Short answer
A side burner cabinet has a drop-in opening cut in the top, and the burner is carried at its flange rather than by the cabinet structure below. It usually shares the grill's gas line on a tee, and it belongs one arm's length from the grill on the side away from the sink.
The cabinet carries the flange, not the burner
A drop-in side burner is supported at the rim of the opening. The cabinet's job is to provide a rigid flat top with a correctly sized opening, and to leave enough clear space beneath for the burner body and its connections.
That means the opening has to be cut at the factory to the burner's dimensions. A side burner dropped into a hole cut on site is sitting on an unfinished edge, which is where outdoor stainless fails first.
Gas: usually one line, one tee
Most runs feed the grill and the side burner from a single cylinder through a tee. The fitter decides the tee position from the pressure, the hose length and the run — it is not a cabinet decision.
If the run is long, a second cylinder or a larger supply may be needed. That is a question for whoever is doing the gas work, and it is worth asking before the cabinets are ordered rather than after.
Where it belongs in the run
One arm's length from the grill, on the side away from the sink. That puts pots and pans within reach of the cook without making whoever is washing up walk around a hot burner.
At the very end of the run is second best — convenient, but it puts a heat source on the outside corner where people pass. In the middle of the run is the worst position, because it is the one place both the sink and the grill need clear.
What a side burner changes about the counter
Nothing structurally, but it changes how you use the surface. A side burner takes a working area that would otherwise be counter, so runs under about 2.4 m are better without one — the same space buys more counter than it does cooking.
Where the side burner belongs, and why
Immediately beside the grill
The point of a side burner is a pan next to what is cooking. Two modules apart means walking with hot oil.
On the outside of the turn, not inside it
In an L, the burner wants the open side. In the corner it sits against two walls with no room for a handle.
With the gas cabinet adjacent
The burner and the grill both draw from the bottle, and both want a short hose run. Putting the gas cabinet between them is the cleanest arrangement.
Not under a low shelf
A burner is an open flame at counter height. Anything overhead is a problem, and a shelf is the usual one.
On the same 800 mm module line
The side burner cabinet is 800 × 656 × 900 mm like the rest. It vents at the front and takes a power point behind for the ignition.
Questions we get about this
Can a side burner go in any module?
In the HW-07 side burner cabinet, at 800 mm, or in a storage module built with a drop-in opening. The 800 mm body is the standard because it suits the burners it is designed around.
Does the side burner need its own gas cabinet?
No, unless the run is long enough that the pressure drop matters. Most runs share one supply.
Is a side burner worth it?
For anyone who cooks more than burgers, yes — sauces, sides and boiling all happen away from the grill. For a two-metre run, no; the counter is more valuable.
Before you order anything
Send the grill model and the run length. You get the aperture, the module list and one itemised price back in writing — freight shown separately, valid 15 days.