While many of us braai year-round, not everyone wants to BBQ in cold weather. With winter approaching here are a few things to keep in mind before putting the BBQ away to ensure your BBQ is ready to go once the weather warms up.
Clean your bbq
The first thing you will want to do is clean your barbecue. Ensure that all food debris and fat residues have been removed from the cooking surfaces, fat pan and lids. If you have a patio BBQ thoroughly clean the burners, the fat tray and the flame tamers.
For tough or burnt-on debris you can use the CADAC BBQ cleaner for the enamel parts and non-abrasive cleaners for the ceramic cooking surfaces. Ensure all components are thoroughly dry before storage to prevent mould.
A BBQ with leftover grease and food debris is a perfect place for mould to grow, so by cleaning and drying your BBQ before storage will greatly diminish the chances for mould to develop. If you happen to find mould in your BBQ when you get it out of storage, don’t panic! Scrape the mould off any surfaces it has grown on, wash in hot soapy water and allow your BBQ run for 10-15 minutes before cooking on it.
Protect from pests
Spending a little time to correctly store your BBQ will help prevent dust, cobwebs and insects from calling it home through the winter months. Clean any venturi tubes and burners and wrap them to prevent insects from entering. Check your control knobs, couplings and fat pans/cups for unwanted pests as well.
Keep your bbq dust free!
Now the BBQ is clean, dry and protected from pests think about where you are storing it. Avoid leaving your BBQ outside all winter if you can and instead store it in a cool, dry place away from rain and snow.
Always use the carry bags provided with your BBQ for storage and avoid leaving under a BBQ cover where you can. Moisture will always end up on the barbecue, which does not benefit the life of your BBQ. Stainless steel parts (if present) are best greased with a stainless steel polisher or baby oil for optimum retention. If you do store your patio BBQ outdoors under a cover, regularly remove the cover to wash down with clean water and thoroughly dry before recovering. Make sure you disconnect your gas bottle and gas hose when not in use. With our Quick Release Coupling you can do this with a single click. Check whether the gas regulator and hose are damaged or due for replacement now, that way when the warmer months arrive you are ready to braai straight away. We recommend replacing every 5 years or at the first sign of damage.