Tag: portable charcoal grills

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Grill Accessories Grill Parts

BBQ Igniters

The BBQ igniter is a simple tool with many applications. Of course, it is made for the primary purpose of lighting gas grills. Unfortunately, however, BBQ igniters sometimes get a bad reputation for being undependable.

BBQ Igniters: The Little Tools that Accomplish Great Things

It seems like every time you want to light the grill, the igniter fails to work properly. This requires you to go in the house and dig around for a match or lighter to get your grill going. A little known fact is that the igniter is rarely the cause of such undependability. More often, the burners are not properly feeding fuel to the igniter, which makes it difficult to light.BBQ igniters

How a BBQ Igniter Works

BBQ igniters use piezo electricity to create a spark that lights the gas in a grill. When we think of electricity, we think of plugging something into a wall, or inserting fresh batteries to power a device.

Piezo electricity is different from what we normally think of as electricity. If you speak Greek, you will recognize the word “piezo” as meaning pressure. Piezo electricity is essentially an electromagnetic charge generated by applying pressure to something. There are certain crystal elements that produce electricity when they are struck with force. In a BBQ igniter, one of these piezo electric crystals is struck, which causes it to emit a spark to light the grill. The spark is small and only lasts for a split second, but it is all that the gas needs to light quickly.

What to Do When Your Grill Won’t Light

If your grill won’t light after you’ve turned on the gas and hit the igniter, there are a few steps to diagnose the problem. Remember to turn off the gas and remove the propane tank completely before attempting any diagnosis or repairs.

1. With the gas turned off and the tank removed, locate the igniter element and watch it as you press the igniter button. If you see a small spark jump across the element, you know your ignition issues are not caused by the igniter. If there is no spark, your easiest option may be to get a replacement igniter. BBQ igniters are available at many online retailers.

2. If you see a spark on the igniter, the problem is likely with the gas burners. With the propane tank still safely disconnected, remove the burners one by one and check for signs of blockage. If there is any blockage in the burners, replace them.

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Grill Types

Portable Grills

Are you ready to have a cookout at your small apartment or college dorm room? Travelling and can’t live without your grill? Try a portable grill!

If you’re pressed for space, you’ll definitely be looking at a portable grill that both saves space and enables you to smoke some great barbecue.

Portable style grills come in nearly infinite varieties, each with distinct advantages and disadvantages.

Portable Grills Features

Mobile grills are designed for portability. They are not mounted on a beautiful brick assembly in your back-yard. These grills are portable grillsdesigned for the tailgate party, the campout, or even the dorm room barbeque. They save space, and are an essential for a camping trip or football event. They come in four varieties, each with distinct features:

Portable charcoal grills are a smaller version of the old-school, smoke-billowing grill your Dad used to use. If you don’t have neighbors—or a college fire code—to worry about, a portable charcoal grill may be for you.

Portable gas grills use propane to cook your delicious bar-b-q, which gives the grill man control over the cooking temperature. Safe storage of the propane is essential, but mature handling of the tank makes this a highly effective grill.

Portable electric grills are a great alternative if you need to cook indoors. This type of grill not only produces less smoke, but cooks in a healthier manner. There’s less grease, and a more locked-in style of flavor.

Finally, Portable infrared grills cook the meat faster—and in many cases, better—than the above portable grill alternatives. However, with all new technologies, the primary downside is price. Portable infrared grills are also more rare and, frankly, much more expensive. But if you’re after a premium cookout experience, a portable infrared grill is for you.

Portable Grills Pros and Cons

The portable grill’s distinct advantage is that… well, they’re portable. You can haul your grill to a campout, cookout, friend’s house, or to a new place of residence. This is an advantage that larger, mounted grills, though classier, just don’t have.

However, a portable grill has its downsides. Most portable type grills don’t have the premium controls of their larger cousins. In addition, they aren’t designed to create a feast for huge groups of people.

Portable Grills Is it for you?

There are thousands of varieties of grills out there… but only one for you. If you want to enhance your campout, tailgate party, small apartment, or dorm room, then consider adding a portable grill to your cooking arsenal.

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Grill Types

Types of Grills

I love bbq, but with all the types of grills out there how can I know which type of grill is best for me?

I’ve researched all the different grill types and I’ve found which one I like best.  Find out which one works best for you.

Types of Grills: Performance, Convenience and Savings

Most of us who love barbecue are familiar with a couple of basic types of grills. However, there are several less familiar options out there to enhance your grilling experience.

Gas Grills

  • Flattop Grills
  • Natural Gas Grills
  • Propane Gas Grills
  • Rodizio Grills

Infrared Grills

Charcoal Grills

  • Barrel Grill
  • Ceramic Cooker
  • Gas and Charcoal Grills
  • Hibachi Grill
  • Kettle Grills
  • Pellet Grills
  • Portable Charcoal Grill
  • Square Charcoal Grill
  • Tandoor Oven

Outdoor Kitchen

  • Built in Grills AND Gas Grill Inserts
  • Grill Islands

Smokers

  • BBQ Smokers
  • Homemade Smokers

Portable Grills

  • Portable Charcoal Grills
  • Portable Electric Grills
  • Portable Gas Grills
  • Portable Infrared Grills
Types of Grills Features

Types of grills have their unique advantage. Of all the grills, gas grills are the easiest to manage. They have unparalleled ease of use and convenience.  Gas grills are easy to fire up and reach cooking temperature quickly. Gas grills are easy to shut down, clean up and put away.

People who are big fans of infrared grills claim they are equal to traditional gas grills in ease of use and clean up while making the food better. Since infrared allows for much higher temperatures, it allows for more intense sear, locking in juices and flavors. Infrared grills used to be extremely high end, but prices have been dropping with entry level units in the mid-price range.

Charcoal grills offers something no other types of grills can. That is a wonderful smoky tasting, crusted, caramelized exterior on steaks and chops. For many, this flavor trumps any lack of convenience associated with cooking with charcoal. Charcoal grills come in just about any size, shape and price you can imagine. They tend to be cheaper than gas grills and assessable for most budgets.

If you come to realize that you are a carnivore that cooks most of his meals out-of-doors, you might see an investment in an outdoor kitchen as a wise move. You can design and build in your grills, outdoor refrigerators, barbeque smokers, bbq side burners or just about anything else you can imagine.

People who do not see grilling as true bar-b-q, invest in smokers fueled by charcoal or wood. The by-words for bbq smokers are “low” (temperature) and “slow” (lots of time).

The wide variety of portable grills allows for great barbeque on picnics, beach outings, camping trips and more. They are surprisingly versatile, efficient and can cook lots of food. They come in all fuel types.

Types of Grills – Conclusion

Grills have their own peculiarities, but what they have in common is outdoor cooking and celebration at its best. Choose well and establish a firm foundation to master your skills with the grill and with barbecue.

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