Backyard Living

Making the most of summer at home

   Aug 08

Gas BBQ Grills: Are They Safe?

When you’re dealing with any type of combustible gas, you have to be very careful. One spark can ignite a fire or explosion. However, you don’t have to worry when it comes to a gas bbq grill. Gas bbq grills are completely safe as long as you follow the instructions and use them responsibly. There are some things you should know before you begin to use your gas bbq grill and you should know the warning signs and what to do in case anything ever goes wrong. Just know that more fires have been started with coal burning grills and gas bbq grills; often because coal burning grills don’t have the flame control that gas grills do.

Do You Smell That?

When you first turn on your gas bbq grill, before you shut the gas grill cover, you should be able to smell a faint smell. That smell is the gas. The gas itself is odorless and tasteless but that odor is added to it artificially so that you can detect the gas in case there’s ever a leak. If you smell gas, and it smells more heavily than if you had just lit it, then you should never attempt to light it. In fact, extinguish all open flames immediately. Most of the times, the smell of gas occurs because the gas bbq grill knob is turned but there is no flame to burn that gas away. Simply turn the gas bbq grill off and the smell should subside. If you still smell gas, there could be a leak. Disconnect the gas container from the grill immediately (try not to cause a spark), and take it back to where you got it. It could be just a bad connection so disconnecting it will usually take care of the problem.

Completely Safe

If you don’t smell gas, you’re not in danger. You have complete control over the temperature level and how fast you want your food cooked. Then, when you’re finished cooking, you can just turn off your gas bbq grill immediately. You simply turn the knob and turn it off. Compare that with regular coal burning grills. When you’re done with a regular grill, you have to just close the lid and let it burn out. This usually takes overnight depending on how much you used it, and that could potentially start a fire if the wind and a stray ember ignite a wall or underbrush. That right there makes gas bbq grills safer than coal burning grills.



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