BBQs
Best guide to BBQ covers
Feb
Whether you’re a seasoned garden lifestyle lover or new to BBQs, you’ll want to invest in a good quality barbecue that suits your garden and the way you use it perfectly. Then you’ll want to look after it so it lasts for longer and stays looking good. Check out our best guide to BBQ covers to find out why it’s a wise move to buy one, and how to choose the best cover for the job.
Why you need a BBQ cover
If you’ve got enough room in a shed or garage to store your barbie in the dry, you’re lucky. Most of us have small gardens and not much garden storage. A BBQ cover means you can leave it safely where it belongs whatever the weather, protected while you’re not using it.
When you like to cook on a whim, grilling for the people you love whenever you fancy it, it can be a pain having to clean a dirty BBQ before you can get cracking. A cover means it’s ready whenever you are, maybe needing a quick wipe down with a damp cloth but that’s it. You could end up saving hours of faffing around cleaning over the lifetime of the barbie, enjoying yourself instead of being stuck cleaning.
Barbecue covers keep your bbq clean and dry. No dead leaves to peel off, and you don’t have to wash off that weird sticky stuff dropped by aphids either. There’s no bird poo to handle, sometimes so corrosive it can eat a mark into a plastic or metal surface. There’s no grit, which can lead to annoying scratches, and no dust or dirt to wash off. If you buy a quality cover it’ll be vented as well, so there’s no way condensation can build up and leave things mouldy.
Is there a special cover available for your BBQ model?
Before you go looking, check to see if there’s a tailored cover available for the model of barbecue you’ve bought. If you’ve invested in a Norfolk Grills machine, for example, there’s also a wide range of covers made to fit. If so that’s the best choice of all. If not, you should be able to find a simple ‘universal’ cover to fit reasonably well somewhere like Argos. Just bear in mind it won’t necessarily come with a fit as good as a tailored cover, or the same features.
Some people prefer to buy their BBQ from a maker who manufactures covers as well as the barbecues themselves, simply because a properly-fitted cover is such an effective way to protect their investment.
Can you just use a tarp or plastic sheet?
Yes. There are cheap ways to do it. There’s no rule says you can’t cover a BBQ with a tarpaulin or plastic sheeting. But there are quite a few reasons why it’s less than ideal. Neither of them will fit very well, so you’ll have to find way to anchor the sheet so it stays in place even in a high wind, and doesn’t let the rain in. Neither help control condensation either, they’re more likely to attract it. And, depending on what your barbie is made from, you could end up with algae or rust.
BBQ cover features to look out for
The best quality covers come with a suite of desirable features:
- Tailored to fit – or at least able to give you a 100% reliable way to keep it firmly in place
- Tough, good quality water resistant fabric
- Heavy duty, built to last
- Wont blow away
- Attractive design
- Good ventilation so condensation doesn’t cause issues
- Easy to pull on and off
- A colour that won’t drive you nuts because it stands out too much
- A trusted manufacturer
