Buying gas for a gas barbecue?

[Rave]

I'll cut to the chase here- Aldi are doing a decent looking gas BBQ for £50 tomorrow:

http://www.aldi.co.uk/uk/html/offers...uys3_13838.htm

....so we're sending my father in law down there to queue up before it opens to see if he can snaffle one. In the assumption that he'll be successful, we've invited our friends round for a barbie on Saturday. Thing is, we'll need gas. As a newbie to gas BBQ-ing I have no idea what the best deal is. I think Homebase do a fibreglass 3kg BP cylinder for £25-ish, but then I went on the Calor Gas site and found I can get 13kg for £22.49, plus a 30 quid deposit for the bottle, and £5 delivery.

But they might not get me the gas in time, I guess. B&Q offer a 13kg refill of Patio Gas (which I assume is still propane) for £26 quid at selected stores- there are a couple within a 20 minute drive from here. If the deposit is the same then I assume that's my best bet?

I know a 13kg bottle is a fairly big and heavy thing but I'm not fussed about that. I'm mainly concerned with getting as much gas as possible for my money. The reason for buying the gas barbie is so that we can look out of the window, see the sun, and have a BBQ at 5 minutes notice- be that when I've got home from an early shift at 2pm on a weekday, or when I've got a long weekend and I can have friends and family round. I plan to make regular use of it.

All advice appreciated.

[matty-hodgson]

Do you not prefer using coal? Tastes much nicer and feels more "authentic"

[rox0r]

I have to admit, I've always been a bit old skool about my BBQs and find gas/electric contraptions a bit odd. It's basically just like dragging the cooker outside, might aswell do it on the cooker inside and take it outside

I like my flesh flame grilled with plenty of smoked flavour from whatever gets launched in with the coals.

[Flibb]

I picked an empty cylinder up from the local tip a while ago, lot cheaper than the deposit.

[Rave]

Yes yes, I like charcoal too, I just don't like having to pour a load of noxious petrochemicals all over it to get it alight and then wait half an hour for it to get up to cooking temperature. I want to light up and 5 minutes later come back to searing coals that'll set fire to a banger in short order. And, in my experience, it is the heat of cooking that makes BBQ food tasty, not that it's had a load of carbon/residual firelighter smoke wafted over it.

So advice on gas purchasing please, not advice on how to BBQ. If it comes to it, I have a 5kg bag of briquettes in the shed and a perfectly functional charcoal BBW, I'd just rather not have to resort to it.

[Rave]

I picked an empty cylinder up from the local tip a while ago, lot cheaper than the deposit.

As a chronic meanie, this is the kind of tip I like. I'll keep an eye out- can always return my original cylinder for a full refund I assume?

[Flibb]

As a chronic meanie, this is the kind of tip I like. I'll keep an eye out- can always return my original cylinder for a full refund I assume?

Not sure about that to be honest, I've also picked a couple up that had been dumped in car parks, so assume the deposit is either not refunded, or can only be refunded to the original buyer. People to ask about gas cylinder rental are the caravaners, heres a thread
http://www.caravantalk.org.uk/topic/...inder-deposit/

[donkey17]

You sometimes get people selling old tanks on ebay, have a word with your local calor gas company and you can trade in non calorgas bottles against brand new ones. This is due to calor buying many other companies up.

I know this as I bought 2 old tanks from another company and got them upgraded for my brother in law and also myself.

[Flibb]

Quiet a few garages do cylinders, its worth getting one that you can exchange locally. Nothing worse than getting ready to BBQ and running out of gas, then trying to find someplace to exchange thats open on a sunday.

[peterb]

You need to find out what gas your BBQ uses - the regulators are different for butane (blue bottles), patio gas (a mixture of propane and butane), green bottles, and propane (red bottles).

You buy the gas, and rent the bottle - so if you don't have a bottle, the first time you buy the gas, you pay a deposit (which is returnable on a sliding scale for the first two or three years) which covers the rental cost. This gets round the obligation you would have to comply with the regulations concerning the inspection pf pressure vessels. Obviously if you can get one from a tip, you can return that (I think, in theory the company could ask you to prove that you have a rental agreement, but I don't think they ever do!) You can also swap some butane tanks for propane tanks, but I don't know if you can do the same for patio gas.

You can find more details on the Calor Gas website.

Check if the BBQ comes with a regulator. If it doesn't, you can choose which one to fit, the burners will burn propane or butane, but the supply pressure is different for the two gasses (which is why the fittings are different)

[fray_bentos]

Don't forget the regulator for the gas bottle, your BBQ may not come with it (pretty annoying when you're ready to connect the gas and cook - then you realise it's another hour to the shop and back).

[blueball]

Don't forget the regulator for the gas bottle, your BBQ may not come with it (pretty annoying when you're ready to connect the gas and cook - then you realise it's another hour to the shop and back).

Ditto from me. Got a cheap gas BBQ from Lidl and the regulator didn't't match connector on gas bottles from B&Q (and everywhere else). Had to go and buy another regulator at cost of £12.

[Rave]

Well, in the end, I needed a bottle in a hurry having invited friends and family round for a BBQ yesterday, so I looked up local Calor Gas stockists. The one nearest me had sold out that morning. Acting on a tip off from my wife's uncle I drove round to a little hardware store round the back of Hither Green station and found that they wanted £28 for an 11kg refill, and £30 for the 'Flogas' bottle. I worked out that that was 5p more per kg than Homebase wanted- but I was in a hurry, and I'd rather give my cash to a small local business anyway. But when I got the bottle, it had "12.3kg" stencilled on it, so it looks like I might have come out ahead.

The BBQ is pretty good but due to the burner arrangement the heat's stronger in the centre than at the edge. Pretty much what you usually get with a charcoal BBQ then. I might have to buy some hickory chips to get a bit more smoke going just for flavour. But overall pretty pleased.

[M0nkeyb0Y]

Yes yes, I like charcoal too, I just don't like having to pour a load of noxious petrochemicals all over it to get it alight and then wait half an hour for it to get up to cooking temperature.

Not wanting to fan a debate, but kindling works just as well as firelighters/fluid, and is carbon neutral. 'Yay' for charcoal bbqs!

So advice on gas purchasing please, not advice on how to BBQ

oh... I... er, sorry....