BBQ Gas Explained: Pros, Cons & What to Look For

The cold days and nights at last seem to be behind us for another year and long, warm summer evenings will surely soon be back with us once more. 

For a certain proportion of the population, that means it will also soon be time to get the barbecue out, give it a good clean and prepare for some alfresco cooking and catering.

For those considering buying or building their first barbecue, one of the main considerations will be which BBQ fuel to use – gas or charcoal? In this article, we’re going to be exploring BBQ gas in depth, but before we do that, let’s briefly remind ourselves of the relative merits of these types of fuel.

Gas or charcoal?

Charcoal: Using professional grade charcoal is the way to go if you’re after the full-on smoky flavour you get from a top restaurant. However, it is important that you use quality charcoal, as we explained in this previous blog. Getting and keeping your charcoal alight and then making sure your food cooks evenly can take a bit of practice, so you have to be prepared to suffer a few burnt steaks and spend more of your time saving dinner than socialising before you get the hang of it.

Gas: Some charcoal aficionados may sneer, but if you’re not confident about cooking with charcoal, it’s a more than adequate alternative. And if a large part of the point of your barbecue is to spend quality time with family and friends, then a gas barbecue isn’t nearly as demanding on your time as a charcoal one.

BBQ gas buying tips

When you come to choose gas for your BBQ fuel, then you want to be using propane, which comes in red bottles. You’re also likely to come across something called ‘patio gas’, which comes in green bottles – confusingly, this is also propane, but it comes in BBQ gas cylinders that have been specially designed to quickly connect to modern appliances, such as barbecues.

Propane is safe to store outside in low temperatures – another plus for its use with outside appliances such as barbecues.

Propane gas bottle sizes

One of the good things about propane – and, therefore, patio gas – is that it doesn’t go off, so if you’re committing to long-term use, you can effectively buy as much as you can afford and/or have room for. We supply propane in 6kg, 13kg, 19kg and massive 47kg bottles, while patio gas is available in 5kg and 13kg bottles.

So how long will your bottle last? First, you need to work out how much heat energy your bottle will produce. Each kilogramme produces 14kW of energy, so a 13kg bottle will produce 13 x 14 = 182 kilowatt hours (kWh).

You then divide this number by the heat output of your appliance, so a 7kWh barbecue should give you at least 182 ÷ 7 = 26 hours of cooking time from your 13kg bottle.

It’s important to remember that once your gas bottle is empty, it must be returned to an authorised dealer for reuse. We explored this subject in depth in an earlier article.

Gas bottles cannot be bought online, so if you would like to place an order for your propane gas supply, please call the team at KG Smith & Son directly. They are also only available for collection or local delivery.

Get in touch today to find out more.