of the cheapest products offered by these companies. However, just because they are cheap, doesn’t mean they aren’t high quality grills.
The Fire magic Legacy Deluxe is a drop in grill designed to have the grill gates level with the surface that the unit is built into. This design makes it easier to install and makes your whole set up much more compact for smaller kitchens.
Blaze’s Prelude LBM is similarly compact, but overall has more cooking space than the Legacy deluxe. This model offers 740 sq.in of grilling space, while the legacy only has 368 sq.in.
Both models are also made from premium grade stainless steel, with simple controls that make it easy to adjust the temperature.
The Prelude sports Blaze’s patented insulated lid, which helps to keep your heat in and prevent temperature fluctuations.
While the Legacy LBM doesn’t have this feature, it does have slightly simpler controls that allow you to ignite the burners with the push of a single button.
To help with keeping track of how hot you are running your grill, the Blaze has a temperature dial built into the lid. There isn’t any similar feature on the Legacy deluxe, and this model also doesn’t have the same output as the Prelude.
All of the burners combined on the legacy can only output 42,000 BTU, while the burners on the Prelude can reach up to 56,000 BTU.
Both models make use of heat stabilizing grids that help to dissipate heat evenly across your cooking surface. This reduces the risk of flare-ups and means that all of your food will cook at the same time no matter where it is on the grill.
Overall, the grids on the Legacy are easier to clean than those on the Prelude, since they can be removed from the grill.
Again, both of these grills are formidable pieces of culinary equipment, and which one you prefer will largely come down to your budget and what you want from a grill.
Shop Fire Magic→ Shop Blaze →Now that we have compared specific products from both of these brands, we thought we would give a broader comparison between these two companies.
In this section, we will be looking at the crucial aspects that make a good pellet grill to see how well each brand delivers.
Both Blaze and Fire Magic offer multiple sizes of grill for fitting all manner of spaces in your outdoor kitchen.
The Prelude LBM grill we just looked at is one of the smallest models provided by Blaze, but it is still slightly bigger than the Legacy Deluxe offered by Fire magic.
The largest Fire Magic grill is also much bigger than the largest Blaze model, which means that Fire Magic is probably the better brand if you are looking for something very large or very compact.
Meanwhile, Blaze grills have a more standardized size range, but this can make them easier to fit in your outdoor kitchen.
Depending on the model, Blaze grills generally have more cooking space than those made by Fire Magic. However, this is because many Fire Magic products will use their available space differently to provide better convenience.
For instance, Fire Magic grills often come with a warming shelf above the main grill gate, so you can keep your food warm until everything has cooked.
Both companies offer models with heat dividers so that you can cook multiple types of food at once, at different temperatures.
As we said above, Fire Magic does offer some particularly large grills, such as the Aurora A830i. This unit is much bigger than Blaze’s biggest grill, the Professional 44-Inch, yet still has less cooking space overall.
Since the A803i is a combination gas and charcoal grill, the dividing wall between the two halves means it only has 828 sq.in of grilling space.
This seems like a lot until you compare it to the 1080 sq in offered by the Professional 44-Inch.
Both of these companies use premium 304 stainless steel to construct their grills. This gives them a sleek, modern aesthetic as well as excellent heat retention.
Using stainless steel also improves the longevity of these grills, meaning you will be using them for many years to come.
Since both brands make grills that are designed to be used in outdoor kitchens, they need to be able to withstand the occasional bit of rain or moisture.
Thankfully, 304 stainless steel is very resistant to rust and corrosion, meaning you can leave your grill exposed to the elements without it seriously degrading.
Many of the grills come with drawers and cupboards on the bottom, offering storage space for your cooking utensils. The main grill itself can be lifted off these drawers to make installing it in your outdoor kitchen much easier.
Some Fire Magic grills will have a special ceramic coating over the stainless steel. This not only makes them even more weather resistant, but it also makes them look much better as well.
To contrast, Blaze goes for a more traditional aesthetic, with uncoated metal components that look simple yet very professional.
Blaze and Fire Magic both offer models with very strong burners and those with weaker ones. Overall, the burners on most Blaze grills are stronger than those used by Fire Magic.
However, power isn't everything, and some grill masters may find the Fire Magic models much easier to control.
The heat grids on Fire Magic grills are specially designed to dissipate heat evenly and prevent temperature fluctuations.
There are similar grids on many Blaze products, but their different shape means that these grills can get too hot very fast.
Both Blaze and Fire Magic offer grills with simple, straightforward controls that won’t take you long to figure out. These generally come in the form of large metal knobs or buttons to start the ignitions process.
Both companies offer products with backlit knobs to make it easier to cook at night.
On Blaze models, these knobs are saved for the more expensive grills, while they come as standard on most Fire Magic models except for their drop in grills.
Some grills made by Fire Magic will also have digital thermometers built into the front control panel. These tell you exactly how hot your grill is and allows you to set different temperatures for the different cooking zones under the lid.
Fire magic specialize in grills and offer models that run on gas, charcoal or electricity. These range in size from compact drop in models to giant built-in grills that can cater for a whole party or small business.
They also make pedestal grills for communal areas where there are lots of people.
These models are accessible and easier to clean down in between each use, making them a great choice for holiday resorts and other commercial enterprises.
Fire Magic also produces a range of accessories for completely kitting out your outdoor kitchen. These include refrigerators, countertop blenders along with many other fixtures and fittings.
All of them are made from stainless steel where possible to make them resistant to corrosion and rust.
Similarly, Blaze also sells a wide range of items for outdoor kitchens. These include refrigerators, cabinets and even sinks, all of which are built to withstand the elements without rusting.
Blaze offers both charcoal and gas powered grills, but no electric models, unlike Fire Magic. However, they make up for this by providing specialist cooking equipment like griddles and single side burners.
Both companies sell portable grill models as well as the built-in variety, so you can enjoy deliciously grilled food no matter where you are.
Blaze and Fire Magic both have great confidence in their products and as such offer very generous warranties. Both companies have lifetime warranties on many of their models, except those designed to be Multi-User.
However, these warranties are slightly different on what they cover. Blazes warranty covers the whole grill, and this company only has a three-year warranty on multiuser products.
Meanwhile, Fire Magic offers a more consistent warranty for all of its various models, but has different tiers of warranty for all of the different components within each grill.
For example, the stainless steel burners on the Aurora A8031 have a lifetime warranty, while the flavor grids only have a 5-year one.
Fire Magic grills are more expensive than their Blaze counterparts, but in return you will get a high quality piece of cooking equipment with all the bells and whistles you could ask for.
Blaze on the other hand sells significantly cheaper grills that have fewer features overall but don’t skimp on the essentials.
Overall, there isn’t a simple answer to which brand wins between Blaze and Fire Magic. Both companies offer premium products, and which one you pick will greatly depend on what you are looking for.
If you want to build a fully furnished outdoor kitchen on more of a budget, then buying Blaze products is a great way to do so.
Sure, they may not have all the extras that Fire Magic offers, but if you are looking for something affordable, then you won’t want these accessories anyway.
On the other hand, if you are looking for a premium piece of cooking equipment, that makes grilling, roasting or searing your food an absolute breeze then Fire Magic is the brand for you.
While their products come at a higher price, they are also packed with features that make them a joy to cook with.
Whichever brand you pick, you are guaranteed to get an awesome product that will let you cook delicious meals for your friends and family.
Questions? Reach out to our team of experts, we would be happy to help.
Shop Fire Magic→ Shop Blaze →At Elite Patio Direct, we believe that the best memories are made outdoors - and our love for sharing life's moments with others drives us. We offer the highest quality and most thoughtfully designed products on to help you create your dream outdoor space.