This grate is much more efficient than the old factory grate. It increases the life of a full hopper of Kingsford charcoal by as much as 4 hours. This also has a vertical grate to help keep falling embers from getting into the fan opening and melting the rubber flap and/or melting the fan. Also, this has a larger opening for the starter to allow bigger starters such as tumbleweeds to easily slide in without having to crush them or force them in (1" vs 11/16" see pics).
I revised this a few months ago because I had several complaints that it wouldn't ignite wood chunks in the ash bin. The old style had 5/8" spacing and the revised one has 3/4" spacing. This allows for more embers to drop helping ignite the wood chunks, while still keeping the efficiency.
Masterbuilt’s new grate has 5/8" spacing. There have been quite a few complaints that theirs has trouble igniting wood chunks as well. That is another reason why this one is wider.
The photos show a comparison of the same tumbleweed in the new grate vs the factory grate.
Fits all models 560, 800, 900, 1050