Understanding - BTUs of a BBQ Grill Articles | BBQ

By: J. Morgan

With warm summer weather comes outdoor cookouts, grilling hot-dogs, hamburgers, and steaks. Most households enjoy a good BBQ cookout, but how much do you actually know about BBQ grills? Most people look at the size, type, and style—as well as price—of the BBQ grill when they are ready to purchase one. However, there is more to choosing a grill than these features. For example, the BTU of the grill is a very important feature with which you should become familiar.

Understanding the BTUs of a BBQ grill will help you choose the one that will work the best for you and that will last the longest.

How Many BTUs Do You Need?

Sometimes it can be a little difficult deciding which BBQ grill would be the best to choose. There are so many different models available that come in a wide variety of BTUs, so how do you know what to pick?

To know how many BTUs you need, the first thing that you should understand is that the BTUs of a BBQ grill contribute to the amount of heat the unit can produce. Of course, other factors will also affect the amount of heat a unit creates, such as the size of the unit and the material used in the design of the BBQ grill. It is for this reason that you cannot buy a grill based solely on the BTU rating.

To determine the BTU rating that you need for maximum efficiency, you need to follow a simple rule. The general rule is that you need 100 BTUs per square inch. To simplify, if you buy a grill that averages around 300 square inches, the BTUs should be around 30,000 to have sufficient heat.

Important Information to Consider

Don’t make the common mistake of buying a BBQ grill just because it has a high BTU rating. If you are buying a large model, a high BTU rating still may not be sufficient for the size and you may be buying a grill unsuitable for your cooking needs. Choose a BBQ grill with a BTU rating that matches the size according to the above system.

Make sure that you buy a grill that fits with the type of cooking you plan on doing. For example, if you plan on cooking mostly hamburgers and hot-dogs, then a smaller grill with a low BTU rating would provide sufficient heat for these types of foods. However, if you plan on cooking steaks, ribs, and rotisserie items, then you will need a BBQ grill with a higher BTU to get sufficient heat to properly cook these foods.