How To Protect And Secure Your Grill From High Wind
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How To Protect And Secure Your Grill From High Wind

Hosting a barbecue is a great way to gather all your friends or family members in one place and serve some delicious, easy food.

However, having an event that depends on a working outdoor grill can be tough if you live in a place that is prone to rough wind and other bad weather conditions.

Some people might choose to use a smaller indoor barbecue instead, but there are plenty of ways that you can secure your outdoor barbecue and keep it perfectly usable.

The majority of grills are quite durable and long-lasting anyway, especially if they come from trustworthy, reputable retailers, such as Weber, Traeger, Char-Broil, Nexgrill, Coleman, and Brinkmann.

A well-constructed barbecue will hold up in bad weather, but high winds and heavy rain, or even harsher weather conditions like snow, are more than enough to start wearing away at the material.

Once your grill has become water-damaged or blown over by the wind, it will be a lot harder to mend. Luckily, you’ll find the ultimate guide to protecting your barbecue from strong winds below.

How To Keep A Grill Going In The Wind

If you are barbecuing on a windy day, you’ll need to protect both the appliance and the food cooking on it. Wind could cause the barbecue to topple over, or it could cause the food on it to be blown off.

If you are using a gas grill, you should try to turn it so that the direction of the gas through the burner tubes is angled perpendicular to the wind.

Keep an eye on the flames to ensure that they haven’t been blown out by the wind, especially while the gas is turned on. Keep the lid closed or partially closed while cooking to protect the food and the heat of the grill.

Having the barbecue completely tethered or weighed down to stop it from rolling because that will cause damage to the appliance, as well as potentially posing a risk to you.

If the wind is so strong that you can’t safely barbecue, call off your gathering until conditions have improved. Cooking outdoors in bad winds won’t be any fun for you, and your guests might end up deciding not to attend.

Ultimately, if you can’t ensure that your barbecue will stay on and safe while you are cooking on it due to the wind, don’t risk using it.

Keeping a grill going in strong winds is difficult enough even with extra measures, such as a windbreak or BBQ Windscreens in place, but it can be done. Take as many measures as you can to put off the wind and keep an eye on your barbecue, especially if it is powered by gas.

How To Stop Your Grill From Blowing Over

A lot of barbecues have wheels on the bottom to make them easy to move about, so the first thing to do if your grill is outdoors in bad wind is to secure the wheels.

Some people do this by placing bricks or other small yet heavy objects around the wheels so that the barbecue will not be blown over by the wind.

You can also attach a rope to the bottom of the appliance and fasten it onto a nearby wall to keep it from rolling away and being damaged. Try not to keep your grill on a very long rope because a sudden gust of wind might blow it into the side of your house, smashing it.

Another way to prevent a barbecue from blowing over is to use a grill cover because these will streamline your appliance in the face of the wind and allow bad weather to roll right off it.

Having a cover on will also protect your BBQ from dents or scratch if the wind does manage to topple it.

If you want to anchor your grill in an even more secure way, some people place a sandbag or two across the crossbars to give it some extra weight.

Barbecues are not exactly lightweight appliances, but they are not heavy enough to withstand high winds and other stormy conditions without being blown about or knocked over entirely.

How To Light A Charcoal Grill When It’s Windy

When you light charcoal, the lid will need to be open. However, lighting exposed charcoal can be inconvenient or even dangerous if it is very windy, so you’ll need a way of protecting the grill while you light it.

A windbreak is a good idea because you can set it up around the barbecue and completely block out the wind. You might want to leave the windbreak up until you’ve finished cooking the food just for some extra protection.

You should also keep an eye on the grill the whole time it is in use, just in case the wind does pose any threat.

After the charcoal has been lit, you can close the lid, but watching the barbecue closely is still a good idea. You can never be too careful, especially when it comes to adverse weather conditions.

For even safer lighting and use of a charcoal grill, tether the barbecue to a wall or another heavy object with a rope to keep it still.

You could also block the wheels from moving so that the appliance remains secure in place. As long as the barbecue doesn’t move, you should be safe to cook with charcoal in the wind.

How To Protect Your Barbecue From Bad Weather

Bad weather is not just limited to strong wind, though wind can be one of the most destructive weather conditions.

When you are using your barbecue, try to shelter it under a canopy or other covering so that it is out of the way of wind and rain. You could also use a windbreak to completely wrap around it.

Then, when the barbecue is no longer in use, pack it away properly and place a cover over the top.

A good grill cover should be made of a resilient fabric, like polyester, and have toggles or straps that you can tighten around the appliance.

If wind is a big issue where you live, you might want to consider organizing a shed or storage box of some sort to store your barbecue inside when you aren’t using it.

This will keep it 100% sheltered and out of any bad weather, ready for you to wheel back out when you are hosting your next barbecue. To really keep your outdoor gatherings as warm and dry as they can be, perhaps consider purchasing a gazebo or other overhead covering.

This will not only protect and preserve your barbecue, but will also keep your guests sheltered too. Grill umbrellas also exist to offer protection to a barbecue while it is being used.

They are designed to be wide enough to cover the entire appliance and sit high enough to avoid being a fire hazard.

An extra bonus of buying an umbrella is that you’ll also be able to use it during the summer when the wind and rain has eased, which will protect your skin while you cook and also prevent UV light from fading the color and material of your barbecue.

Any layer of protection that you can afford your grill in extreme weather conditions, whether that is strong winds, heavy rain, or boiling hot sunshine, will help to preserve it and keep it in the best condition possible.

How To Barbecue When You Live In A Place With Bad Weather

The first thing that you can do when planning a barbecue in a place that is prone to bad weather is to look at the forecast and determine which say will be best.

A little bit of wind or even rain shouldn’t be too much of an issue, but torrential weather conditions will make for a difficult and un-enjoyable gathering.

If you can’t find a day with good enough weather, you could consider cooking all the food beforehand under a grill umbrella and then serving it up inside for your party.

But if you want to be able to go ahead with an outdoor gathering, you should ensure that your guests will be sheltered and comfortable.

You might benefit from heavy garden furniture under a covering or in a more sheltered area of the garden because this will greatly reduce the power of the wind.

Setting up several windbreaks will also provide good cover for your guests and your barbecue. Try to make comfort and safety a constant priority if you are used to strong winds and other bad weather.

The main thing to prioritize when you are manning a barbecue is your own safety because if the appliance is thrown about, it could hurt or even injure you.

If your safety is ensured, focus on keeping your grill as safe as possible.

Physically securing it is your best bet because strong winds don’t take much time at all to build up and you could be caught off-guard outside while you are cooking. Never be careless with your outdoor appliances because they can be expensive to repair or replace. Keep two things in mind: cover and security.

By ensuring both of these, you’ll be able to protect your grill whenever the wind picks up.

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