Preparing Your BBQ

The long cold nights of winter are over, leaves are unfolding on their branches and pet tortoises are taking their first tentative steps towards the emerging shoots of never to be seen flowers. Spring is finally here and it’s time to drag your barbecue grill out of the shed or garage and take a look at what state you left it in after that final barbecue party last year!

Clean Up

Grill cleaning brush The first job is to give the barbecue a good clean, dispose of any food remnants (last years sausages etc!) turn the gas on and let it burn with the lid down (if you have one) for about 10 minutes or until it stops smoking. At this point you should just be left with charred black bits on the cooking surface and maybe a little white ash. This can now be removed by using a brass headed brush and abrasive scrubbers.

If the body of the barbecue is badly coated in a nasty sticky grease residue and burning off hasn’t removed it you can try an environmentally friendly degreaser spray (click here). These cut through grease and simply wash off with warm soapy water. Once the grill surface is clean it is a good idea to season it with cooking oil especially if the grills are cast iron.

Lava Rock & Briquettes

Now you can remove the cooking surface and have a look at the lava rock or ceramic briquettes. If they look a little grubby it's usually best to change them for a fresh set. They will last for many years, but a fresh batch at the beginning of every season will improve the look and performance of your barbecue grill.

Briquettes will work with all gas barbecues and are preferable to lava rock because the even shape gives a superior spread of heat and reduces flare up. Their smooth curved surface allows the barbecue juices to vaporize evenly with any excess escaping easily, rather than sitting in the pores of lava rock, heating up and catching fire. To read more about these briquettes click here.

Spare parts

Gas Burners

Replacement burner The gas burners should burn evenly with a blue flame. This may have a yellow tip but should be mainly blue. If the flame is very yellow it means that not enough air is mixing with the gas as it enters the burner. This can be cured by adjusting the opening vents on the venturi tubes (gas tubes which take the gas from the back of the tap into the burner). If this is not possible or the burner is not burning evenly it maybe time to replace the gas burner altogether. Spare burners can be found here.

Ignition

Ignition kit Ignition failure is a common fault and is usually easily remedied. If the spark generator (the push button unit on the barbecue fascia) is still making its usual clicking noise then a spark is being generated but not reaching its destination. Check that the wire on the back is firmly attached and that the electrode (metal tip protruding from a white ceramic unit) is close enough to arc on to the burner. This can be checked by holding the end of a screwdriver near to it while pushing the ignition button. A universal ignition kit is available if one or more parts are not functioning.

Cooking/ Lava Grills

Check the state of the grills, if they are looking rusty and worn out why not check out our universal replacement grills which can be made to fit most sizes.