Finishes

Exterior finishes in trolleys, grill bodies and hoods include painted, powder coated, enamel and stainless steel surfaces.

Paint is the cheapest finish and can fade and scratch in time.

Powder coating is a thick heavy-duty coating that is bonded on to the metal with heat and has superior finish and strength over standard paint. It is durable and is easily cleaned and able to be kept looking as new. But it too can be scratched over time through lack of care, exposing the metal to the elements.

Enamel finishes come from a glass-like powder being sprayed on the metal and melted. It is very durable under heat and has a fine finish but can be brittle if bent or dropped and can chip or craze.

Stainless steel looks fantastic when new but, despite common perception, it is not a maintenance-free material and does require regular cleaning and protection to keep its appearance and avoid corrosion.

The key point here is that all BBQ finishes do require regular cleaning and a degree of care by the owner to maintain good looks and overall reliability.

Cooking Surfaces

Grills allow foods to be cooked over the most direct heat and make use of flame tamers below which will vaporise dripping cooking juices imparting that smokey BBQ flavour and enhancing taste. Flare-ups can result and this is one reason that your BBQ should never be left unattended when in operation. Food cooked this way is the healthiest option with reduced fat content.

Hot-plates allow the cooking of smaller cuts and items that may normally fall through the grill such as shellfish, eggs, tomatoes and mushrooms. Hotplate use will not result in a flare-up, but it does return some of the cooked fats back into the food. This will also enhance flavour, however.

Most hooded BBQs will also feature a warming rack which can be used to keep cooked foods warm or even to cook finer foods more gently. If roasting (cooking with the hood down), the warming rack can be used to hold vegetables for roasting.

In terms of materials of cooking surfaces, cast iron is the most popular. It naturally conducts, retains and distributes heat very well. Cast iron can rust, so it is important to always regularly clean and maintain the surface by oiling it, even from brand new.

In higher-end models, enamelled cast iron is featured. This is also cast iron, which has been coated with an enamel coating that prevents rusting. Enamel cookware looks and cooks the same as standard cast iron cookware, but will ultimately last a lot longer. It does require careful handling, though, as rough treatment can result in enamel chipping which can expose the raw cast iron. This will then require oiling to prevent rusting.

Ignition Systems

Most BBQs will be fitted with automatic ignition systems. These ignition systems are usually Piezo or Electric systems. A piezo starter has become very common for use in all gas-fired appliances as it uses no outside power source to work. A spark generator uses the voltage from a battery to generate a spark. These have also become a common source of igniting a grill. If there is no battery pack on your grill, you have a piezo electric starter. Alternatively, if there is a battery pack on your grill, you have a spark generator.

With piezo ignitors, you press a button or turn the control knobs to create a spark to ignite a burner. Some electronic ignitions rely on a push button that fires the piezo electric starter. Others rely on a knob that is spring-loaded and turned all the way left or right to activate either the piezo starter or the spark generator. In the case of a piezo starter, a small hammer inside of the ignitor will forcefully contact a quartz crystal. This action causes a spark to jump off the ignition electrode rod onto a ground plate. When the rod is placed into a gas flow and sparks, the gas ignites. With a spark generator, the circuit is closed by either pushing a button or turning a knob. Electricity from the battery will flow through the wires and a spark or sparks will be generated between the electrode ignition rod and a ground plate.

Some piezo systems feature “sure-fire” technology where, on turning a control knob, a jet of flame is fired alongside the main burners - this superior system offering the quickest guaranteed ignition.

Electric ignition systems use a battery (AA or AAA) to generate the spark to ignite the burners.

All BBQs however will also have facility to be ignited manually, using a match or gas-match.

Side Burners

Some BBQs feature side burners, sometimes also known as wok burners. This additional feature is very useful if planning on stir-frying or if steaming or boiling vegetables or using a frypan. Be aware that for safety reasons there are restrictions on the diameter of cooking pans or frypans, especially if the side burner is recessed into the side table. A recessed burner does have the benefit of protecting the flames on a windy day, however.

An additional benefit of having a side burner is that it can be very useful to a household in the event of power cuts and could be the home’s only source of energy for boiling water in these situations.

Trolleys and Cabinets

Trolleys allow BBQs to be moved from places of storage or to parts of the home that are less exposed to weather or to put away over the winter months. Some BBQ trolleys have screens which allow items such as BBQ covers to be stored out of sight when in use.

Some trolleys have full cabinets which allow for the storage of BBQ covers also but can be used to store cooking tools, cooking condiments and/or cleaning gear.

Some trolley cabinets even have capacity to store the gas cylinder, inside adding to the general aesthetic appeal of the BBQ. Note, though, that only those models certified as suitable for this may have the cylinder stored in the cabinet.

BBQ Covers

It is recommended that a BBQ cover should be fitted always when the BBQ is not in use, to protect your investment.

But a few words of caution first. It is vital to understand that in some cases, the use of a cover can in fact be detrimental.

A cover placed on a warm, wet, or unclean BBQ (or any mix of these factors) can in fact be a very efficient mould or even corrosion breeder.

A cover should only be used when the BBQ is COOL, CLEAN of any surface contaminants or dirt, and thoroughly DRY. This will be especially important before the BBQ is stored for any length of time i.e. when the BBQ gets infrequent use or when the BBQ is stored away over winter months.