Tag Archives for " GRILL COVERS "

Shopping For New Gas Grills

Barbecuing is a popular national pastime here in the United States, and around the world.  All over the world, people love to barbecue.  It may not be exactly the same style of cooking, the food may be different, the recipes are not going to be the same, but the act of getting around over an open flame and cooking and eating food together is almost universal.

The first step to barbecuing is buying a grill.  While charcoal grills are still very common and very popular, many people these days love the ease of cooking on gas grills.  Especially for larger grill and crowds, gas grills are the only logical choice.

But what kind of gas grills should a person be looking at?  The first thing to consider is how portable the grill needs to be.  Does it need to be put in the back of a pickup truck often or only occasionally?  Does it need to be put in the back of a car?  Will it only be rolled from the garage to the patio?  Or is it not going to be moved at all?  Are you looking at buying an outdoor kitchen or something you can grill a hotdog or two at the park with your friends? Answering the question of portability first will help in the decision-making process.

Once the portability issue is decided, we can move on to the type of gas to be used.  No, we’re not talking about gasoline.  Virtually all gas grills will run off of either propane or natural gas with propane being the most common for portable grills.  For people who have natural gas hookups at their house and don’t plan on moving the grill that much, natural gas may be an option.  However, for the large majority of people across these United States, propane gas will be the fuel of choice for their gas grills.  It’s not epically important, but it is something that should be decided and asked about before purchasing something that may not fit your circumstance.

Once the issue of size, or portability, and the type of gas being used is decided, the rest comes down to features, price and look.  Because gas grills use gas, which is far more flammable than charcoal or wood, it would be wise to purchase gas grills from recognized brands and businesses.  Going with a no-name brand from a hole in the wall that you’ve never seen before could be a recipe for trouble.  Buy from an established business, whether in your local area or on the internet.  Also, try to purchase one of the better-known brands.  This won’t insure that you will purchase a quality gas grill, but it will help you on the road to a quality gas grill that you can enjoy for many years to come.

Although not of huge importance, be sure you look into grill covers, grill accessories and maybe even a grill set when you are shopping for gas grills.  You may have some left over from your previous gas grill, and if you are happy with them, then great.  However, some gas grills require specialized tools, so don’t be shy about buying the right accessories for them when you buy the grill.  You’ll be glad you did in the long run.

It doesn’t really matter if you buy charcoal grills or gas grills.  We here at Love That Barbecue think both are good in different situations.  But just make sure that whatever you buy, you don’t go overboard on the price.  Make a budget and stick to it.  Buying a new gas grill shouldn’t be a painful experience.  Just think of all the cookouts you’ll be having for years to come.

LTB

Buying A Weber Grill Cover For Your Grill

So you’ve got your new Weber grill and you’ve got your new grill accessories and you’re ready for everything.  You’re ready to start cooking and making some great food and great memories.  But do you have your grill cover.  Wait, you didn’t buy a Weber grill cover?  Well, you need to, and sooner rather than later.

A Weber grill cover is exactly what it sounds like – it is a cover for your Weber grill, whether gas grill or charcoal grill, it doesn’t matter, you need to get a bbq cover for it.  Why? Think of all the rain.  And snow.  And ice.  And dew.  And humidity.  And bird droppings.  And insect droppings.  And slug trails.  And snail trails.  And every bit of wet thing falling on your beautiful fire-offering and food-giving grill.  Slowly and irrevocably damaging and eating away at your grill.  Piece by piece by piece.  Get the picture?  Stainless steel rusts.  Aluminum corrodes.  Unless you have a grill made from either gold or titanium you need to be getting a grill cover for it.

So you’re sold, a grill cover is in your near future.  What do you buy?  Well, if you have a Weber gas grill, then we highly recommend getting a Weber grill cover.  Made for your grill and most likely your grill alone.  It will fit better and be easier to get off and on than grill covers from other manufacturers.

The only possible exception is for the Weber grill covers that have ventilation holes in them or have cut-outs for the sides or trays.  The entire purpose of grill covers is to protect the grill inside and that cannot be done if there are holes or ways for water or the elements to get inside.

If the grill cover that Weber offers for your model of grill comes with ventilation holes or cut-outs, and honestly not many do, it would be best to avoid them.

But if you don’t get a Weber grill cover, what do you buy?  Well, you can go with the generic, ill-fitting option, you can go even worse and just use a tarp, or you can go the best route and buy yourself a custom-made grill cover.  A custom grill cover?  Surely that’s expensive, isn’t it?  Not as much as you might think.  Of course you can find expensive ones, but there are reasonably priced ones available.  For example, Mel over at Mel’s BBQ Grill Covers sells a variety of grill covers that come in generic sizes that run from small for a grill 50 inches wide, 41 inches tall and 24 inches deep up to the large which runs 78 inches wide by 60 inches tall and 28 inches deep.  Prices depend on size and, oddly enough, color with black being the most expensive and gray and sandstone being the same price.  How much different?  About 15 dollars regardless of size.  The small black one is 50 bucks while the small grey or sandstone is 37.  Honestly, the Love That Barbecue staff appreciates the color options and would buy either the grey or the sandstone over the black.  Also, shipping runs 15 bucks, although these things are heavy, some as much as 20 pounds, so it’s not unreasonable.  In fact, these aren’t all that much more expensive than the bbq covers that Weber makes.  I bet if you contact Mel he’d make a custom fitting one for your personal grill.  Just a hunch, though.

If you’ve bothered to spend any money at all on your Weber gas grill or charcoal grill, then you owe it to yourself to buy a Weber grill cover.  You just need to get something over your grill to keep it safe and functioning.  If you love that barbecue, you’ll cover it up.